Corley v. Collins
- Lewis Liman
- 1:23-cv-00479
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Corley v. Collins, Judge Liman denied Jeffrey Corley’s request for a lawyer without prejudice in his federal petition.
Jeffrey Corley’s request for court-requested volunteer counsel was denied without prejudice; the underlying petition was not decided in this order.
What happened
Jeffrey Corley filed a federal petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 and asked the court to appoint a lawyer for him. The case is Corley v. Collins.
The court explained that it may ask a volunteer lawyer to represent a civil litigant, but it must do so sparingly. It found that Corley had not shown at that time that his claims were likely to have merit, and the court could not determine that the claim had merit.
Judge Lewis J. Liman denied Corley’s request for appointment of counsel without prejudice. The clerk was directed to close the motion and mail Corley a copy of the order.
The detailed version
- Corley v. Collins · No. 1:23-cv-00479
- Lewis Liman
- Apr. 17, 2023
Background
Jeffrey Corley filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 and moved for appointment of counsel. Section 2254 provides a procedure for challenging custody through a federal petition.
Legal standard
The court stated that a district court has broad discretion to decide whether to request pro bono representation for a civil litigant. The court cannot require a lawyer to take the case; it may only ask a volunteer lawyer to represent the litigant. The court also explained that requests for volunteer counsel should be made sparingly and with consideration of the public benefit.
Under the factors identified by the Second Circuit, the first question is whether the litigant’s claims appear likely to have substance. If they do, the court may also consider the person’s ability to obtain representation independently, handle the case without assistance, investigate the facts, address complex legal issues, and conduct cross-examination.
Ruling
The court found that Corley had not made the required showing at that time and that it could not determine that his claim had merit. Judge Liman denied Corley’s request for appointment of counsel without prejudice. The clerk was directed to close the motion at Docket Number 4 and mail Corley a copy of the order.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.