Cite as: 506 U. S. 194 (1993)
Thomas, J., dissenting
The fourth "contextual feature" identified by the Court is the difficulty of the "issues raised by applying an 'inability to pay' standard to artificial entities," ante, at 206, and the difficulty of determining "when to look beyond the entity to its owners or members in determining ability to pay," ante, at 207. These, too, are policy matters that Congress should be presumed to have considered when it inserted the word "person" into § 1915. As with the difficulties associated with the affidavit requirement, any difficulties associated with the "inability to pay" test are relevant to the issue of why Congress might have chosen to include artificial entities among those "persons" entitled to in forma pauperis status, but they are not relevant to the issue of whether Congress has in fact made this choice.9
Petitioners essentially concede that this argument is ultimately one of policy when they say that the "test for indigency" will create "procedural problems" and will have "practical effects . . . on the administration of justice." Brief for Petitioners 17. Today the Court accepts this argument, but a unanimous Court rejected a similar argument only four Terms ago in a case involving another provision of the in
such circumstances the affidavit is considered to be the affidavit of the entity itself. See n. 3, supra.
9 In discussing the difficulty of determining whether an artificial entity is unable to pay costs, the majority says that the "context of congressional silence on [this] issu[e] indicates the natural character of a § 1915 'person.' " Ante, at 208-209. See also ante, at 207. In relying upon "congressional silence" as a "contextual indicator," however, the majority once again departs from the definition of "context" set out at the beginning of its opinion: Rather than relying upon the words surrounding "person," the majority accords significance to the absence of words surrounding "person." Cf. n. 1, supra. But even if reliance on statutory silence is consistent with the majority's definition of "context," it is not apparent to me why the absence of a statutory "ability to pay" standard for artificial entities demonstrates that the in forma pauperis statute covers natural but not artificial persons, since § 1915 contains no such standard for any kind of "person."
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