Summary
The United States District Court for the District of Utah denied without prejudice Gary Phillips’s motion to appoint counsel in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against Cassidy Ross and others. The court concluded that the claims were not sufficiently colorable at that stage, the issues were not complex, and Phillips was able to pursue the matter without appointed counsel, while leaving open the possibility of requesting pro bono counsel later.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether a civil litigant has a constitutional right to appointed counsel.
- Whether the court should request volunteer counsel to represent Phillips without charge under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1).
Holdings
- A civil litigant does not have a Sixth Amendment right to appointed counsel.
- The court lacks authority to compel an unwilling attorney to represent an indigent plaintiff in a civil case; under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), the court may request an attorney to represent the plaintiff without charge.
- Phillips did not establish at this time that volunteer counsel should be requested because his claims might not be colorable, the issues were not complex, and he was able to adequately pursue the matter.
Key quotations
“As a civil litigant, [a plaintiff] has no Sixth Amendment right to counsel.”
“The court may request an attorney to represent any person unable to afford counsel.”
“It is not enough for Mr. Phillips to argue that he needs help in presenting his strongest possible case, as the same could be said in any case.”
Factual background
Gary Phillips is a self-represented inmate at the Utah State Correctional Facility who brought a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court had dismissed several of his claims but determined that he had potentially stated a claim against Cassidy Ross. Phillips sought appointment of counsel, asserting that he needed legal assistance, but the court found that his claims might not be colorable, the issues were not complex, and he was not too incapacitated to pursue the matter adequately.
Procedural history
Phillips filed a prisoner civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On January 5, 2026, the court dismissed several claims and found that Phillips had potentially stated a claim against Ross. Phillips then moved for appointed counsel under ECF No. 41. The court denied the motion without prejudice and stated that it would reevaluate the need for counsel as the case developed.