Hernandez v. U.S. Marshal Service

Full title: JACKIE HERNANDEZ, Plaintiff, v. U.S. MARSHAL SERVICE, et al., Defendants

Court: United States District Court, N.D. Indiana, Hammond Division

Date published: Jan 15, 2008

CAUSE NO. 2:07-CV-279-TLS (N.D. Ind. Jan. 15, 2008)

Opinion

CAUSE NO. 2:07-CV-279-TLS.

January 15, 2008

OPINION AND ORDER

PAUL CHERRY, Magistrate Judge

This case is before the Court on Plaintiff Jackie Hernandez's Motion for Appointment of Counsel [DE 20], filed on November 15, 2007.

When confronted with a request under § 1915(e)(1) for pro bono counsel, the district court is to make the following inquiries: (1) has the indigent plaintiff made a reasonable attempt to obtain counsel or been effectively precluded from doing so; and if so, (2) given the difficulty of the case, does the plaintiff appear competent to litigate it himself?

Pruitt v. Mote, 503 F.3d 647, 654 (7th Cir. 2007) (en banc). Hernandez does not state that he has tried to obtain counsel on his own. Accordingly, the Court must deny this motion. See Jackson v. County of McLean, 953 F.2d 1070, 1073 (7th Cir. 1992); Castor v. United States, 883 F. Supp. 344, 346 (S.D. Ind. 1995) (holding that court must deny "out of hand" a request for counsel made without a reasonable effort to secure counsel). The Plaintiff may renew his motion upon making a showing of such diligence.

SO ORDERED.