Shore v. Pa. Dep't of Corr.

JUSTICE WECHT, Concurring

Dating back to the Magna Carta and its tenets of basic fairness is the maxim that the poor must have the ability to access the courts of justice. 1 The authority of the judiciary to permit litigants to proceed in forma pauperis ("IFP") mitigates the formidable cost of litigation to the indigent, ensuring that our courthouse doors are always open, even to those who are poor. This is the promise of Rule 240 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. Pa.R.C.P. 240. But this promise may prove illusory to the prisoner who seeks to litigate a non-frivolous claim, but is…