Casiano v. Smalls
- Katherine Failla
- 1:19-cv-05226
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Casiano v. Smalls, Judge Failla adjourned a conference, arranged Casiano’s telephone participation, and denied his counsel request without prejudice.
Anthony Casiano, the warden or other official in charge of Auburn Correctional Facility, and defense counsel were affected. Casiano’s conference was rescheduled, the facility was ordered to make him available by telephone, and his request for volunteer counsel was denied without prejudice.
What happened
Casiano v. Smalls concerns Anthony Casiano’s notice that he had been transferred and might not be able to attend the initial pretrial conference scheduled for December 17, 2019.
The court moved the conference to January 7, 2020, and ordered the official in charge of Auburn Correctional Facility to produce Casiano at a suitable location so he could participate by telephone. Defense counsel were ordered to send the order to the facility, arrange the call, and connect Casiano with the court and defense counsel.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied Casiano’s renewed request for a court-appointed volunteer lawyer without prejudice because the case was still at an early stage, the initial conference had not occurred, and no discovery had taken place.
The detailed version
- Casiano v. Smalls · No. 1:19-cv-05226
- Katherine Failla
- Dec. 10, 2019
Background
Anthony Casiano notified the court that he had been transferred to a new facility and might not be able to attend the initial pretrial conference set for December 17, 2019.
Conference and Telephone Participation
The court adjourned the initial pretrial conference to January 7, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. It ordered the warden or other official in charge of Auburn Correctional Facility to produce Casiano at a suitable location with a telephone so he could participate in the conference by telephone with the court and defense counsel.
The court directed defense counsel to promptly transmit the order to the warden, contact Auburn Correctional Facility to arrange the call and determine the telephone number where Casiano could be reached, and call the court with Casiano on the line. The order also gave the conference telephone number and access code.
Request for Counsel
The court considered Casiano’s renewed request that it seek volunteer legal counsel for him. The court noted that Casiano had contacted attorneys to ask whether they would represent him. In deciding such a request, the court considers factors including the apparent strength of the case, the plaintiff’s efforts to obtain a lawyer, and the plaintiff’s ability to collect facts and present the case without a lawyer. The court stated that the case’s apparent strength receives the most attention.
The court concluded that it was too early to assess the strength of the case because the parties had not yet appeared for the initial pretrial conference and no discovery had occurred. It therefore denied Casiano’s motion for counsel without prejudice to renewal later.
Disposition
The court adjourned the conference, ordered arrangements for Casiano’s telephone participation, and denied the renewed motion for counsel without prejudice. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.