Burress v. Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center

Filing 18

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION 13 , denying motion to appoint counsel 16 and granting motion for extension of time 17 . Plaintiff shall file an amended complaint on or before October 2, 2015. Signed by Honorable David L. Russell on 08/21/2015. (md)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
GABRIEL BURRESS,
Plaintiff,
v.
POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY
PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. CIV-15-439-R

ORDER
Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging “civil rights violations” and seeking “[e]ach
charge on [his] record to be overturned and [r]emoved from [his] record as well as
[f]inancial compensation for the time in jail/prison, [m]ental stress, and lost wages w/loss
of [j]ob opportunity.” Doc. No. 1, at 6, Ex. 1, at 1. Before the Court is the Report and
Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Shon T. Erwin, Doc. No. 13,
Plaintiff’s motion to appoint counsel, Doc. No. 16, and Plaintiff’s motion for an
extension of time to respond, Doc. No. 17. The motion to appoint counsel is DENIED.1
Judge Erwin recommends dismissing the complaint for failure to comply with Rule 8,
and giving Plaintiff twenty days to file an amended complaint. Doc. No. 13, at 6. Plaintiff
states in his motion for an extension of time that he is “seeking to [a]mend the complaint,
yet need[s] money to pay for copies to review specific given info as to the detail of the

1

See Swazo v. Wyoming Dep’t of Corr. State Penitentiary Warden, 23 F.3d 332, 333 (10th Cir. 1994)
(“We agree with the district court to the extent that there is no constitutional right to counsel beyond the
appeal of a criminal conviction, and that generally appointment of counsel in a § 2254 proceeding is left
to the court’s discretion.” (citations omitted)).

[a]mendment.” Doc. No. 17, at 1.2 The undersigned has reviewed the Report and
Recommendation and finds no basis therein for rejecting the well-reasoned decision of
the Magistrate Judge. As such, the Report and Recommendation is hereby ADOPTED,
with the following changes. Plaintiff’s motion for an extension of time is GRANTED; he
shall have until Friday, October 2, 2015 to file an amended complaint that corrects the
deficiencies noted in the Report and Recommendation. If Plaintiff does not file an
amended complaint by that date, his complaint will be dismissed for failure to comply
with the pleading requirements of Rule 8.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 21st day of August, 2015.

2

Because Plaintiff seeks to file an amended complaint and acknowledges in his motion “the [f]aultiness
of [his] record,” Doc. No. 17, the Court construes Plaintiff’s motion as a request for an extension of time
to file an amended complaint, not as a request for an extension of time to object to the Report and
Recommendation.
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