Cabibi v. USA

Filing 10

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER denying 2 Motion to Appoint Counsel; denying 8 Motion to Appoint Counsel. Signed by Judge David Nuffer on 4/20/15 (alt)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH, CENTRAL DIVISION
TROY CABIBI,
Plaintiff,

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER
DENYING MOTION TO APPOINT
COUNSEL

v.
Case No. 2:13-cv-00006-DN
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
District Judge David Nuffer
Defendant.
Troy Cabibi filed two motions to appoint counsel in this civil case—one in January 2013 1
and another in May 2013. 2 For the reasons outlined below, both motions are DENIED.
As a civil litigant, Mr. Cabibi has no constitutional right to counsel. 3 However, under 28
U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), a court has discretion to appoint counsel for indigent parties. When
deciding whether to appoint counsel, the court considers several factors, “including ‘the merits of
the litigant’s claims, the nature of the factual issues raised in the claims, the litigant’s ability to
present his claims, and the complexity of the legal issues raised by the claims.’” 4 “The burden is
upon the applicant to convince the court that there is sufficient merit to his claim to warrant the
appointment of counsel.” 5 As a pro se litigant, Mr. Cabibi’s arguments are liberally construed. 6
After considering the factors listed above and construing Mr. Cabibi’s arguments
liberally, the court finds that (1) it is doubtful that Mr. Cabibi’s claims have merit; (2) there are
1

Motion for Appointment of Counsel, docket no. 2, filed January 3, 2013.

2

Motion for Appointment of Council [sic], docket no. 8, filed May 7, 2013.

3

See Carper v. DeLand, 54 F.3d 613, 616-17 (10th Cir. 1995).

4

Rucks v. Boergermann, 57 F.3d 978, 979 (10th Cir. 1995) (quoting Williams v. Meese, 926 F.2d 994, 996 (10th
Cir. 1991)).
5

McCarthy v. Weinberg, 753 F.2d 836, 838 (10th Cir. 1985).

6

United States v. Viera, 674 F.3d 1214, 1216 n. 1 (10th Cir. 2012).

no unusually complex legal or factual issues; and (3) Mr. Cabibi is not currently incapacitated or
otherwise unable to present his claims. Therefore, Mr. Cabibi’s motions for appointed counsel
are denied.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Mr. Cabibi’s Motions for Appointment of Counsel 7 are
DENIED.
Dated April 20, 2015.
BY THE COURT:
____________________________
David Nuffer
United States District Judge

7

Docket no. 2, filed January 3, 2013; docket no. 8, filed May 7, 2013.

2