Gobern v. United States
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:18-cv-12411
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gobern v. United States, Judge Broderick denied without prejudice a request for appointed counsel because the pending sentence challenge had not yet been assessed.
Alexio Gobern’s request for appointed counsel in his pending motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence.
What happened
In Gobern v. United States, Alexio Gobern asked the court to appoint a lawyer while his motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence remained pending.
The court said appointment of counsel requires considering the claim’s strength, the person’s ability to pay, efforts to find a lawyer, lawyer availability, and the person’s ability to handle the case alone. The court could not yet assess whether Gobern’s claim had substance or was likely to succeed because it had not decided his original motion.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick denied Gobern’s application for appointed counsel without prejudice, allowing him to renew the request when a potentially valid claim could be shown. The order also served as the status update Gobern had requested.
The detailed version
- Gobern v. United States · No. 1:18-cv-12411
- Vernon Broderick
- Apr. 21, 2020
Background
Alexio Gobern, the petitioner, submitted an application for appointment of counsel on March 2, 2020. His motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence was fully submitted and awaiting a decision. Gobern later sent correspondence dated April 13, 2020, requesting a status update.
Legal standard
The court explained that requests for appointed counsel require consideration of several factors: the merits of the claim, the petitioner’s ability to pay for private counsel, efforts to obtain a lawyer, the availability of counsel, and the petitioner’s ability to gather facts and address the issues without assistance. As a threshold requirement, the petitioner must show that the claim has substance or a likelihood of success. The court also noted that volunteer attorney time is limited and that counsel should not be appointed indiscriminately.
Ruling
Because the court had not yet decided Gobern’s underlying motion, it could not determine whether his claim had substance or a likelihood of success. Judge Vernon S. Broderick therefore ordered that Gobern’s application for appointment of counsel was denied without prejudice for renewal at such time as the existence of a potentially meritorious claim may be demonstrated. The order also provided the requested status update.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.