LOOKADOO v. DAVIS ( 2020 )

FOR THE MIDMDALCEO DNI SDTIVRIISCIOT NO F GEORGIA PHILLIP A. LOOKADOO, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:18-CV-224 (MTT) ) BELINDA DAVIS, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) __________________ ) ORDER Plaintiff Phillip Lookadoo has moved the Court to appoint counsel. Doc. 33. His remaining claims set for trial involve the Defendants’ alleged Eighth Amendment violations regarding his conditions of confinement. Doc. 1. Lookadoo claims that he needs counsel because “this case is very complex [and] requires me to access documents and physical evidence I have no means of attaining.”1 Doc. 33. “Appointment of counsel in a civil case is not a constitutional right.” Wahl v. McIver, 773 F.2d 1169, 1174 (11th Cir. 1985) (citation omitted). Rather, “it is a privilege that is justified only by exceptional circumstances.” Id. (citation omitted). When determining whether appointing counsel is appropriate, the Court considers, among other things, the complexity of the plaintiff’s case. Holt v. Ford, 862 F.2d 850, 853 (11th Cir. 1989). As previously stated, the only claim going forward is Lookadoo’s conditions- of-confinement claim for which he, if successful, is only entitled to nominal damages. Furthermore, Lookadoo has not shown the existence of exceptional circumstances necessary to justify the appointment of counsel in his civil case. Accordingly, 1 Lookadoo also states in his motion that he has been moved to multiple prison facilities throughout the past few months and has lost some of his personal property, including documents pertaining to his case, during those moves. Doc. 33. Accordingly, the Clerk is DIRECTED to mail Lookadoo a copy of the a copy of the docket sheet. SO ORDERED, this 15th day of June, 2020. S/ Marc T. Treadwell MARC T. TREADWELL, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT