Johnson, Maurice v. Larson-Smith, Karen et al

Filing 50

ORDER that the clerk's office enter Megan Senatori, Deborah Meiners and Laura Davis of the law firm of DeWitt Ross & Stevens as plaintiff's pro bono counsel of record and to set this case for a scheduling conference in July 2015, as the court's schedule allows. Signed by District Judge William M. Conley on 6/17/2015. (jef),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

MAURICE JOHNSON,
ORDER
Plaintiff,
v.

l 3-cv-309-wmc
DR. KAREN LARSON-SMITH, DR. FRODIN,
DR. NICHOLAS BUHR, DR. HARRIS,
DR. DAWN LAURENT, DR. DAHLIA SULIENE,
and KAREN ANDERSON,
Defendants.
Plaintiff Maurice Johnson filed this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983,
alleging that the above named staff members at New Lisbon Correctional Institution and
Columbia Correctional Institution were deliberately indifferent to his mental health
needs and placed him in a filthy, cold cell for two weeks. At plaintiffs request, the court
recruited counsel Megan Senatori, Deborah Meiners and Laura Davis of the law firm of
DeWitt Ross & Stevens in Madison, Wisconsin, to represent him pro bono for the
remainder of this civil action. See 2 8 U.S. C. § 1915 (e )(I) ("The court may request an
attorney to represent any person unable to afford counsel."); Pruitt v. Mote, 503 F.3d
647, 653-54 (7th Cir. 2007) (en bane) (noting that § l 915(e)(l) confers, at most,
discretion "to recruit a lawyer to represent an indigent civil litigant pro bono publico").
Accordingly, the court will enter her appearance as plaintiff's pro bono counsel for the
record.
The next step is for the court to hold a scheduling conference to reset the schedule
in this case. Plaintiffs counsel should contact the Wisconsin Department of Corrections

for purposes of consulting with plaintiff in the preparation of his case whether by phone
and/or in person. So that counsel will have sufficient time to consult with plaintiff in
advance of a preliminary pretrial conference, the clerk's office will be directed to set that
conference in July 2015, as the court's schedule allows.
Finally, plaintiff should appreciate that his counsel took on this representation out
of a sense of professional responsibility, which includes representing zealously those
clients they take on. Now that he is represented by counsel, plaintiff is advised that in
return for representation plaintiff, too, has taken on a responsibility. For example, all
future communications with the court must be through his attorney of record. Plaintiff
must also work directly and cooperatively with his attorney, as well as those working at
her direction, and must permit them to exercise their professional judgment to determine
which matters are appropriate to bring to the court's attention and in what form.
Plaintiff does not have the right to require counsel to raise frivolous arguments or to
follow every directive he makes. On the contrary, plaintiff should expect his counsel to
tell him what he needs to hear, rather than what he might prefer to hear, and understand
that the rules of professional conduct may preclude counsel from taking certain actions or
permitting plaintiff from doing so.
If plaintiff decides at some point that he does not wish to work with his lawyers,

he is free to alert the court and end their representation, but he should be aware that it is
highly unlikely that the court will recruit a second set of attorneys to represent him.

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ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that the clerk's office enter Megan Senatori, Deborah Meiners
and Laura Davis of the law firm of DeWitt Ross & Stevens as plaintiff's pro bono counsel
of record and to set this case for a scheduling conference in July 2015, as the court's
schedule allows.
Entered this 17th day of June, 2015.

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