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90_SB0381ham004
LRB9001056RCksam04
1 AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 381
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend Senate Bill 381, on page 1, by
3 replacing lines 5 and 6 with the following:
4 "Section 5. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended, if and
5 only if House Bill 2138 does not become law by August 31,
6 1997 in the form in which it passed the House of
7 Representatives, by adding Section 27.7 as follows:"; and
8 on page 2, by inserting above line 8 the following:
9 "Section 6. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended, if and
10 only if House Bill 2138 becomes law by August 31, 1997 in the
11 form in which it passed the House of Representatives, by
12 adding Section 27.7 as follows:
13 (705 ILCS 105/27.7 new)
14 Sec. 27.7. Frivolous lawsuits filed by prisoners.
15 (a) The fees of the clerks of the circuit court shall not
16 be waived for a petitioner who is a prisoner in an Illinois
17 Department of Corrections facility who files a pleading,
18 motion, or other filing which purports to be a legal document
19 in a lawsuit seeking post-conviction relief under Article 122
20 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, pursuant to
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1 Section 116-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, or
2 in a habeas corpus action under Article X of the Code of
3 Civil Procedure and the defendant is the State, the Illinois
4 Department of Corrections, or the Prisoner Review Board or
5 any of their officers or employees, and the court makes a
6 specific finding that the pleading, motion, or other filing
7 which purports to be a legal document is frivolous.
8 (b) "Frivolous" means that a pleading, motion, or other
9 filing which purports to be a legal document filed by a
10 prisoner in his or her lawsuit meets any or all of the
11 following criteria:
12 (1) it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in
13 fact;
14 (2) it is being presented for any improper purpose,
15 such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or
16 needless increase in the cost of litigation;
17 (3) the claims, defenses, and other legal
18 contentions therein are not warranted by existing law or
19 by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension,
20 modification, or reversal of existing law or the
21 establishment of new law;
22 (4) the allegations and other factual contentions
23 do not have evidentiary support or, if specifically so
24 identified, are not likely to have evidentiary support
25 after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation
26 or discovery; or
27 (5) the denials of factual contentions are not
28 warranted on the evidence, or if specifically so
29 identified, are not reasonably based on a lack of
30 information or belief."; and
31 on page 6, by replacing lines 24 and 25 with the following:
32 "Section 25. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended, if
33 and only if House Bill 2138 does not become law by August 31,
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1 1997 in the form in which it passed the House of
2 Representatives, by adding Article XXII as follows:"; and
3 on page 8, by inserting between lines 13 and 14 the
4 following:
5 "Section 30. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended, if
6 and only if House Bill 2138 becomes law by August 31, 1997 in
7 the form in which it passed the House of Representatives, by
8 adding Article XXII as follows:
9 (735 ILCS 5/Art. XXII heading new)
10 ARTICLE XXII. FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS FILED BY PRISONERS
11 (735 ILCS 5/22-105 new)
12 Sec. 22-105. Frivolous lawsuits filed by prisoners.
13 (a) If a prisoner confined in an Illinois Department of
14 Corrections facility files a pleading, motion, or other
15 filing which purports to be a legal document in a case
16 seeking post-conviction relief under Article 122 of the Code
17 of Criminal Procedure of 1963, pursuant to Section 116-3 of
18 the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, in a habeas corpus
19 action under Article X of this Code, in a claim under the
20 Court of Claims Act, or in another action against the State,
21 the Illinois Department of Corrections, or the Prisoner
22 Review Board, or against any of their officers or employees
23 and the Court makes a specific finding that the pleading,
24 motion, or other filing which purports to be a legal document
25 filed by the prisoner is frivolous, the prisoner is
26 responsible for the full payment of actual court costs.
27 On filing the action or proceeding the court shall assess
28 and, when funds exist, collect as a partial payment of any
29 court costs required by law a first time payment of 20%.
30 Thereafter 20% of all deposits into the prisoner's individual
31 account under Sections 3-4-3 and 3-12-5 of the Unified Code
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1 of Corrections administered by the Illinois Department of
2 Corrections shall be withheld until the actual court costs
3 are collected in full. The Department of Corrections shall
4 annually forward any moneys withheld to the court of
5 jurisdiction before January 31. If a prisoner is released
6 before the full costs are collected, the Department of
7 Corrections shall forward the amount of costs collected
8 through the date of release. The court of jurisdiction is
9 responsible for sending the Department of Corrections a copy
10 of the order mandating the amount of court fees to be paid.
11 Nothing in this Section prohibits an applicant from filing an
12 action or proceeding if the applicant is unable to pay the
13 court costs.
14 (b) In this Section, "frivolous" means that a pleading,
15 motion, or other filing which purports to be a legal document
16 filed by a prisoner in his or her lawsuit meets any or all of
17 the following criteria:
18 (1) it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in
19 fact;
20 (2) it is being presented for any improper purpose,
21 such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or
22 needless increase in the cost of litigation;
23 (3) the claims, defenses, and other legal
24 contentions therein are not warranted by existing law or
25 by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension,
26 modification, or reversal of existing law or the
27 establishment of new law;
28 (4) the allegations and other factual contentions
29 do not have evidentiary support or, if specifically so
30 identified, are not likely to have evidentiary support
31 after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation
32 or discovery; or
33 (5) the denials of factual contentions are not
34 warranted on the evidence, or if specifically so
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1 identified, are not reasonably based on a lack of
2 information or belief.".