Small v. State of Colorado et al

Filing 49

ORDER denying without prejudice 44 plaintiff's Request for court appointed counsel and granting 46 plaintiff's Requested copy of plaintiff withdrawn summary judgement to the extent that the Clerk of Court will provide the plaintiff with a copy of his withdrawn motion for summary judgment (Docket No. 30 ) if plaintiff remits payment for such copy. By Magistrate Judge Michael J. Watanabe on 6/1/12.(mjgsl, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Civil Action No. 11-cv-02337-REB-MJW
TYRON DUANTE SMALL,
Plaintiff(s),
v.
JOHN DOE DETECTIVE ONE, and
JOHN DOE OFFICER TWO,
Defendant(s).
MINUTE ORDER
Entered by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Watanabe
It is hereby ORDERED that the plaintiff’s Request for court appointed counsel for
plaintiff (Docket No. 44) is denied without prejudice. Counsel cannot be appointed and
paid pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), but the court has broad discretion to direct the
Clerk of Court to attempt to obtain volunteer counsel for a party in a civil case. See
Murphy v. Colorado Dept. of Corrections, 2009 WL 2959205 (D. Colo. Sept. 10, 2009)
(citing DiCesare v. Stuart, 12 F.3d 973, 979 (10th Cir. 1993)). When making such a
decision, the court “should consider a variety of factors, including the merits of the
litigant’s claims, the nature of the factual issues raised in the claims, the litigant’s ability
to present his claims, and the complexity of the legal issues raised by the claims.” Long
v. Shillinger, 927 F.2d 525, 527 (10th Cir. 1991). Having considered the current
record in this case, the court finds that, even assuming the plaintiff has a colorable
claim, he currently appears to be able to present his case adequately. The factual
and legal issues raised are not so numerous or complex that the plaintiff is unable
to present his case adequately at this stage of the litigation.
It is further ORDERED that the plaintiff’s Requested copy of plaintiff withdrawn
summary judgement (Docket No. 46) is granted to the extent that the Clerk of Court will
provide the plaintiff with a copy of his withdrawn motion for summary judgment (Docket
No. 30) if plaintiff remits payment for such copy. The Fee Schedule for this court
requires payment in the amount of $.50 per page. The plaintiff’s withdrawn motion for
summary judgment (Docket No. 30), including exhibits, is 24 pages long. Therefore,
plaintiff must submit payment in the amount of $12.00 to the Clerk of Court in order to
obtain a copy of his withdrawn motion (Docket No. 30).
Date: June 1, 2012