JENKINS v. KNIGHT et al

Filing 19

ENTRY - Plaintiff's 18 Motion to Rule on Motion to Appoint Counsel is DENIED AS MOOT because the plaintiff's motion to appoint counsel filed on January 16, 2013, was denied in the Entry of January 29, 2013. Signed by Judge Tanya Walton Pratt on 5/20/2013. Copy Mailed. (JD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION
MARK JENKINS,
Plaintiff,
v.
SUPERINTENDENT WENDY
KNIGHT, et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 1:13-cv-0099-TWP-MJD

ENTRY
The plaintiff’s motion to rule on motion to appoint counsel [Dkt. 18] is denied as moot
because the plaintiff’s motion to appoint counsel filed on January 16, 2013, was denied in the
Entry of January 29, 2013.
To the extent the plaintiff renews his motion for the appointment of counsel, he is
informed that a litigant requesting that counsel be recruited must show as a threshold matter that
he made a reasonable attempt to secure private counsel. Gil v. Reed, 381 F.3d 649, 656 (7th Cir.
2004); Zarnes v. Rhodes, 64 F.3d 285, 288 (7th Cir. 1995). The court must deny "out of hand" a
request for counsel made without a showing of such effort. Farmer v. Haas, 990 F.2d 319, 321
(7th Cir. 1993). The plaintiff’s motion for the appointment of counsel alleges that he sent letters
to five lawyers. A sampling as small as this does not constitute a reasonable effort to retain
counsel. Accordingly, the plaintiff’s renewed motion for the appointment of counsel [Dkt. 18]
must be denied for this reason as well.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

05/20/2013
Date: __________________

________________________
Hon. Tanya Walton Pratt, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana

Distribution:
Mark Jenkins
#963737
Correctional Industrial Facility
Inmate Mail/Parcels
5124 West Reformatory Rd.
Pendleton, IN 46064
All electronically registered counsel