Spruill v. Temple Baptist Church

In the case of Waterman v. McMillan,1 this cour-t interpreted the statute relating to appeals in forma pauperis and outlined the procedure to be followed in presenting such an application to this court. Among other things, we said—following the guidance of the Supreme Court in Wells v. United States2—“The purpose of the statute is that the application to proceed in forma pauperis, accompanied by the affidavit, should promptly be made to the District Court, in the first instance, to enable that court, with its full and immediate knowledge of the facts, to determine whether the appeal has been…