Cavanaugh v. Hall County Department of Corrections

Filing 38

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER - IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that: Plaintiff's Motion to Appoint Counsel (Filing No. 33 ) is denied without prejudice. Plaintiff's Motion for Hearing/Order (Filing No. 35 ) is denied. Plaintiff's discovery-related motions (Filing Nos. 34 and 37 ) will remain pending until after Defendants have had an opportunity to respond to them. Ordered by Senior Judge Joseph F. Bataillon. (Copy mailed to pro se party)(TCL )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
STEPHEN CAVANAUGH,
Plaintiff,
v.
HALL COUNTY DEPARTMENT
OF CORRECTIONS, RUIZ,
Director, VAN, Assistant Director,
SPAR, Sgt, CASTLEBERRY, Sgt,
CONNELLY, Sgt, and REI, Sgt,
Defendants.

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4:14CV3062

MEMORANDUM
AND ORDER

This matter is before the court on Stephen Cavanaugh’s Motion to Appoint
Counsel (Filing No. 33) and Motion for Hearing/Order (Filing No. 35). The court
cannot routinely appoint counsel in civil cases. In Davis v. Scott, 94 F.3d 444, 447 (8th
Cir. 1996), the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals explained that “[i]ndigent civil litigants
do not have a constitutional or statutory right to appointed counsel. The trial court has
broad discretion to decide whether both the plaintiff and the court will benefit from the
appointment of counsel[.]” Id. (internal citation and quotation marks omitted). No such
benefit is apparent here at this time. Thus, the request for the appointment of counsel
will be denied without prejudice to reassertion.
The court will also deny Plaintiff’s Motion for Hearing/Order. The court denied
Plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction on February 18, 2015. (See Filing No.
31.) Therefore, a hearing on the request for a preliminary injunction is unnecessary.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that:
1.
prejudice.

Plaintiff’s Motion to Appoint Counsel (Filing No. 33) is denied without

2.

Plaintiff’s Motion for Hearing/Order (Filing No. 35) is denied.

3.
Plaintiff’s discovery-related motions (Filing Nos. 34 and 37) will remain
pending until after Defendants have had an opportunity to respond to them.
DATED this 2nd day of March, 2015.
BY THE COURT:

s/ Joseph F. Bataillon
Senior United States District Judge

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of Nebraska does not endorse, recommend, approve, or guarantee any third parties or the services or products they
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