Keita v. Fields
- Jesse Furman
- 1:20-cv-06154
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Keita v. Fields, Judge Furman denied Mulbah Keita’s request for counsel without prejudice pending a more developed record.
Mulbah Keita’s request for counsel was denied without prejudice, so the application could be renewed if a potentially meritorious claim could later be demonstrated.
What happened
Keita v. Fields concerns Mulbah Keita’s August 4, 2020 application asking the court to provide counsel. The opinion does not describe the underlying claim.
The court said it needed a more complete record to decide whether Keita’s chances of success justified providing counsel. It denied the application without prejudice, allowing renewal if a potentially meritorious claim could later be shown.
Judge Jesse M. Furman entered the order on August 11, 2020, and directed the clerk to terminate the application from the docket and mail Keita a copy of the order.
The detailed version
- Keita v. Fields · No. 1:20-cv-06154
- Jesse Furman
- Aug. 11, 2020
Background
On August 4, 2020, Mulbah Keita submitted an application for counsel. The opinion does not identify the underlying claim or provide additional facts about the dispute.
Legal Standard
The court explained that deciding whether to provide counsel requires considering the merits of the case, the applicant’s ability to pay for private counsel, efforts to obtain a lawyer, the availability of counsel, and the applicant’s ability to gather facts and address the issues without assistance. As a threshold matter, the applicant must show that the claim has substance or a likelihood of success. The court also noted that volunteer attorney time is limited and that requests for counsel should not be granted indiscriminately.
Ruling
The court determined that a more fully developed record was necessary before it could decide whether Keita’s chances of success justified providing counsel. It therefore denied Keita’s August 4, 2020 application for counsel without prejudice to renewal when the existence of a potentially meritorious claim could be demonstrated. The clerk was directed to terminate the application from the docket and mail Keita a copy of the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.