Rishard Geter v. Officer Taharra

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 8:07-cv-03849-JMC Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998581181]. Mailed to: Richard Geter. [10-7734]

Appeal: 10-7734

Document: 15

Date Filed: 05/03/2011

Page: 1 of 4

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 10-7734

RISHARD LEWIS GETER,
Plaintiff – Appellant,
v.
OFFICER
Center,

TAHARRA,

Jailer,

Spartanburg

County

Detention

Defendant – Appellee,
and
LARRY POWERS, Warden, Spartanburg County Detention Center;
TERESA
SPELLER,
Captain,
Spartanburg
County
Detention
Center,
Defendants.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Anderson.
J. Michelle Childs, District
Judge. (8:07-cv-03849-JMC)

Submitted:

April 19, 2011

Decided:

Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

May 3, 2011

Appeal: 10-7734

Document: 15

Date Filed: 05/03/2011

Page: 2 of 4

Rishard Lewis Geter, Appellant Pro Se.
Andrew Todd Darwin,
HOLCOMBE, BOMAR, GUNN & BRADFORD, PA, Spartanburg, South
Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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Appeal: 10-7734

Document: 15

Date Filed: 05/03/2011

Page: 3 of 4

PER CURIAM:
Rishard Lewis Geter appeals a jury verdict in his 42
U.S.C.

§ 1983

Spartanburg

(2006)

County

action

against

Detention

Officer

Center.

Taharra

On

of

appeal,

the

Geter

challenges several rulings of the district court and alleges the
ineffectiveness of the attorney appointed to assist him.

We

affirm.
We review evidentiary rulings by the district court
for an abuse of discretion.
302, 325 (4th Cir. 2009).

United States v. Basham, 561 F.3d
An abuse of discretion occurs when

“the district court judge acted arbitrarily or irrationally in
admitting

[or

excluding]

quotation marks omitted).

evidence.”

Id.

at

326

(internal

Having reviewed the informal briefs

of the parties and the record before us, we perceive no such
abuse of discretion in the challenged rulings of the district
court.
Geter

also

challenges

the

effectiveness

of

counsel.

However, there is no right to appointment of counsel in a civil
case, and allegations of appointed counsel’s ineffectiveness are
not sufficient to raise a valid claim for relief on appeal.
Glick

v.

Sanchez v.

Henderson,
United

(5th Cir. 1986).

855

States

F.2d
Postal

536,

541

Serv.,

785

(8th
F.2d

Cir.

See

1988);

1236,

1237

Therefore, these claims entitle Geter to no

relief.
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Appeal: 10-7734

Document: 15

Geter

Date Filed: 05/03/2011

also

alleges

entitles him to a new trial.

that

Page: 4 of 4

he

has

new

evidence

that

However, the material submitted to

the court is not new, and therefore warrants no retrial.

United

States v. Custis, 988 F.2d 1355, 1359 (4th Cir. 1993) (“The
standard for granting a new trial is well established in this
circuit:

[first,]

the

evidence

must

be,

in

fact,

newly

discovered, i.e., discovered since the trial.”).
Geter’s

claims

entitle

him

to

no

relief,

and

we

therefore affirm the judgment of the district court imposed on
the jury verdict.
facts

and

materials

legal
before

We dispense with oral argument because the
contentions

are

adequately

the

and

argument

court

presented

would

not

in

the

aid

the

decisional process.
AFFIRMED

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