HUGH LAWSON, Senior District Judge.
Pro se Plaintiff Roderick Maurice White, an inmate currently confined at Georgia State Prison in Reidsville, Georgia, filed the instant action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (EFC No. 1). On April 1, 2015, this Court issued an Order (ECF No. 39) accepting, without objection from Plaintiff, the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 37) that Defendants' Motion to Dismiss be granted. Judgment was entered the same day (EFC No. 40). Plaintiff has now filed a Notice of Appeal (ECF No. 44); Motion to Proceed in forma pauperis on appeal (ECF No. 49); Motion for the appointment of counsel (EFC No. 42-3); Motion to Compel the Clerk to Produce Exhibits (ECF No. 43); Motion for Service of Subpoena (ECF No. 46); and Motion to Compel the Clerk of Court to provide him with copies of the Order and Judgment entered on April 1, 2015 (ECF No. 48).
Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure sets the time for filing a notice of appeal. Generally, "the notice of appeal . . . must be filed with the district clerk within thirty days after entry of the judgment or order appealed therefrom." Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A). The district court, however, is vested with discretion to reopen the time to appeal if (1) the court finds that the moving party did not receive notice of the judgment or order sought to be appealed within 21 days of entry; (2) the motion is filed within 180 days after the judgment or order is entered or 14 days after the moving party receives notice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 77(d) of the entry, whichever is earlier, and (3) the court finds that no party would be prejudiced by reopening the time for filing an appeal. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6).
In this case, Plaintiff filed his "Notice of Appeal" on June 6, 2015 — sixty-six (66) days after the entry of judgment. In his Notice, however, Plaintiff does not directly challenge the underlying grounds for dismissal, i.e., lack of exhaustion. Plaintiff instead complains that he did not receive a copy of the Order and Judgment entered in this case and only learned of the dismissal after receiving a copy of the docket sheet dated June 3, 2015, more than two months after the dismissal.
Here, judgment was entered on April 1, 2015. The Docket shows, however, that the day after judgment was entered, April 2, 2015, the Court received notice of a change in Plaintiff's address (ECF No. 41), which was signed by Plaintiff on March 24, 2015; Plaintiff had thus been transferred from Valdosta State Prison to Augusta State Medical Prison sometime before this date.
In light of these facts, there is good cause for reopening the time for appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). The Court finds that Plaintiff did not receive notice of the Order or Judgment within twenty-one days of entry, and the construed motion to reopen the time for appeal was filed within 180 days after the judgment was entered and within fourteen days of Plaintiff's learning of the judgment (Plaintiff asserts that he still has not received a copy of the Order and Judgment). The Court further finds that no party should be prejudiced by the reopening of the time to file an appeal in this case. In this context, the term "prejudice" is defined as "some adverse consequence other than the cost of having to oppose the appeal and encounter the risk of reversal, consequences that are present in every appeal." See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6) advisory committee's note to 1991 amendment. "Prejudice might arise, for example, if the appellee had taken some action in reliance on the expiration of the normal time period for filing a notice of appeal." Id. It is highly unlikely that Defendants have taken any action in reliance on the expiration of the normal time for appeal in this case — especially given the relatively short period of delay. Plaintiff's construed motion to re-open the time for appeal is thus
In light of the facts discussed above, the Court cannot find that Plaintiff's appeal is entirely frivolous. His Motion to Proceed in forma pauperis on Appeal is thus
Also, in light of the findings above, Plaintiff's Motion to Compel the Clerk of Court to provide him with copies of the Order and Judgment entered on April 1, 2015 (ECF No. 48) is
Plaintiff has moved for the appointment of counsel in this case multiple times (See e.g., ECF No. 3, 23) and again moved for the appointment of counsel in this case post-judgment (EFC No. 42-3). Because the appeal has already been docketed in this case, the Court will construe the motion as a motion for counsel on appeal.
As Plaintiff is surely aware, there is "no absolute constitutional right to the appointment of counsel" in a § 1983 lawsuit. Poole v. Lambert, 819 F.2d 1025, 1028 (11th Cir. 1987). Appointment of counsel is a privilege that is justified only by exceptional circumstances. Lopez v. Reyes, 692 F.2d 15, 17 (5th Cir. 1982). In deciding whether legal counsel should be provided, the Court considers, among other factors, the merits of Plaintiff's claim and the complexity of the issues presented. Holt v. Ford, 682 F.2d 850, 853 (11th Cir. 1989).
The Court has now considered Plaintiff's most-recent request for counsel and finds that, at this time, the essential facts and legal doctrines relevant to his appeal are ascertainable by Plaintiff without the assistance of court-appointed counsel and that Plaintiff has not otherwise shown the existence of exceptional circumstances warranting the appointment of counsel. Plaintiff's Motion is accordingly
For those reasons stated herein, Plaintiff's Notice of Appeal (EFC No. 44) is also construed as a motion to reopen the time for appeal: that motion is