Yang v. Missouri Department of Corrections et al

Filing 33

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel [Doc. #15] is DENIED. Signed by District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr on 4/18/2013. (JMC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION
RICHARD YANG,
Plaintiff,
v.
MISSOURI DEPT. OF CORR., et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 1:12CV92 SNLJ

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on plaintiff’s motion for appointment of
counsel. The motion will be denied.
There is no constitutional or statutory right to appointed counsel in civil cases.
Nelson v. Redfield Lithograph Printing, 728 F.2d 1003, 1004 (8th Cir. 1984). In
determining whether to appoint counsel, the Court considers several factors,
including (1) whether the plaintiff has presented non-frivolous allegations supporting
his or her prayer for relief; (2) whether the plaintiff will substantially benefit from the
appointment of counsel; (3) whether there is a need to further investigate and present
the facts related to the plaintiff’s allegations; and (4) whether the factual and legal
issues presented by the action are complex. See Johnson v. Williams, 788 F.2d 1319,
1322-23 (8th Cir. 1986); Nelson, 728 F.2d at 1005.

After considering these factors, the Court finds that the facts and legal issues
involved in this civil rights litigation are not so complicated that the appointment of
counsel is warranted at this time. Moreover, plaintiff has filed a multitude of
pleadings before this Court that have so far been thoughtful and articulate. Despite
his assertions to the contrary, he appears fully competent to litigate his case at this
time. Last, it does not appear that discovery will be complex in nature nor include
complex outside investigations.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for appointment of
counsel [Doc. #15] is DENIED.
Dated this 18th day of April, 2013.

STEPHEN N. LIMBAUGH, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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