Allen v. Mills et al

Filing 52

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER : IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel [ECF #46] is DENIED without prejudice. Signed by District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr on 4/19/2018. (JMC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION
RONNIE ALLEN,

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Plaintiff,
v.
JOHN MILLS, et al.
Defendant.

Case No. 1:16CV00026 SNLJ

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel,
[ECF 46].

For the following reasons, the motion will be denied.

“There is no constitutional or statutory right to appointed counsel in civil cases.”
Phillips v. Jasper County Jail, 437 F.3d 791, 794 (8th Cir. 2006) (internal citation
omitted).

“Rather, when an indigent prisoner has pleaded a nonfrivolous cause of

action, a court may appoint counsel.” Id.

“The relevant criteria for determining whether

counsel should be appointed include the factual complexity of the issues, the ability of
the indigent person to investigate the facts, the existence of conflicting testimony, the
ability of the indigent person to present the claims, and the complexity of the legal
arguments.” Id.
After considering these factors, this Court finds that the factual and legal issues are
not complex, plaintiff has the ability to use written discovery to investigate his case, and
plaintiff’s pleadings indicate his ability to state his claims and legal arguments. The Court
finds, therefore, that the appointment of counsel is not warranted at this time. The Court

will continue to monitor the progress of this case, and if it appears to this Court that the
need arises for counsel to be appointed, the Court will do so.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel
[ECF #46] is DENIED without prejudice.
Dated this 19th day of April, 2018.

STEPHEN N. LIMBAUGH, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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