Pimentel v. St. Louis Public Schools

Filing 5

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER : IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion forappointment of counsel 4 is DENIED without prejudice. Signed by Mag Judge Terry I. Adelman on 10/24/08. (KKS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION JOHANNA L. PIMENTEL, Plaintiff, v. ST. LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 4:08-CV-1477-TIA

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter is before the Court upon plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel [Doc. #4]. There is no constitutional or statutory right to

appointed counsel in civil cases.

Nelson v. Redfield Lithograph In determining

Printing, 728 F.2d 1003, 1004 (8th Cir. 1984).

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. Battle v. Armontrout, 902 F.2d 701, 702 (8th Cir. 1990);

Johnson v. Williams, 788 F.2d 1319, 1322-23 (8th Cir. 1986). After considering these factors, the Court finds that the facts and legal issues involved in the instant case are not so complicated that the appointment of counsel is warranted at this

time. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for

appointment of counsel [Doc. #4] is DENIED without prejudice. Dated this 24th day of October, 2008.

/s/ Terry I. Adelman UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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