Mitchell v. City of Poughkeepsie School District
- Louis Stanton
- 1:19-cv-03879-LLS
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Mitchell v. City of Poughkeepsie School District, Judge Stanton denied Mitchell’s request for a court-requested free lawyer because the case was closed.
Jasmine Mitchell, who brought the action on behalf of J.C.M. and was litigating without a lawyer, was affected by the denial of the application for court-requested pro bono counsel.
What happened
In Mitchell v. City of Poughkeepsie School District, Jasmine Mitchell brought the action without a lawyer on behalf of J.C.M. The court had dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim and entered judgment in 2019.
Mitchell later tried to appeal, but the district court denied her request for more time to appeal, and the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal after she did not pay the fees or submit an application to proceed without paying them. In October 2021, she applied for the court to request free legal counsel.
Because the action was closed, the court denied Mitchell’s application as moot. Judge Louis L. Stanton also directed the Clerk of Court to mail her a copy of the order and record service on the docket.
The detailed version
- Mitchell v. City of Poughkeepsie School District · No. 1:19-cv-03879-LLS
- Louis Stanton
- Feb. 1, 2022
Background
Jasmine Mitchell brought the action without a lawyer on behalf of J.C.M. The court previously dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted, and judgment was entered on September 23, 2019.
Prior Appeal Proceedings
Mitchell later moved for more time to file a notice of appeal and asked to proceed without paying appellate filing fees. The district court denied the request for more time because it was filed more than 60 days after judgment and the court lacked authority to grant it. The court also denied the request to proceed without paying fees as moot. The Court of Appeals later dismissed the appeal because Mitchell did not pay the appeal fees or submit an application to proceed without paying them to that court.
Application for Counsel
More than two years after judgment, Mitchell applied for the court to request free legal counsel. The court stated that the action was closed and therefore denied the application as moot.
Disposition
The court denied Mitchell’s application for the court to request pro bono counsel. It directed the Clerk of Court to mail a copy of the order to Mitchell and note service on the docket.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.