Medina v. Denver Parole Office et al

Filing 39

ORDER. ORDERED that plaintiff's Prisoners Motion of "Objection" Pursuant to 28 USC.§ 1983 Complaint [Docket No. 33] is OVERRULED. Entered by Judge Philip A. Brimmer on 06/01/15. (jhawk, )

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Judge Philip A. Brimmer
Criminal Case No. 14-cv-03037-PAB-CBS
NICK RAUL MEDINA,
Plaintiff,
v.
DENVER CITY & COUNTY OF DENVER (Denver Parole Office),
P.O. JULIE DAVID,
P.O. GENIE CANNAHAN, and
SUPERVISOR P.O. MATTHEW GOLDBERG,
Defendants.
_____________________________________________________________________
ORDER
_____________________________________________________________________
This matter is before the Court on the Prisoners Motion of “Objection” Pursuant
to 28 USC. § 1983 Complaint [Docket No. 33] filed by plaintiff Nick Raul Medina. In
light of plaintiff’s pro se status, the Court reviews his filings liberally. See Haines v.
Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972); Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 n. 3 (10th Cir.
1991).
The subject of plaintiff’s objection is the magistrate judge’s Order [Docket No. 31]
denying plaintiff’s Motion of Application for Court Appointed Counsel [Docket No. 28].
After reciting the appropriate legal standard for determining whether to appoint counsel
for a pro se civil litigant, the magistrate judge concluded that plaintiff had, thus far,
adequately presented his claims and that plaintiff’s request was premature because it
was not yet clear “that the merits of Mr. Medina’s claims are sufficient for the court to
request that counsel volunteer to represent him.” Docket No. 31 at 2.

Plaintiff objects to the magistrate judge’s ruling on a nondispositive matter.
District courts review magistrate judges’ orders regarding nondispositive motions under
a “clearly erroneous or contrary to law” standard. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A); Fed. R. Civ.
P. 72(a). Under this standard of review, a magistrate judge’s finding should not be
rejected merely because the Court would have decided the matter differently. See
Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 573 (1985). A district court must
affirm a magistrate judge’s decision unless “‘on the entire evidence[, the district court] is
left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.’” Ocelot Oil
Corp. v. Sparrow Indus., 847 F.2d 1458, 1464 (10th Cir. 1988) (quoting United States v.
U.S. Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948)).
Plaintiff argues that he should be appointed counsel because he has m ental
health issues and because this is the first civil case he has litigated as a pro se party.
Docket No. 33 at 1. Upon review of plaintiff’s filings in this case, the Court finds no
clear error in the magistrate judge’s conclusion that plaintiff has adequately presented
his claims in this litigation. Moreover, the magistrate judge appropriately concluded that
it is not yet possible to ascertain the relative merit of plaintiff’s claims so as to determine
whether the appointment of counsel is warranted. See Hill v. Smithkline Beecham
Corp., 393 F.3d 1111, 1115 (10th Cir. 2004). T hus, plaintiff does not provide a
sufficient basis upon which to conclude that the magistrate judge exceeded his
discretion in denying plaintiff’s motion to appoint counsel. See Toevs v. Reid, 685 F.3d
903, 916 (10th Cir. 2012). It is therefore
ORDERED that plaintiff’s Prisoners Motion of “Objection” Pursuant to 28 USC.

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§ 1983 Complaint [Docket No. 33] is OVERRULED.

DATED June 1, 2015.
BY THE COURT:

s/Philip A. Brimmer
PHILIP A. BRIMMER
United States District Judge

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