Harrison v. Sachse et al

Filing 23

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER...IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel [Doc. # 15 ] is DENIED without prejudice. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiffs request for court order relative to his inmate funds [Doc. # 14 ] is DENIED without prejudice, with leave to refile with a copy of his inmate account statement. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff shall pay an initial filing fee of $1.73 within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order. Plaintiff is instructe d to make his remittance payable to Clerk, United States District Court, and to include upon it: (1) his name; (2) his prison registration number; (3) the case number; and (4) that the remittance is for an original proceeding. IT IS FURTHER ORDER ED that if plaintiff fails to pay the initial partial filing fee within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order, then this case will be dismissed without prejudice. ( Initial Partial Filing Fee due by 9/25/2015.) Signed by District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on 8/26/2015. (NEB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
KEVIN L. HARRISON,
Plaintiff,
v.
JENNIFER SACHSE, et al.,
Defendants,

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

No. 4:15CV631 AGF

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Before the Court is plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel, as well as his request
for a Court order relating to his inmate account. The Court will address each of plaintiff’s
requests in turn.
Plaintiff, an inmate at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center (“MECC”), brings this action
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that defendant correctional officers Hawthorn and Gall
subjected him to excessive force in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Plaintiff also asserts
that Dr. Williams and the correctional defendants were deliberately indifferent to his serious
medical needs, also in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
In plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel, he states that he has made diligent
efforts to retain counsel but because of his poverty, he has been unable to do so. The Court
acknowledges that plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis in this matter, and that plaintiff is
incarcerated and has limited access to legal materials in prison. However, 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.
Although plaintiff has presented non-frivolous allegations in his complaint, 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 at this juncture in this case. As
such, the Court will not appoint counsel at this time. Plaintiff’s motion for counsel will be
denied, without prejudice.
Plaintiff seeks an order from this Court relating to funds taken from his inmate account
for a “fan.” He asserts that $2.50 was taken from his account for a fan that was never provided
to him and as a result of this deduction from his account he has been unable to pay the initial
partial filing fee of $1.73 in this case. Plaintiff has not provided the Court with an updated
account statement in this case to illustrate the aforementioned. Without a copy of the account
statement, the Court cannot proceed with plaintiff’s request to either reduce his partial filing fee
or seek action from the Missouri Department of Corrections relative to the deduction for the fan
plaintiff states he never received. As such, plaintiff’s request for court order will be denied,
without prejudice, with leave for plaintiff to refile his request with the accompanying account
statement.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel [Doc.
#15] is DENIED without prejudice.

2

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff’s request for court order relative to his
inmate funds [Doc. #14] is DENIED without prejudice, with leave to refile with a copy of his
inmate account statement.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff shall pay an initial filing fee of $1.73 within
thirty (30) days of the date of this Order. Plaintiff is instructed to make his remittance payable to
“Clerk, United States District Court,” and to include upon it: (1) his name; (2) his prison
registration number; (3) the case number; and (4) that the remittance is for an original
proceeding.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if plaintiff fails to pay the initial partial filing fee
within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order, then this case will be dismissed without
prejudice.
Dated this 26th day of August, 2015.

AUDREY G. FLEISSIG
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

3