Torres v. City of New York
- John Cronan
- 1:23-cv-01674
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Torres v. City of New York: Judge Parker directed the Clerk to seek volunteer counsel for Torres’s settlement conference.
Ricky J. Torres, the Clerk of Court, and any volunteer lawyer who may represent Torres at the settlement conference.
What happened
In Torres v. City of New York, the court considered whether Ricky J. Torres should receive volunteer legal representation for settlement. Torres’s application to proceed without paying court fees had been granted, establishing that he could not afford a lawyer, and the court found that some claims appeared potentially substantial without deciding their merits.
The court also found that Torres’s incarceration would hinder his participation in the November 7, 2024 settlement conference. It therefore directed the Clerk to look for a volunteer lawyer to make a limited appearance for settlement purposes. The lawyer would have no responsibilities beyond the matters described in the order, and the representation would end when the lawyer filed a notice of completion.
Judge Katharine H. Parker ordered the Clerk to search for a volunteer lawyer and mail the order to Torres. If no lawyer volunteers, Torres will represent himself at the settlement conference.
The detailed version
- Torres v. City of New York · No. 1:23-cv-01674
- John Cronan
- Aug. 14, 2024
Background
Ricky J. Torres sued the City of New York and other defendants. The court had granted Torres permission to proceed without paying court fees, so it treated him as unable to afford a lawyer. The opinion also states that Torres is incarcerated and that a settlement conference was scheduled for November 7, 2024.
Legal standard
In a civil case, a court may ask a lawyer to volunteer to represent a person who cannot afford counsel. The court should do this sparingly. Before requesting counsel, the court must find that the person cannot pay for a lawyer and that the claims appear likely to have substance. The court may also consider the person’s ability to investigate facts and present the case, the complexity of the legal issues, and whether a lawyer would likely help produce a fair result.
Court’s analysis
The court found that Torres was unable to afford a lawyer because his application to proceed without paying court fees had been granted. Without deciding the merits of his claims, the court found—based on the complaint and its understanding from case-management conferences of the discovery produced—that at least some claims appeared likely to have substance.
The court further found that Torres’s incarceration would hinder his ability to participate in the upcoming settlement conference. It concluded that representation would likely lead to a quicker and fairer result in this case.
Order
The court directed the Clerk to search for a volunteer lawyer to represent Torres for settlement purposes at the November 7, 2024 conference. Any volunteer lawyer would make a limited appearance and would not be responsible for other aspects of Torres’s case. The lawyer could seek reimbursement of certain out-of-pocket expenses from the court’s Pro Bono Fund. The representation would end when the lawyer filed a notice of completion.
The court also warned that no lawyer might volunteer. If that happens, Torres will represent himself at the settlement conference. The court directed the Clerk to mail Torres a copy of the order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.