Martin v. District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Martin v. District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided November 2, 1992
Full case name	Martin v. District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Docket nos.	92-5584
Citations	506 U.S. 1 (more)
Holding
Petitioner is not entitled to file non-criminal in forma pauperis petitions for writ of certiorari, and must file all such petitions in compliance with Court rules and pay for them.
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices Byron White · Harry Blackmun John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Case opinions
Per curiam.
Dissent	Stevens, joined by Blackmun

Martin v. District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 506 U.S. 1 (1992), was a Supreme Court opinion denying a petition for motion to proceed in forma pauperis, as the petitioner had repeatedly abused the process. Specifically, the Court prohibited the petitioner from filing further non-criminal in forma pauperis petitions, and that all petitions filed must be compliant with Court rules and must have had the filing fee paid. The dissent, written by Justice Stevens argued that the result violated the "open access" of the Court. This opinion is frequently used to deny petitions and restrict petitioners even today.

External links

• Opinion from Findlaw