Jeremy C. Vaughn v. Stacy Morin and Kristina Borneman; Jeremy C. Vaughn v. State of Wisconsin, et al.; Jeremy C. Vaughn v. State of Wisconsin, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin denied without prejudice Jeremy C. Vaughn’s motions for recruitment of counsel in three civil-rights cases. The court held that the requests were premature because the complaints had not yet been screened and no immediate litigation tasks required counsel; Vaughn may renew his requests after discovery begins if his circumstances change.

Holdings

1. A request to recruit counsel may be denied as premature when the complaint has not yet been screened, it is unclear whether the action will proceed or in what form, and the plaintiff presently has no litigation tasks requiring counsel.
2. Vaughn did not establish at this stage that the legal and factual difficulty of any of his cases exceeded his ability to prosecute them without counsel.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court should recruit counsel for Vaughn in three civil-rights cases before the complaints had been screened and before discovery began.
2. Whether Vaughn demonstrated that the legal and factual difficulty of at least one case exceeded his ability to litigate it without recruited counsel.

Disposition

other