Opinion
Case No. 2:14-cv-00077-JMS-DKL
04-11-2014
DWAYNE DAVIS, JR., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, TUSSY Lieutenant, D. MEYER Lieutenant, BARKER Lieutenant, Defendants.
Entry Discussing Filing Fee and Request for Appointment of Counsel
I.
The plaintiff=s motion to proceed in forma pauperis [dkt. 2] is granted. The plaintiff is assessed an initial partial filing fee of Ten Dollars and Eighty-Three Cents ($10.83). He shall have through May 6, 2014, in which to pay this sum to the clerk of the district court.
II.
Litigants requesting that counsel be recruited must show as a threshold matter that they made a reasonable attempt to secure private counsel. Gil v. Reed, 381 F.3d 649, 656 (7th Cir. 2004); Zarnes v. Rhodes, 64 F.3d 285, 288 (7th Cir. 1995). The court must deny "out of hand" a request for counsel made without a showing of such effort. Farmer v. Haas, 990 F.2d 319, 321 (7th Cir. 1993). The plaintiff's motion for the appointment of counsel lacks sufficient information to determine whether plaintiff has made a reasonable attempt to recruit counsel on his own. The plaintiff should continue his efforts, and if he chooses to renew his request for the appointment of counsel (after the initial partial filing fee has been paid, the complaint has been screened, and the defendants have been served), he shall provide the court with a list of the names of organizations and/or law firms he has contacted. See Kadamovas v. Stevens, 706 F.3d 843, 845 (7th Cir. 2013) (finding that "until the defendants respond to the complaint, the plaintiff's need for assistance of counsel . . . cannot be gauged."). For the present, the plaintiff's motion for the appointment of counsel [dkt. 3] is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
______________________
Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana
Distribution: DWAYNE DAVIS, JR.
32497160
CANAAN - USP
CANAAN U.S. PENITENTIARY
Inmate Mail/Parcels
P.O. BOX 300
WAYMART, PA 18472