Umphenour (ID 2000082647) v. Langford

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
HEATH ALLEN UMPHENOUR,
Petitioner,
v. 	CASE NO. 26-3040-JWL
DONALD C. LANGFORD,
Respondent.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is a pro se petition for federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 filed by
Petitioner and state prisoner Heath Allen Umphenour, who is currently incarcerated at Ellsworth
Correctional Facility (“ECF”) in Ellsworth, Kansas. When Petitioner submitted his petition for
filing, he also submitted a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, but he did not include
the financial statement that is required by federal statute to support the motion. (Doc. 2.) Rule
3(a)(2) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts provides
that a habeas petitioner who files a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis must submit “a
certificate from the warden or other appropriate officer of the place of confinement showing the
amount of money or securities that the petitioner has in any account in the institution.” Local Rule
9.1(g)(2) contains the same requirement. See D. Kan. R. 9.1(g)(2). Since Petitioner had not
submitted the required financial certificate, the Court issued a notice of deficiency granting
Petitioner to and including April 3, 2026 to do so. (Doc. 4.)
This matter comes before the Court on Petitioner’s motion for extension of time to submit
the financial certificate. (Doc. 6.) Petitioner advises the Court that he is unable to obtain the
certificate at this time; he attaches to his motion documentation from ECF staff showing
Centralized Inmate Banking is unable to provide documentation of transactions or balances at this
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time. (Doc. 6 and 6-1.) In light of this information, the motion for extension of time (Doc. 6) will
be granted and the Court will provisionally grant leave for Petitioner to proceed in forma pauperis.
On or before June 26, 2026, Petitioner must file either the required financial certificate or a status
report regarding the availability of the certificate. If Petitioner fails to do so or if the certificate
reflects that he is ineligible to proceed in forma pauperis, the Court may revoke the provisional
leave to proceed in forma pauperis and require Petitioner to pay the full $5.00 filing fee.
The Court also has received Petitioner’s petition for writ of habeas corpus on the required,
court-approved forms. (Doc. 5.) The Court will begin the review of the petition required by Rule
4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Court and will issue
further orders as necessary.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the motion for extension of time (Doc. 6) is
granted. On or before June 26, 2026, Petitioner must submit either (1) the financial certificate
required to support his motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis or (2) a status report on the
availability of the certificate. The Court provisionally grants the motion for leave to proceed in
forma pauperis (Doc. 2). It will begin reviewing the petition and will issue further orders as
necessary.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: 	This 26th day of March, 2026, at Kansas City, Kansas.
S/ John W. Lungstrum
JOHN W. LUNGSTRUM
United States District Judge
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