Mallet v. Johnson, No. 1:2009cv08430 - Document 19 (S.D.N.Y. 2010)

Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER. The Court has received the attached application for the appointment of counsel. The application is identical to an application that the Court has already denied. Accordingly, the application is denied without prejudice for the reasons stated in the Court's order of November 1, 2010. (Signed by Judge John G. Koeltl on 12/20/10) (rjm)

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Mallet v. Johnson Doc. 19 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ANTONIO MALLET, 09 Civ. 8430 (JGK) Plaintiff, MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ­ against ­ ROBERT T. JOHNSON, BRONX COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, Defendant. JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge: The Court has received the attached application for the appointment of counsel. The application is identical to an application that the Court has already denied. Accordingly, the application is denied without prejudice for the reasons stated in the Court's order of November 1, 2010. SO ORDERED. Dated: New York, New York December 20, 2010 States District Judge \..,' i DOCt' ELFf' DOC DATE FiLED: .' laldl - 1 - Dockets.Justia.com USDSSDNY DOCUMENT sc "'0 o :0 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ANTONIO MALLET, Plaintiff, ­against­ ROBERT T. JOHNSON, BRONX COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, Defendant. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­X FILED DATE FILED: i l..t 2./((7 APPLICATION FOR THE COURT TO REQUEST COUNSEL PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.c. § . 09­CV­8430 . C' = rZ, . :.2-·Q .." 1. Name of applicant is Antonio Mallet. 2. Explain why you need a lawyer in this case. I need a lawyer assign'fd to assist me U1 in litigating the serious issues dealing with evidence the Plaintiff requested. My case meets the criteria for appointment of counsel under Cooper and Hodge (likely merit, independent efforts at obtaining counsel, need for factual investigation, complex legal issues, etc.) It appears that the Plaintiff meets at least two of these criteria's. He has dutifully albeit unsuccessfully sought representation by counsel. Additionally, the thrust of his § 1983 action is obtaining ballistic and fingerprint evidence and, in present counsel's experience, obtaining evidence is something that lawyers can do far more successfully than imprisoned pro se litigants. See, also, Washington v. e Smith, 219 F.3d 620, 631 (i h Cir. 2000)( xpecting incarcerated prisoner to produce witnesses wholly unreasonable). Plaintiff request oral argument on his motion to dismiss via teleconference, or by appointed counsel. 3. I declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Pursuant to 28 U. S .c. § 1746, the information herein contained is true and accurate under the penalty of perjury. Dated: . October 2.q 2010 Napanoch, New York (J) Jl " (() m UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­){ 1"'..:1 ANTONIO MALLET, Plaintiff, ­against­ CERTIFICATE OF en = = 0 I ROBERT T. JOHNSON, BRON){ COUNTY Defendant. 09­cv­8430 (JOK) N I, Antonio Mallet, plaintiff pro-se, declare under penalty of perjury that I have served a copy of attached Application for the Assignment of Counsel (18 USC § 3006A[g]) and all supporting papers upon the following and concerned parties: Attn: Clerk of the Court Hon. John O. Koeltl, U.S.DJ. United States District Court Southern District of New York 500 Pearl Street New York, New York 10007 Shlomit Aroubuas, A. C. C. Michael A. Cardozo, Esq. Corporation Counsel for City of New York 100 Church Street, Room 3­188 New York, New York 10007 Attorney for Defendant Johnson By placing the following in a properly sealed envelope and deposited into the mailbox located within Eastern Correctional Facility, P.O. Box 338, Napanoch, New York 12458­0338, and forwarded via United States Postal Service, and addressed to the concerned parties. Dated: October 20 10 Antrvn '"",,­"\I' PIa' Pursuant to 28 U. S .c. § 1746, the information herein contained is true and accurate under the penalty of perjury. Case 1:09-cv-08430-JGK Document 13 Filed 11/03/10 Page 1 of 31 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ANTONIO MALLET, 09 Civ. 8430 (JGK) Plaintiff, MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ­ against ­ ROBERT T. JOHNSON. BRONX COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY. USDSSDNY DOCtT1'-.,1ENT Defendant. JOHN G. KOELTL. District Judge: The Court has received the attached application for the appointment of counsel. