Perez v. Molina
- Barbara Moses
- 1:23-cv-00801
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Perez v. Molina, Magistrate Judge Moses denied Perez’s request for pro bono counsel without prejudice.
Jarrell D. Perez, an incarcerated plaintiff seeking volunteer counsel, was affected by the denial of his application. The order also concerned the limited availability of volunteer attorneys.
What happened
In Perez v. Molina, Jarrell D. Perez asked the court to provide a volunteer lawyer for his civil case while he was incarcerated and litigating at the summary-judgment stage.
The court explained that civil litigants are not automatically entitled to lawyers and that courts may only ask volunteer attorneys to represent them. It considered the required factors, including the apparent strength of Perez’s case, his ability to pay, his efforts to find a lawyer, and his ability to handle the case without one.
Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses denied Perez’s request for pro bono counsel without prejudice, allowing him to renew the request if the case proceeds beyond summary judgment.
The detailed version
- Perez v. Molina · No. 1:23-cv-00801
- Barbara Moses
- Apr. 23, 2025
Background
Jarrell D. Perez submitted an April 1, 2025 application requesting the appointment of pro bono counsel, meaning a volunteer lawyer, in this civil case. The opinion states that Perez was incarcerated and litigating the case at the summary-judgment stage.
Legal standard
The court explained that indigent parties in civil cases do not have an automatic right to a court-provided lawyer. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), a court may request that an attorney volunteer, but it cannot compel an attorney to accept the representation or provide court funds to pay counsel. The court must use this authority sparingly. Before considering the other factors, a plaintiff must show that the claim has substance or a likelihood of success. The factors also include the plaintiff’s ability to pay for private counsel, efforts to obtain a lawyer, counsel availability, and the plaintiff’s ability to gather facts and address the issues without assistance.
Ruling
The court applied those factors and denied Perez’s application for appointment of counsel without prejudice to renewal if the case proceeds beyond summary judgment. The court recognized that litigating at the summary-judgment stage while incarcerated is difficult, but stated that this circumstance did not justify granting every request for volunteer counsel.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.