Chapman v. Douglas County Official's et al

Filing 67

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER - Plaintiff's Motion to Appoint Counsel (Filing No. 62 ) is denied without prejudice. Ordered by Senior Judge Richard G. Kopf. (Copy mailed to pro se party)(AOA)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
BILLIE JOE CHAPMAN, Mentally
Handicapped,
Plaintiff,
v.
CHRIS ANDERSON, et al.,
Defendants.

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8:12CV370

MEMORANDUM
AND ORDER

Plaintiff has filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel. (Filing No. 62.)
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. (quotation and citation
omitted). No such benefit is apparent here. Thus, the request for the appointment of
counsel is denied without prejudice to reassertion.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that: Plaintiff’s Motion to Appoint Counsel
(Filing No. 62) is denied without prejudice.
DATED this 17th day of April, 2014.
BY THE COURT:
Richard G. Kopf
Senior United States District Judge
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