Background
General Akecheta Morningstar sought to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal from a district court denial of his motion for reconsideration under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure sixty B and a motion for judicial recusal. He challenged the district court’s determination that his appeal was not taken in good faith, asserting claims of improper case reassignment, clerical error, lack of Supreme Court jurisdiction, and judicial bias.
The court’s reasoning
The court’s inquiry was limited to whether the appeal involved legal points arguable on their merits. The court found Morningstar’s arguments to be conclusory and patently meritless, contradicting the procedural history of the case. Because he failed to identify a nonfrivolous issue for appeal, the court denied the in forma pauperis motion and dismissed the appeal.
Our inquiry, therefore, is limited to whether the appeal involves legal points arguable on their merits and therefore not frivolous.
Howard v. King, 707 F.2d 215, 220 (5th Cir. 1983)
What it means going forward
The dismissal prevents the appellant from proceeding with the appeal without paying the required fees, effectively ending the litigation on appeal due to the frivolous nature of the claims.