Clark v. Admin

• Court: District Court, E.D. Arkansas
• Decided: April 25, 2024
• Docket: 3:23-cv-00171
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS NORTHERN DIVISION VERNA CLARK PLAINTIFF ADC #712557 v. Case No: 3:23-cv-00171-LPR TIGER ADMIN, Law Enforcement Officer (Trumann, AR), et al. DEFENDANTS ORDER Plaintiff Verna Clark moves for the appointment of counsel.' While a pro se litigant has no constitutional or statutory right to counsel, the Court may, in its discretion, appoint counsel where an indigent plaintiff has brought a non-frivolous claim and “the nature of the litigation is such that plaintiff as well as the court will benefit from the assistance of counsel.” In making this decision, the Court considers “the factual complexity of the issues, the ability of the indigent person to investigate the facts, the existence of conflicting testimony, the ability of the indigent person to present the claims, and the complexity of the legal arguments.”* After considering these factors, the Court finds that Ms. Clark is capable of representing herself at this time. This case is young, and Ms. Clark’s claims do not appear to be legally or factually complex. Ms. Clark’s motion is DENIED without prejudice to re-filing at a later stage of litigation. IT IS SO ORDERED this 25th day of April 2024.

LEE P. RUDOFSKY UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

' Mot. to Appoint Counsel (Doc. 5). 2 Patterson vy. Kelley, 902 F.3d 845, 850 (8th Cir. 2018) (quoting Johnson v. Williams, 788 F.2d 1319, 1322 (8th Cir. 1986). 3 Id. (quoting Phillips v. Jasper Cnty. Jail, 437 F.3d 790, 794 (8th Cir. 2006)). + Additionally, it does not appear Ms. Clark has made the necessary attempts to secure her own attorney.