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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE DIVISION

WENDY KERNECHEL,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 4:20-cv-78-WS/MJF

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and 

JIMMY HIGHSMITH,

Defendants.

/

ORDER

This matter is before this court on Defendant Jimmy Highsmith’s letters to the

court in which he requests, among other things, dismissal of this civil action (Doc. 

19) and appointment of an attorney to represent him in this civil action. (Doc. 20).

To the extent Defendant seeks the appointment of counsel for purposes of this 

civil action, this request will be denied without prejudice. (Doc. 20). It is well 

established that there is no constitutional right to counsel in a civil case. Bass v. 

Perrin, 170 F.3d 1312, 1320 (11th Cir. 1999); Heinisch v. Bernardini, 79 F. Supp. 

3d 1329, 1330 (S.D. Ga. 2015); Davis v. City of Chicago, 219 F.R.D. 593, 598 n.6 

(N.D. Ill. 2004) (noting that “a Defendant in a civil case has no constitutional right 

to counsel.”). “Appointment of counsel in civil cases is, rather, a privilege ‘justified 

only by exceptional circumstances,’ such as the presence of ‘facts and legal issues 

[which] are so novel or complex as to require the assistance of a trained 
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practitioner.’” Kilgo v. Ricks, 983 F.2d 189, 193 (11th Cir. 1993) (quoting Poole v. 

Lambert, 819 F.2d 1025, 1028 (11th Cir. 1987)). “The key is whether the pro se 

litigant needs help in presenting the essential merits of his or her position to the 

court.” Id. Although Defendant Highsmith indicates that he does not have the funds 

to pay for a lawyer and that several lawyers have refused to represent him in this 

civil case, he does not provide any reason to believe that his case is one of 

exceptional circumstances warranting appointment of counsel.

Additionally, this court must deny the relief requested by Defendant’s filings 

because they are deficient in the following respects:

• A request for action of any kind relating to a case can never be 

made by a letter to a judge; it must be made by a motion. See Fed. R. 

Civ. P. 7(b)(1); N.D. Fla. Loc. R. 7.1(A).

• The documents do not have a case style or caption, do not include the 

name of at least one party on each side of the case, and do not have a 

title or heading clearly identifying the document. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 

10(a); N.D. Fla. Loc. R. 5.1(B).

• It is unclear whether Defendant’s first letter (Doc. 19) is Defendant 

Highsmith’s answer, a motion to dismiss, or something else insofar as 

this letter is not in the form required for a pleading nor is it in the form 

of a motion. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(a) (listing authorized pleadings); Fed. 
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R. Civ. P. 7(b)(1) (requiring that a request for a court order be made by 

motion; setting forth the requirements for motions); Fed. R. Civ. P. 10 

(setting forth the requirements for a pleading).

• The documents do not have a proper signature block. A document 

filed by a pro se party must include a signature block with the party’s 

handwritten signature, typed or printed name, street address, email 

address if the party has one, and telephone number if the party has one. 

See N.D. Fla. Loc. R. 5.1(E).

Defendant Highsmith also is advised that this court will not address any 

documents which fail to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or the 

Local Rules. Rather, the clerk of the court will return such documents to Defendant. 

Defendant Highsmith is further advised that this court’s Local Rules may be 

obtained online at http://www.flnd.uscourts.gov/court-info/local-rules-andorders/local-rules and from the clerk’s office. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 

are available for review in law libraries and also are available online.

For these reasons, it is ORDERED that:

1. To the extent Defendant seeks appointment of counsel (Doc. 20) or 

other relief (Doc. 19), Defendant Highsmith’s requests are DENIED without 

prejudice.
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2. The clerk of the court shall refer to the undersigned on a deficiency 

order any document that does not comply with the Federal Rules of Civil procedure

or the Local Rules for the United States District Court for the Northern District of 

Florida.

3. If Defendant Highsmith seeks relief from this court, he must file a 

motion that complies with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules 

for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

SO ORDERED this 15th day of September, 2020.

/s/ Michael J. Frank

Michael J. Frank

United States Magistrate Judge