Decoteau v. Houston et al

Filing 49

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER denying 44 Motion to Appoint Counsel and denying 47 Motion to Appoint Counsel. Plaintiff's unopposed request for a 120-day extension of time 47 is granted. The dates set forth in the progression order entered on Oc tober 8, 2015, are extended by 120 days. The pretrial conference set for April 14, 2016, is cancelled. The final pretrial conference will be held before Magistrate Judge Zwart on August 11, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. by Telephone. Ordered by Judge John M. Gerrard. Mailed to pro se party. (MLF, ) Modified on 12/30/2015 for mailing (MLF, ).

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
CHRISTOPHER L. DECOTEAU,
Plaintiff,
v.
ROBERT HOUSTON, MICHAEL
KENNEY, RANDY KOHL, DIANE
SABAKA RHINE, CHRISTINA
FERGUSON, CHARLES COREN,
and KHRYSTYNA DORITY,
Defendants.

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4:14CV3165

MEMORANDUM
AND ORDER

This matter is before the court on Plaintiff’s requests for the appointment of
counsel and extension of time (Filing Nos. 44 and 47). Upon careful consideration,
IT IS ORDERED that:
1.
Plaintiff’s request for the appointment of counsel is denied without
prejudice to reassertion. 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.
2.
Plaintiff’s unopposed request for a 120-day extension of time is granted.
The dates set forth in the progression order entered on October 8, 2015, are extended
by 120 days. The pretrial conference set for April 14, 2016, is cancelled. The final
pretrial conference will be held before Magistrate Judge Zwart on August 11, 2016,
at 10:00 a.m.

DATED this 30th day of December, 2015.
BY THE COURT:
s/ John M. Gerrard
United States District Judge

*This opinion may contain hyperlinks to other documents or Web sites. The
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