McCrary et al v. Vincent et al

Filing 7

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel [Doc. 5] and motion to produce documents [Doc. 6] are DENIED, without prejudice. Signed by District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr on 8/27/2015. (JMC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION
JERRY MCCRARY,
Plaintiff,
v.
DARRON HYTE, et al.,
Defendants.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

No. 1:15-CV-136-SNLJ

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Before the Court are plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel [Doc. 5]
and motion to produce documents [Doc. 6]. For the following reasons, both
motions will be denied at this time, without prejudice.
Plaintiff asserts that he cannot afford counsel, he believes defendants will
deny him access to the prison law library, there are “certain documents” the prison
will not provide to plaintiff, and defendants refuse to bring plaintiff “legal material
and cases” from the prison property room. For the following reasons, the motion
will be denied without prejudice.
AA pro se litigant has no statutory or constitutional right to have counsel
appointed in a civil case.@ Stevens v. Redwing, 146 F.3d 538, 546 (8th Cir. 1998).
When determining whether to appoint counsel for an indigent litigant, the Court
considers relevant factors, such as the complexity of the case, the ability of the pro se

litigant to investigate the facts, the existence of conflicting testimony, and the ability
of the pro se litigant to present his or her claim. Id. After considering and
weighing these factors, the Court finds that the appointment of counsel is not
warranted at this time. This case is neither factually nor legally complex, and it
appears that plaintiff is able to present his numerous claims. This is not to say,
however, that plaintiff has properly joined all his claims in one action; this issue will
be considered at a later time, when the Court reviews the amended complaint under
28 U.S.C. § 1915.
Plaintiff’s motion to produce documents is premature, given that the Court
has not yet issued a Case Management Order, and it will be denied as such, also
without prejudice.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for appointment of
counsel [Doc. 5] and motion to produce documents [Doc. 6] are DENIED, without
prejudice.
Dated this 27th day of August, 2015.

________________________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE