Wiggins v. Vega et al
Filing
25
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER: re: 3 APPLICATION for the Court to Request Counsel filed by Reginald Cletis Wiggins. The plaintiffs application for the Court to appoint counsel is therefore denied without prejudice for failure to make the required showing at this time. The Clerk is directed to close Docket No. 3. (Signed by Judge John G. Koeltl on 10/16/2013) (rsh)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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REGINALD CLETIS WIGGINS,
13 Civ. 2037 (JGK)
Plaintiff,
MEMORANDUM OPINION
AND ORDER
- against DETECTIVE VEGA, ET AL.,
Defendants.
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JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge:
The plaintiff’s application to appoint counsel is denied
without prejudice for failure to make the required showing.
The
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has articulated factors
that should guide the Court’s discretion to appoint counsel to
represent an indigent civil litigant under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
See Hodge v. Police Officers, 802 F.2d 58, 61-62 (2d Cir. 1986);
Jackson v. Moscicki, No. 99 Civ. 2427, 2000 WL 511642, at *4
(S.D.N.Y. Apr. 27, 2000).
For the Court to order the
appointment of counsel, the plaintiff must, as a threshold
matter, demonstrate that the claim has substance or a likelihood
of success on the merits.
See Hodge, 802 F.2d at 60-61.
Only
then can the Court consider the other factors appropriate to
determination of whether counsel should be appointed:
“plaintiff’s ability to obtain representation independently, and
[her] ability to handle the case without assistance in the light
1
of the required factual investigation, the complexity of the
legal issues, and the need for expertly conducted crossexamination to test veracity.”
Cooper v. A. Sargenti Co., Inc.,
877 F.2d 170, 172 (2d Cir. 1989).
such a showing.
The plaintiff has not made
The plaintiff’s application for the Court to
appoint counsel is therefore denied without prejudice for
failure to make the required showing at this time.
The Clerk is
directed to close Docket No. 3.
SO ORDERED.
Dated:
New York, New York
October 16, 2013
_____________/s/_____________
John G. Koeltl
United States District Judge
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