Alexander v. Hoffman et al

Filing 76

ORDER Conditionally Appointing Counsel, Denying without prejudice 75 MOTION for Trial Date and Case Management Order and Staying Case. Signed by District Judge Terrence G. Berg. (AChu)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION

D’ANDRE M. ALEXANDER,
Plaintiff,

4:16-cv-12069

Hon. Terrence G. Berg

v.
ANN HOFFMAN, et al.
Defendants.

ORDER CONDITIONALLY
APPOINTING COUNSEL,
DENYING WITHOUT
PREJUDICE MOTION FOR
TRIAL DATE AND CASE
MANAGEMENT ORDER, AND
STAYING CASE

Plaintiff D’Andre M. Alexander, presently in the custody of the
Michigan Department of Corrections, filed this pro se civil rights lawsuit
against several members of the Saginaw Correctional Facility staff on
June 6, 2016. In the aftermath of extensive motion practice, Plaintiff’s
case has been narrowed to two remaining claims: (1) that Defendant Ann
Hoffman falsified a misconduct report in retaliation for prior grievances
filed by Plaintiff; and (2) that Defendant Scotty Freed refused to provide
evidence Plaintiff requested to build his defense against a misconduct
charge in prison. On March 25, 2019, the Honorable Mona K. Majzoub,

who primarily handled pretrial matters in this case, certified that
pretrial proceedings are now complete. And on April 1, 2019, Plaintiff
asked the Court to set this case for trial and issue a case management
order. See ECF No 75.
The Court agrees that this case is ripe for trial but finds that
Plaintiff, as well as the Court, would be well served by appointing an
attorney to assist Plaintiff in litigating these remaining claims. Unlike in
criminal cases, there is no constitutional or statutory right to the
appointment of counsel in civil cases. See Lavado v. Keohane, 992 F.2d
601, 605–06 (6th Cir. 1993). Our Court, however, has a procedure by
which judges may refer cases to a Pro Bono Committee that will identify
members of the bar willing to assist in pro se cases where appointing
counsel would be beneficial. Here, the Court finds that appointing
counsel would be beneficial in assisting the Plaintiff and the factfinder in
adjudicating this matter in an efficient and just manner. Accordingly, the
Court will conditionally grant Plaintiff appointment of counsel, provided
that the Pro Bono Committee is able to successfully identify an attorney
to assist Plaintiff. If the Committee is unable to assign counsel, counsel

2

will not be appointed, and Plaintiff may proceed pro se or retain counsel
at his own expense.
CONCLUSION
It is ORDERED that this case is REFERRED to the Eastern
District of Michigan’s Pro Bono Committee, which is directed to respond
to this Order within 60 days as to whether it has identified an attorney
to handle this case. It is further ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for a
trial date and case management order (ECF No. 75) is DENIED
WITHOUT PREJUDICE and may be refiled once the Court determines
whether the Pro Bono Committee has been able to assign Plaintiff
counsel. In the interim, and until such as time as the Pro Bono
Committee either appoints counsel or determines that counsel cannot be
appointed, this case is STAYED.

SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 19, 2019

s/Terrence G. Berg
TERRENCE G. BERG
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

3