Clarence R. Sanks v. Michael Williams

402 F. App'x 409
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedOctober 22, 2010
Docket09-13744
StatusUnpublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 402 F. App'x 409 (Clarence R. Sanks v. Michael Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clarence R. Sanks v. Michael Williams, 402 F. App'x 409 (11th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Appellant Clarence Sanks, pro se, appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Michael Williams, a correctional facility officer, in Sanks’s civil rights suit brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Sanks’s § 1983 complaint arose from an excessive force claim against Williams as a result of an altercation at Coastal State Prison. On appeal, Sanks argues that he was entitled to the appointment of both district court and appellate counsel. Sanks also argues that Williams *411 used excessive force during the altercation, subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights. Additionally, Sanks contends that he was denied his Fourteenth Amendment rights because the prison authorities did not conduct a disciplinary hearing regarding the incident. Lastly, Sanks argues that Williams acted in bad faith by not sending discovery documents to Sanks, who had lost pertinent documents related to his litigation.

As an initial matter, Sanks claims that his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights were violated when authorities put him in isolation without a hearing. Because Sanks raises this issue for the first time on appeal, we will not address this claim. See Access Notv, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines Co., 385 F.3d 1324, 1330 (11th Cir.2004).

I.

A district court’s appointment of counsel in civil cases is warranted only in exceptional circumstances. Steele v. Shah, 87 F.3d 1266, 1271 (11th Cir.1996). The district court has broad discretion in making the determination and we review a denial of appointment of counsel for abuse of discretion. Bass v. Perrin, 170 F.3d 1312, 1320 (11th Cir.1999). Exceptional circumstances justifying court appointment of counsel exist if the facts and legal issues in the plaintiffs case are so novel or complex that assistance of a trained practitioner is required. Kilgo v. Ricks, 983 F.2d 189, 193 (11th Cir.1993).

A notice of appeal does not constitute an intent to appeal from an order that has not yet been entered when the notice of appeal is filed. McDougald v. Jenson, 786 F.2d 1465, 1474 (11th Cir.1986). Because the intent to appeal a subsequent order is not apparent, review on the merits would prejudice the other party. Id. Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(c) “requires that a notice of appeal designate an existent judgment or order, not one that is merely expected or that is, or should be, within the appellant’s contemplation when the notice of appeal is filed.” Bogle v. Orange County Bd. Of County Comm’rs, 162 F.3d 653, 661 (11th Cir.1998).

We conclude from the record that the magistrate judge properly denied Sanks’s first motion for appointment of counsel as the issues in Sanks’s case are neither novel nor complex. The district courts have broad discretion in determining whether to appoint counsel, and the magistrate judge correctly concluded that Sanks’s case did not invoke exceptional circumstances warranting appointment of counsel. Thus, we conclude that the magistrate judge did not abuse his discretion in denying Sanks’s motion to appoint counsel.

With respect to Sanks’s motion to appoint appellate counsel, we lack jurisdiction to consider this motion as Sanks filed his second motion after his notice of appeal and it did not designate an existent order as required by Fed. R.App. P. 3(c). Moreover, we cannot find that Sanks’s notice of appeal constituted an intent to appeal from an order denying appointment of appellate counsel because that order had not yet been entered when Sanks filed his notice of appeal.

II.

“We review de novo a district court’s grant of summary judgment and apply the same legal standards that governed the district court’s analysis.” Penley v. Eslinger, 605 F.3d 843, 848 (11th Cir.2010) (citing Capone v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 592 F.3d 1189, 1194 (11th Cir.2010)). In determining the relevant set of facts at the summary judgment stage, we must view *412 all evidence and make any reasonable inferences that might be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Penley v. Eslinger, 605 F.3d at 848 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). “Thus, the requirement to view the facts in the non-moving party’s favor extends to genuine disputes over material facts and not where all that exists is ‘some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.’ ” Id. (quoting Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). A dispute over a fact will only preclude summary judgment if the dispute “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

“The Eighth Amendment’s proscription of cruel and unusual punishments ... governs prison officials’ use of force against convicted inmates.” Campbell v. Sikes, 169 F.3d 1353, 1374 (11th Cir.1999). “[I]n making and carrying out decisions involving the use of force to restore order in the face of a prison disturbance, prison officials undoubtedly must take into account the very real threats the unrest presents to inmates and prison officials alike, in addition to the possible harms to inmates against whom force might be used.” Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 320, 106 S.Ct. 1078, 1084, 89 L.Ed.2d 251 (1986). Thus, “[wjhere a prison security measure is undertaken to resolve a disturbance, ... that indisputably poses significant risks to the safety of inmates and prison staff, ... the question whether the measure taken inflicted unnecessary and wanton pain and suffering ultimately turns on whether force was applied in a good faith effort to maintain or restore discipline or maliciously and sadistically for the very purpose of causing harm.” Id. at 320-21, 106 S.Ct. at 1085 (internal quotation marks omitted).

In ruling on a judgment as a matter of law on an excessive use of force claim, the Supreme Court has held:

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Bluebook (online)
402 F. App'x 409, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clarence-r-sanks-v-michael-williams-ca11-2010.