Calhoun v. Corizon Correctional Health Care et al

Filing 34

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER. (see order for details) IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel [ECF No. 25 ] is DENIED without prejudice. Signed by District Judge Catherine D. Perry on 12/19/2014. (CBL)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
NORTHERN DIVISION
MAJOR CALHOUN,
Plaintiff,
v.
CORIZON CORRECTIONAL HEALTH
CARE,
Defendants.

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No. 2:14CV88 CDP

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before me on plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel. The motion is
denied without prejudice.
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.
Having considered these factors, I will deny the motion for now. Plaintiff requests
counsel on the basis that the Clerk sent him a letter directing him to submit the addresses of two
Corizon employees. He believes that if he asks prison officials for the addresses of these
persons, he will be sent to administrative segregation. The letter was sent by mistake, and the
Court has obtained the addresses of these Corizon employees on its own.

Moreover, the complaint is well pleaded, and the factual and legal issues in this case are
not so complex that the appointment of counsel is warranted at this time.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel [ECF
No. 25] is DENIED without prejudice.
Dated this 19th day of December, 2014.

CATHERINE D. PERRY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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