Izeh v. NYPD
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-06869
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Izeh v. NYPD, Judge McMahon denied Matthew Izeh’s request for pro bono counsel, allowing him to renew it later.
Matthew Izeh, whose request for appointed pro bono counsel was denied, and the defendants in the underlying case, whose claims were not decided by this order.
What happened
In Izeh v. NYPD, Matthew Izeh, who represented himself, asked the court to appoint a lawyer for him.
The court explained that it considers the case’s apparent strength, the person’s efforts to find a lawyer, and the person’s ability to investigate and present the case without one. The court said it was too early to assess the case’s merits.
Judge McMahon denied the request for pro bono counsel without prejudice to renewal later. The court also denied Izeh permission to proceed without prepaying appeal fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Izeh v. NYPD · No. 1:20-cv-06869
- Colleen McMahon
- Feb. 8, 2021
Background
Matthew Izeh, who proceeded without a lawyer, moved for appointment of pro bono counsel. The opinion concerns only that motion; it does not decide the underlying claims against NYPD and the other defendants.
Standard Applied
The court said that, when deciding whether to appoint counsel for a person who cannot afford one, it considers the apparent merits of the case, the plaintiff’s efforts to obtain a lawyer, and the plaintiff’s ability to gather facts and present the case without assistance. The court stated that the merits receive the most attention among these factors.
Ruling
Because the case was at too early a stage for the court to assess its merits, the court denied Izeh’s motion for appointment of pro bono counsel without prejudice to renewal at a later date. The Clerk was directed to mail Izeh a copy of the order and record service on the docket.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.