Harris, Lowmorreo v. Jaeger, Jeff et al.

Filing 169

ORDER denying 161 Motion for Assistance in Recruiting Counsel; granting in part and denying in part 168 Motion for Issuance of Subpoenas. Signed by District Judge William M. Conley on 6/21/2017. (jef),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
LOWMORREO HARRIS, SR.,
Plaintiff,

ORDER

v.
14-cv-047-wmc
CHARLES DEVENDORF and
AMANDA WATERMAN,
Defendants.

This matter is set for trial on Monday, June 26, 2016. Plaintiff Lowmorreo Harris will be
representing himself at trial. A telephonic status conference was held today, June 21, 2016, at which
the court and parties discussed several outstanding issues relevant to trial, including plaintiff’s failure
to identify timely (and difficulty in locating) witnesses for trial, voir dire, jury instructions, the court’s
ruling on motions in limine, exhibits and housekeeping matters. In addition, plaintiff recently filed
three motions that were addressed at the conference, but have not yet been formally ruled upon: (1)
a motion for appointment of counsel, based primarily on plaintiff’s inability to locate witnesses (dkt.
#161); (2) a letter objecting to this court’s previous denial of counsel and reiterating plaintiff’s
difficulty in locating witnesses (dkt. #162); and (3) a motion for issuance of subpoenas for Michael
Jackson, Peter Sirianni, Sergeant Koran and Brian Ingenthron (dkt. #168). Each of these motions
were ruled on orally at today’s conference, and the court does so again formally in this order.
As this court has explained, plaintiff has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to advocate for
himself in this case. During today’s status conference, plaintiff again showed a clear understanding of
the relevant facts and legal principles, presented coherent and sometimes persuasive arguments, was
able to follow and participate in discussion of the issues, and confirmed his ability to represent himself
at trial. Although challenging, the court is, therefore, persuaded that plaintiff is more than capable of
representing himself.

Additionally, although he failed to identify them timely under Rule 26 and in pretrial filings,
the court has made efforts to locate those witnesses for whom plaintiff recently requested subpoenas.
Specifically, the court located plaintiff’s principal witness, Michael Jackson, who is currently
incarcerated in Racine County Jail, and issued a writ to ensure his appearance at trial on Monday.
The court has been unable to locate Peter Sirianni, due to plaintiff’s misspelling of his name, but will
again attempt to locate him now that that his correct name and DOC number has been determined.
The court also directed defense counsel to attempt to arrange for DOC Sergeant Koran to be available
via video conference to testify in plaintiff’s case, although advised after the conference that Koran is
now retired. Given the untimeliness of plaintiff’s subpoena request and the limited relevance of his
testimony, however, the court will not issue a subpoena for Sgt. Koran’s physical presence at trial.
Finally, the court will not issue a subpoena for Mr. Ingenthron because plaintiff failed to explain how
Mr. Ingenthron’s testimony would be relevant to the claims remaining in the case, even if timely
disclosed.
Accordingly, plaintiff’s renewed requests for counsel and for issuance of subpoenas are ruled
upon as follows.
ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff Lowmorreo Harris’s motions for appointment of counsel (dkt.
#161, 162) are DENIED and motion for issuance of subpoenas (dkt. #168) is GRANTED in part
and DENIED in part as set forth above.
Entered this 21st day of June, 2017.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
WILLIAM M. CONLEY
District Judge

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