Plaintiff, a state prisoner and a pro se litigant, sued three medical providers under 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983 alleging that they were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The district court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The question on appeal was whether the district court abused its discretion when it stopped searching for recruited counsel and required defendant to continue litigating pro se. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, explaining that federal courts lack the power to compel an attorney to represent a civil litigant and that the district court made reasonable efforts to find a volunteer but was not required to search for a lawyer indefinitely. (EASTERBROOK and BRENNAN, concurring)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Recruited Counsel