Frost v. Office of the United States Attorney
- Edward Chen
- 3:19-cv-05190
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Frost v. Office of the United States Attorney, Judge Chen partially granted administrative relief, denied counsel, and allowed one-time attorney-lounge use.
Vinton Frost, who represented himself in the case, received permission for one-time use of the Attorney Lounge but was denied a separate exhibit archive and appointment of counsel.
What happened
Vinton Frost, representing himself, asked the court to preserve exhibits, appoint a lawyer, and allow him to use the Attorney Lounge at the federal courthouse.
The court denied the request for a separate document archive because filings were already preserved in the court’s electronic system. It also denied appointment of counsel because Frost had not yet submitted a sufficiently detailed pleading showing a likelihood of success. The court granted his request to use the Attorney Lounge once, on January 23, 2020, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Judge Edward M. Chen issued the order on December 9, 2019, partially granting Frost’s motions for administrative relief and denying his motion for appointment of counsel.
The detailed version
- Frost v. Office of the United States Attorney · No. 3:19-cv-05190
- Edward Chen
- Dec. 9, 2019
Background
Vinton Frost, a self-represented plaintiff, sued the Office of the United States Attorney and the U.S. Department of Justice. He filed motions for administrative relief and asked the court to appoint a lawyer to represent him.
Rulings
The court addressed three requests:
1. Separate archive for exhibits: Frost asked the court to create a document archive to safeguard Exhibits A through F. The court denied this request because documents filed in the case, including manually filed documents, were automatically preserved in the court’s electronic filing system and became part of the permanent case record.
2. Appointment of counsel: A federal court may appoint counsel for an indigent civil litigant in exceptional circumstances. The court considers the likelihood of success and the person’s ability to explain the claims without a lawyer, viewed together. The court found that exceptional circumstances were not present because Frost had not yet submitted a sufficiently detailed pleading showing a likelihood of success. The court therefore denied his request for appointment of counsel.
3. Attorney Lounge access: Frost asked to use the Attorney Lounge on the 18th Floor of the Phillip Burton Federal Building. The court granted this request for one use only, limited to January 23, 2020, between 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
The order stated that it disposed of Docket Nos. 18 and 25.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.