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has articulated factors that should guide the Court's discretion to appoint counsel to represent an indigent litigant (JGK) , 2000 WL 511642, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 27, 2000), For the Court to order the appointment of counsel, the plaintiff must, as a threshold matter, demonstrate that his claim has substance or a likelihood of success on the merits. at 61 62. !i.<:>dge, 802 F. 2d Only then can the Court consider the other factors appropriate to determination of whether counsel should be appointed: "plaintiff's ability to obtain representation independently, and his ability to handle the case without ­ 1 - • Case 1:09-cv-08430-JGK Document 13 Filed 11/03/10 Page 2 of 31 assistance in the light of the required factual investigation, the complexity of the legal issues, and the need for expertly conducted cross­examination to test veracity." Cooper: v. A. Sargenti Co., Inc., 877 F.2d 170, 172 (2d Cir. 1989). The plaintiff has failed to show that his claims are likely to have merit, and the application for the appointment of counsel is therefore denied without prejudice. SO ORDERED. Dated: New York, New York November 1, 2010 Judge ­ 2 Case 1:09-cv-08430-JGK Document 13 Filed 111 . ,:;) R 1 ­D­- OCT 2SlOW CHAMSERSOF JOHN G. KOeLTL . . .J UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ­­­­­­.­­­­­_.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­)( ANTONIO MALLET, Plaintiff, ­against­ ROBERT T. JOHNSON, BRON)( COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, Defendant. APPLICA ION FOR THE T COURT TO REQUEST COUNSEL PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(g) 09­CV­8430 (JGK) 1. Name of applicant is Antonio Mallet. 2. Explain why you need a lawyer in this case. r need a lawyer assigned to assist me in litigating the serious issues dealing with evidence the Plaintiff requested. My case meets the criteria for appointment of counsel under Cooper and Hodge (likely merit, independent efforts at obtaining counsel, need for factual' investigation, complex legal issues, etc.) It appears that the Plaintiff meets at least two of these criteria's. He has dutifully albeit unsuccessfully sought representation by counsel. Additionally, the thrust of his § 1983 action is obtaining ballistic and fingerprint evidence and, in present counsel's experience, obtaining evidence is something that lawyers can do far more successfully than imprisoned pro se litigants. See, also, Washington v. Smith, 219 F.3d 620, 631 (7th Cir. 2000)(expecting incarcerated prisoner to produce witnesses wholly unreasonable). Plaintiff request oral argument on his motion to dismiss via teleconference. or by appointed counsel. 3. I declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Pursuant to 28 U. S .c. § 1746, the information herein contained is true and accurate under the penalty of perjury. Dated: October 'tQ 2010 Napanoch, New York A SCANNED UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK MEMORANDUM Pro ,seOffice To: Honorable John G. Koeltl, USDJ From: V. Noriega, Pro Se Office, x017W JO., U . ..).:j.J. Date: December 3, 2010 Re: Antonio Mallet v. Robert T. Johnson, et aI., 09 Civ. 8430 (JGK) .J The attached document, which was received by this Office on December 2. 2010, lias been. submitted to the Court for filing. The document is deficient as indicated below. Inst.Sad 0(:.; forwarding the document to the docketing unit, I am forwarding it to you for your considerati9g. See\ Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d)(2)(B), (4). Please return this memorandum with the attached papers'to thi$) Office, indicating at the bottom what action should be taken. :::.. ( ) No original signature. ( ) No affirmation of service/proof of service. ( ) The request is in the form of a letter, (x ) Other: Plaintiff id not include an In Forma Pauperis application (IFP) with the Motion for d Appointment of Counsel. ('f..) ACCEPT FOR FILING ( ) RETURN TO PRO SE LITIGANT United States Magistrate Judge Dated: 1;JjIJ/(D.

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