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MALLARD v. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

No. 87-1490.

490 U.S. 296 (1989)

MALLARD v. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA ET AL.

Supreme Court of United States.

Decided May 1, 1989

Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

John E. Mallard, pro se, argued the cause and filed briefs for petitioner.

Gordon E. Allen, Deputy Attorney General of Iowa, argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief were Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Steve St. Clair, Assistant Attorney General.*

Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York by Alexander R. Sussman, Ogden Northrop Lewis, and John G. Koeltl; and for the Legal Services Corporation of Iowa by Martin Ozga.

Gerald F. Uelmen and Ephraim Margolin filed a brief for California Attorneys for Criminal Justice et al. as amici curiae.

JUSTICE BRENNAN delivered the opinion of the Court.

We are called upon to decide whether 28 U. S. C. § 1915(d) authorizes a federal court to require an unwilling attorney to represent an indigent litigant in a civil case. We hold that it does not.

I

Section 1915(d) provides: "The court may request an attorney to represent any [person claiming in forma pauperis status] unable to employ counsel...

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