Cornelio v. Alfa Wassermann Diagnostic Technologies LLC

Filing 23

ORDER denying the 19 Motion to Appoint Pro Bono Counsel. Signed by Judge G Murray Snow on 11/22/10.(KMG)

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Cornelio v. Alfa Wassermann Diagnostic Technologies LLC Doc. 23 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 WO NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Alfa Wasserman Diagnostic Technologies) LLC, also named as Alfa Wasserman, ) ) ) Defendant. ) ) Joao Cornelio, No. CV-10-2023-PHX-GMS ORDER Pending before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion to Appoint Pro Bono Counsel (Doc. 19). The Court will deny the motion for the following reasons. There is no constitutional right to appointed counsel in a civil case. See Ivey v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 269 (9th Cir. 1982). The Court, however, does have the discretion to appoint counsel in "exceptional circumstances." See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1); Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089, 1093 (9th Cir. 1980). "A finding of exceptional circumstances requires an evaluation of both `the likelihood of success on the merits and the ability of the petitioner to articulate his or her claim pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.'" Wilborn, 789 F.2d at 1331(quoting Weygant v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983)); see Richards v. Harper, 864 F.2d 85, 87 (9th Cir. 1988). "Neither of these factors is dispositive and both must be viewed together before reaching a decision on request of counsel" under section 1915(e)(1). Wilborn, 789 F.2d at 1331. Dockets.Justia.com 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Having considered both factors, the Court finds that Plaintiff has not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits or that any difficulty he is experiencing in attempting to litigate his case is due to the complexity of the issues involved. While Plaintiff has pointed to financial difficulties that he is experiencing, such difficulties do not make his case exceptional. Accordingly, at the present time, this case does not present "exceptional circumstances" requiring the appointment of counsel. Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED denying the Motion to Appoint Pro Bono Counsel (Doc. 19). DATED this 22nd day of November, 2010. -2-

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