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in forma pauperis

1 9.9

A request to go to court without paying fees because you cannot pay

noun
/ɪn ˈfɔrmə ˈpɔpərɪs/

: solicitud de exención de tasas

The judge granted her motion to proceed in forma pauperis because she could not afford the court fees.

Examples

He submitted his appeal in forma pauperis after losing his job and income.
Filing in forma pauperis allows individuals with limited means to access the legal system.
File in forma pauperis!
I need to apply in forma pauperis.
The judge granted her motion to proceed in forma pauperis because she could not afford the court fees.
Filing in forma pauperis allows individuals with limited means to access the legal system.
He submitted his appeal in forma pauperis after losing his job and income.

Surface Forms

in forma pauperis singular

in forma pauperis plural

Morphology

in + forma + pauperis

This is a Latin legal formula rather than a compositional English phrase: the constituents 'forma' and 'pauperis' are not English words a B1 learner would know, so the meaning cannot be derived from the listed parts. Its use is a specialized legal convention (loaned Latin) whose sense must be learned as a term, making it unpredictable from the constituents.

Etymology

In forma pauperis comes from Latin: forma means 'form' and pauperis means 'poor person'. Think of a paper a poor person files asking the court to continue the case without fees; as a noun it means that request to go ahead 'without paying fees'.