Scott v. Nwaobasi et al

Filing 8

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER re: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Appointment of Counsel 6 is DENIED without prejudice.. Signed by District Judge John A. Ross on 10/31/16. (KKS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
JAMES M. SCOTT,
Plaintiff,
v.
DR. UNKNOWN NWAOBASI, et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 4:16CV966 JAR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court upon the motion of Plaintiff James M. Scott for the
appointment of counsel (Doc. No. 6. After review of the record in this matter, the Court declines
to appoint counsel to Plaintiff at this time. There is no constitutional or statutory right to
appointed counsel in civil cases. Ward v. Smith, 732 F.3d 940, 942 (8th Cir. 2013); 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 nonfrivolous 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. After considering these factors, the
Court finds the facts and legal issues involved in this action are not so complicated that the
appointment of counsel is warranted at this time. As such, Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of
counsel will be denied, without prejudice.
Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel [6] is
DENIED without prejudice.
Dated this 31st day of October, 2016.

JOHN A. ROSS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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