Can Prison Inmate File Lawsuit Without Affidavit ?

In Hickson v. Moya, 926 S.W.2d 397, 398 (Tex. App.-- Waco 1996, no writ), the court upheld the lower court's dismissal of an inmate action under section 14.003 when the inmate's petition was not accompanied by the affidavit or unsworn declaration required by section 14.004. Hickson, 926 S.W.2d at 399. The court stated that Chapter Fourteen of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code was designed to control the flood of frivolous lawsuits being filed in the courts by prison inmates, and that the supplemental filing required by section 14.004 was an essential part of the process by which courts review inmate litigation. Hickson, 926 S.W.2d at 399. The court held that because a court can dismiss, under section 14.003, when an inmate files a false affidavit or declaration, the same policy allows a court to dismiss a suit that is filed without the affidavit or declaration. Id.