Trenton L. McCorkle v. Megan T. Neu

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin denies without prejudice Trenton L. McCorkle’s motion for assistance in recruiting counsel in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Eighth Amendment case. The court also denies as premature his petitions for writs of habeas corpus ad testificandum because he has not yet responded to or survived the defendant’s summary judgment motion.

Holdings

1. A pro se prisoner seeking court assistance in recruiting counsel must show inability to afford counsel, reasonable efforts to find counsel, and that the legal and factual difficulty of the case exceeds the prisoner's ability to litigate it without counsel. McCorkle had not shown that the third requirement was satisfied because the case was not sufficiently complex at that stage.
2. Requests to secure witnesses for trial are premature when the plaintiff has not yet survived summary judgment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court should assist McCorkle in recruiting counsel because he could not adequately litigate the case without counsel.
2. Whether the court should issue writs of habeas corpus ad testificandum to secure trial testimony while defendant's summary-judgment motion remained pending.

Disposition

other