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<section article="gcj" article_name="Courts and Judicial Proceedings" number="5-1002" title_number="5" title_name="Limitations, Prohibited Actions, and Immunities" subtitle_number="10" subtitle_name="Prisoner Litigation Act">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <level label="i">
        <text>Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a prisoner who maintains a civil action shall pay all or a portion of the applicable filing fee, as determined by the court.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Unless a waiver is granted under subsection (c) of this section, a fee determined by the court under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be at least 25 percent of the entire filing fee otherwise required for a civil action.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The court may:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Authorize any fee to be paid over a specific period of time; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Establish a payment schedule.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Until any applicable filing fee is paid, service of the complaint shall be withheld, discovery may not commence, and other proceedings may not be convened.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>In establishing the amount of the filing fee to be paid under subsection (a) of this section, the court shall consider, based on information in the complaint and provided by the prisoner:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>The seriousness of the claim;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The likelihood of success;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The urgency of consideration;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>The amount of funds available in any institutional account and any account outside of the institution;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>The employment status of the prisoner in the institution and income from the employment;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="6">
      <text>Any financial obligations of the prisoner; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="7">
      <text>The length of time that is likely to pass before the filing fee that is imposed is able to be paid.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>A court may waive payment of the entire required filing fee for a civil action filed by a prisoner only on a written showing under oath by the prisoner that:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>The prisoner is indigent;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The issue presented is of serious concern;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Delay in the consideration of the issues presented will prejudice the consideration of the claim;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>The prisoner is not likely to accumulate sufficient funds to pay the required filing fee within a reasonable period of time; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>The prisoner possesses a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of the claim.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>If a prisoner prevails in an action, the filing fee that is paid by the prisoner shall be reimbursed to the prisoner by the defendant through costs awarded by the court.</text>
  </level>
</section>
