Pro se plaintiff John T. Olszyk, a pretrial inmate currently incarcerated at the Lackawanna County Jail, took immediate action on February 21, 2020, to file a claim under 42 U.S.C. Be applicable. § 1983 charging Lackawanna County Judge Michael J. Barrasse, Clerk of Courts Mauri Kelly, Chief Probation Officer Eugene Eiden, and Chief County Public Defender (collectively: “Defendants”). (Document 1, pp. 2-3). Olsik is seeking an injunction as well as compensatory, nominal and punitive damages. (Document 1, page 5). After the operation began, Olczyk filed a motion asking for authorization to continue on an indigent basis. (Document 5; see Document 6).
In his complaint, Orsik asked the court to appoint legal counsel. (Document 1, page 12). The request for appointment of counsel should be made with a formal application to the court. Because the substance of Olzick’s claims is unclear at this time, the court dismissed the lawsuit but allowed him to file an amended complaint, making any request to appoint counsel premature.
The matter is now before the Court (1), which has a legal duty to hear the complaint under 28 U.S.C. consider. § 1915A, 28 U.S.C. § 1915 and 42 U.S.C. § 1997e and deny it if it does not present a claim upon which relief could be granted; and (2) decide Orsik’s request to proceed on an indigent basis. (Document 1; Document 5).
The court finds reasonableness under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, 28 U.S.C. § 1915, and 42 U.S.C. § 1997e, but should allow Olszyk to file an amended complaint. Olszyk’s request to proceed on a pendency basis (Doc. 5) was granted. 1. Background
In a generous explanation of Orsik’s complaint, he appeared to claim that, starting in 2017 and continuing to this day, Judge Michael Baras deprived him of due process and acted deliberately indifferent to Orsik in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
