UPDATE: Motion for Protective Order Filed
Date: September 15, 2025
Event: On September 15, 2025, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Protective Order in Strickland v. Ramsey County requesting immediate relief from an ongoing pattern of financial abuse, retaliatory fee manipulation, and suppression of First Amendment rights. The motion consolidates months of documented misconduct by Ramsey County officials-including lost payments, contradictory fee assessments, and targeted interference with Plaintiff's ability to litigate while disabled and pro se.
Financial Abuse Pattern
The motion details a long-running pattern of irregular and contradictory fee practices. Across multiple filings, Plaintiff has paid more than $1,500 in fees-at times paying the same fee twice after Ramsey County misplaced or failed to forward funds. This includes the $550 appellate filing fee, which was accepted by the County but never transmitted to the Court of Appeals, forcing Plaintiff to expend additional funds to perfect her appeal.
In other instances, Ramsey County dismissed cases sua sponte despite valid payment, demanded additional fees without statutory basis, and refused to credit correctly submitted money orders. These practices operate as a system of economic retaliation, imposing extra costs on disabled litigants while shielding County misconduct from judicial review.
First Amendment and ADA Concerns
The motion further alleges that Ramsey County's fee manipulation and docket irregularities function as combined First Amendment and ADA violations. While Plaintiff repeatedly requested disability accommodations-including accommodations necessary to participate meaningfully in hearings-the County either ignored or denied them. At the same time, fee irregularities and unexplained dismissals restricted Plaintiff's ability to petition the courts, access appellate review, and maintain her federal civil rights action.
Taken together, these actions form a coherent pattern of retaliatory obstruction against a disabled pro se litigant documenting judicial and administrative misconduct.
Relief Sought
Plaintiff requests an order prohibiting Ramsey County from:
- Dismissing any active case sua sponte without proper judicial assignment;
- Retaining, misapplying, or refusing to forward lawfully paid filing fees;
- Imposing discretionary or duplicate fees without statutory authority;
- Denying or ignoring ADA accommodations necessary for meaningful participation;
- Engaging in conduct that suppresses Plaintiff's access to courts or chilled First Amendment activity.
The requested protective order seeks to restore procedural integrity, ensure financial accountability, and secure the constitutional rights of disabled and self-represented litigants-rights that have been repeatedly undermined throughout Plaintiff's interactions with the Ramsey County court system.