Summary
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey grants Robert L. Small’s renewed motion for appointment of pro bono counsel in his civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court concludes that five of the six Tabron factors favor appointment, based primarily on Plaintiff’s asserted limited education and litigation ability, the complexity of his deliberate-indifference medical claims, anticipated discovery, potential expert testimony, and his inability to afford counsel.
Court
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Jurisdiction
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Decision date
January 16, 2026
Docket number
Civil No. 23-3685 (KMW/EAP)
Disposition
other
Questions Presented
- Whether Plaintiff's renewed motion for appointment of pro bono counsel satisfied the threshold requirement of arguable merit.
- Whether the Tabron factors favored appointment of pro bono counsel for an indigent prisoner asserting deliberate-indifference medical claims under § 1983.
Holdings
- For purposes of the renewed motion, Plaintiff was assumed to have satisfied the threshold requirement of presenting a claim with some merit in fact and law because the court had previously found that his allegations concerning denial of pain medication and sanitary supplies were nonfrivolous.
- Appointment of pro bono counsel was warranted because five of the six applicable Tabron factors favored appointment and one factor was neutral.
Court Document
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