Ct. of Appeals denied plaintiffs-pro se prisoners’ motion seeking leave to appeal of Dist. Ct.’s denial of their motion for class certification in action alleging that defendants-prison officials violated plaintiffs' 8th Amendment rights by providing inadequate mental-health services and by permitting overcrowding at state’s prisons. Dist. Ct. denied motion for certification of class on ground that plaintiffs, as pro se prisoners, could not adequately represent proposed class of all current and future prisoners in Wisc. Dept. of Corrections, and Ct. of Appeals denied their petition for leave to appeal, since: (1) instant case did not raise novel issue of law; and (2) Dist. Ct. generally does not abuse its discretion when denying class certification motion raised by pro se litigants. Also, Dist. Ct. did not err in denying plaintiffs’ request for appointment of counsel under Rule 23(g), since: (1) purpose of Rule 23(g) is not to enable pro se plaintiffs to obtain recruited counsel in conjunction with class certification, but rather to ensure that proposed class counsel is adequate; and (2) plaintiffs failed to show that they made any effort to retain counsel for themselves.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Prisoners