Spears v. Greenwell et al

Filing 15

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs motion for appointment of counsel is DENIED without prejudice. Signed by District Judge John A. Ross on 9/22/2015. (JMC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION

GEOFFREY DONALD SPEARS, SR.,
Plaintiff,

TOMMY GREENWELL, et al.,
Defendants,

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No. 1:15CV147 JAR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Plaintiff moves for appointment of counsel.

After considering the motion and the

pleadings, the motion is denied without prejudice to refiling at a later time.
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 plaintiffs 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.
Plaintiff has presented non-frivolous allegations m his complaint and, he has
demonstrated, at this point, that he can adequately present his claims to the Court. Additionally,
neither the factual nor the legal issues in this case are complex. He presents a straightforward
claim under the Fourth Amendment for a simple unreasonable search and seizure. If
circumstances change the Court will consider a future motion for appointment of counsel.

Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs motion for appointment of counsel is
DENIED without prejudice.
Dated this 22nd day of September, 2015.

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