Zolnierz v. Arpaio et al

Filing 43

ORDER denying 38 Motion to Appoint Counsel; denying 38 Motion to Appoint Guardian ad Litem. (See document for details). Signed by Judge G Murray Snow on 11/17/11.(LAD)

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1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Douglas John Zolnierz, Plaintiff, 10 11 vs. 12 Joseph M. Arpaio, et al. 13 Defendants. 14 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) No. CV-11-146-PHX-GMS ORDER 15 16 Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion to Appoint Counsel and/or Guardian 17 Ad Litem (Doc. 38). There is no constitutional right to appointed counsel in a civil case. See 18 Ivey v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 269 (9th Cir. 1982). The Court, 19 however, does have the discretion to appoint counsel in “exceptional circumstances.” See 20 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1); Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Aldabe 21 v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089, 1093 (9th Cir. 1980). “A finding of exceptional circumstances 22 requires an evaluation of both ‘the likelihood of success on the merits and the ability of the 23 petitioner to articulate his or her claim pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues 24 involved.’” Wilborn, 789 F.2d at 1331 (quoting Weygant v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th 25 Cir. 1983)); see Richards v. Harper, 864 F.2d 85, 87 (9th Cir. 1988). “Neither of these 26 factors is dispositive and both must be viewed together before reaching a decision on request 27 of counsel” under section 1915(e)(1). Wilborn, 789 F.2d at 1331. 28 Having considered both factors, the Court finds that Plaintiff has not demonstrated a 1 likelihood of success on the merits or that any difficulty he is experiencing in attempting to 2 litigate his case is due to the complexity of the issues involved. While Plaintiff has pointed 3 to difficulties that he is experiencing, such difficulties do not make his case exceptional. 4 Accordingly, at the present time, this case does not present “exceptional circumstances” 5 requiring the appointment of counsel. 6 7 8 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED denying Plaintiff’s Motion to Appoint Counsel and/or Guardian Ad Litem (Doc. 38). DATED this 17th day of November, 2011. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -2-

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