John Whitfield v. Charles Scully, Former Supt. Gail Haponik C.O. Tornabene C.O. C. Mitchell John and Jane Does

CARDAMONE, Circuit Judge:

The subject matter of this appeal involves the payment by appellant, who is incarcerated, of $3.10 out of his weekly income of $7.75 to defray the costs of unsuccessful litigation against prison officials arising from a prison altercation with a fellow inmate. Despite the small amount of money involved, the appeal presents important issues for us to resolve. Congress, in recent amendments to the in forma pauperis statute, aimed to reduce the volume of meritless litigation flooding federal courts by making payment of filing fees mandatory. This statute also provides a…