Sanchez v. Marthakis MD

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION

ANDRES SANCHEZ,

Plaintiff,

v. CAUSE NO.: 3:19-CV-950-JD-MGG

NANCY MARTHAKIS, M.D., et al.,

Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER Andres Sanchez, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a motion for appointment of counsel. “There is no right to court-appointed counsel in federal civil litigation.” Olson v. Morgan, 750 F.3d 708, 711 (7th Cir. 2014) (citing Pruitt v. Mote, 503 F.3d 647, 649 (7th Cir. 2007)). That said, in some circumstances, the court may ask an attorney to volunteer to represent indigent parties for free. When determining whether the appointment of pro bono counsel is warranted, “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, 503 F.3d at 654. Because the court has not yet screened the complaint, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, “the case [is] still in its infancy, thereby making it impossible at [this] juncture to make any accurate determination regarding [the plaintiff’s] abilities or the difficulty of the case.” Romanelli v. Suliene, 615 F.3d 847, 852 (7th Cir. 2010). For these reasons, the motion for appointment of counsel (ECF 3) is DENIED. SO ORDERED this November 19, 2019.

s/Michael G. Gotsch, Sr. Michael G. Gotsch, Sr. United States Magistrate Judge