DeKenipp v. Babeu et al

Filing 29

ORDER denying without prejudice 25 Plaintiff's "Request for Service of Summons, Rule 4(b), 4(m), Fed. Rules Civil Procedure." FURTHER ORDERED denying "Plaintiff's Pro Per Motion For Leave of Court For Appointment of Advisory Counsel Pursuant to 28 USC--§ 1915(e)(1); 42 USC§ 1988; 18 USC § 300A, In a Complex Case Under 42 USC § 1983, by a State Prisoner." (Doc. 28 ). Signed by Magistrate Judge Eileen S Willett on 9/16/16.(EJA)

Download PDF
1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Joseph Andrew DeKenipp, Plaintiff, 10 11 ORDER v. 12 No. CV-14-01971-PHX-DJH (ESW) Paul R Babeu, et al., 13 Defendants. 14 15 16 Plaintiff Joseph Andrew DeKenipp is a pro se prisoner confined in the Arizona 17 Department of Corrections, Manzanita Unit, in Tucson, Arizona. He has filed a Second 18 Amended Complaint (Doc. 23), alleging a violation of his civil rights pursuant to 42 19 U.S.C. § 1983. On August 3, 2016, the Court screened the Second Amended Complaint 20 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a) and ordered Defendants Johnson, Martinez, and Neal 21 to answer Count One (Doc. 26 at 9). Counts Two, Three, and all other named Defendants 22 were dismissed without prejudice (Id.). The Court sent service packets to the Plaintiff 23 with instructions to complete and return the service packets to the Clerk of Court within 24 twenty-one days for service of process by the United States Marshals Service (“USMS”). 25 The Court set a time limit of sixty (60) days from the date of the filing of its Order (Doc. 26 26) for the Plaintiff to complete service of process (Id.). 27 Prior to the Court having screened the Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint, 28 Plaintiff filed a “Request for Service of Summons, Rules 4(b), 4(m), Fed. Rules Civil 1 Procedure” (Doc. 25). In his Request, Plaintiff seeks an extension of time to serve the 2 Defendants. The Court finds that the Request is premature as it was sought prior to the 3 screening of Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint. 4 renders Plaintiff’s Request moot. 5 completed service packets to the USMS on August 26, 2016. Time for service of process 6 has not run, nor has USMS attempted service yet. The Request (Doc. 25) shall be denied 7 without prejudice. The Court’s Order (Doc. 26) In fact, the Clerk of Court forwarded Plaintiff‘s 8 Also pending before the Court is “Plaintiff’s Pro Per Motion For Leave of Court 9 For Appointment of Advisory Counsel Pursuant to 28 USC--§ 1915(e)(1); 42 USC§ 10 1988; 18 USC § 300A, In a Complex Case Under 42 USC § 1983, by a State Prisoner.” 11 (Doc. 28). By Order (Doc. 22) filed on March 24, 2016, the Court denied Plaintiff’s 12 previous Motion for Appointment of Counsel (Docs. 19-21). Plaintiff now requests the 13 appointment of either counsel or advisory counsel due to the limitations Plaintiff faces 14 while incarcerated, the complexity of his case, and his inability to afford an attorney. 15 As previously explained to the Plaintiff, there is no constitutional right to the 16 appointment of counsel in a civil case. See Johnson v. U.S. Dep’t of Treasury, 939 F.2d 17 820, 824 (9th Cir. 1991); Ivey v. Bd of Regents of the Univ. of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 269 18 (9th Cir. 1982). “However, a court may under ‘exceptional circumstances’ appoint 19 counsel for indigent civil litigants pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1).” Palmer v. Valdez, 20 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009) (quoting Agyeman v. Coors. Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d 21 1101, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004)). “When determining whether ‘exceptional circumstances’ 22 exist, a court must consider ‘the likelihood of success on the merits as well as the ability 23 of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal 24 issues involved.’” Palmer, 560 F.3d at 970 (quoting Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 25 954 (9th Cir. 1983)) (italics in original); see also Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 26 (9th Cir. 1991). “Neither of these considerations is dispositive and instead must be 27 viewed together.” Palmer, 560 F.3d at 970 (citing Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 28 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986)). -2- 1 Having considered both elements, Plaintiff has not shown that exceptional 2 circumstances are present that would require the appointment of counsel in this case. 3 Plaintiff has not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits, nor has he shown 4 that he is experiencing difficulty in litigating this case because of the complexity of the 5 issues involved. 6 motion, indicate that Plaintiff remains capable of navigating his proceedings and 7 presenting arguments to the Court. See Wilborn, 789 F.2d at 1331 (“If all that was 8 required to establish successfully the complexity of the relevant issues was a 9 demonstration of the need for development of further facts, practically all cases would 10 involve complex legal issues.”). Plaintiff remains in a position no different than many 11 pro se prisoner litigants. This case has not been designated complex. Having failed to 12 show that any exceptional circumstances are present, Plaintiff’s request for appointment 13 of counsel or advisory counsel will be denied. Plaintiff’s continued filings with the Court, as well as the instant CONCLUSION 14 15 For the reasons set forth herein, 16 IT IS ORDERED denying without prejudice Plaintiff’s “Request for Service of 17 Summons, Rule 4(b), 4(m), Fed. Rules Civil Procedure” (Doc. 25). 18 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED denying “Plaintiff’s Pro Per Motion For Leave of 19 Court For Appointment of Advisory Counsel Pursuant to 28 USC--§ 1915(e)(1); 42 20 USC§ 1988; 18 USC § 300A, In a Complex Case Under 42 USC § 1983, by a State 21 Prisoner.” (Doc. 28). 22 Dated this 16th day of September, 2016. 23 24 25 26 27 28 -3-

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?