Castle v. Chen
Filing
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ORDER DENYING Plaintiff's Motion for Appointment of Counsel (Doc. 52 ), Signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 6/5/2014. (Arellano, S.)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SY LEE CASTLE,
Case No. 1:12-cv-00326-LJO-MJS (PC)
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Plaintiff,
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v.
(ECF No. 52)
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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
C. CHEN,
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Defendants.
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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights
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action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This matter proceeds against Defendant Chen on
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claims of inadequate medical care and retaliation.
Before the Court is Plaintiff’s June 4, 2014 motion seeking appointment of counsel
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on grounds: he lacks funds to retain private counsel, the case is complex and requires
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investigation and discovery, he has limited education and knowledge of the law and library
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access, and trial will likely involve conflicting medical testimony.
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I.
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LEGAL STANDARD
Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand
v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), partially overruled on other grounds, 154
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F.3d 952, 954 n.1 (9th Cir. 1998), and the Court cannot require an attorney to represent
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him pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the
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Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances
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the Court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 1915(e)(1).
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Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. However, without a reasonable method of securing and
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compensating counsel, the Court will seek volunteer counsel only in the most serious and
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exceptional cases. In determining whether “exceptional circumstances exist, the district
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court must evaluate both the likelihood of success of the merits [and] the ability of the
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[plaintiff] to articulate his or her claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues
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involved.” Id. Neither of these factors is dispositive and both must be viewed together
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before reaching a decision on request of counsel under section 1915(d). Wilborn v.
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Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th
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Cir. 2009).
The burden of demonstrating exceptional circumstances is on the Plaintiff. See
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Palmer, 560 F.3d at 970 (plaintiff “has not made the requisite showing of exceptional
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circumstances for the appointment of counsel”); accord, Alvarez v. Jacquez, 415 F. App’x
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830, 831 (9th Cir. 2011) (plaintiff “failed to show exceptional circumstances”); Simmons v.
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Hambly, 14 F. App’x. 918, 919 (9th Cir. 2001) (same); Davis v. Yarborough, 459 F. App’x
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601, 602 (9th Cir. 2011) (plaintiff “did not show the ‘exceptional circumstances' required to
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appoint counsel under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1).”).
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II.
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APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL DENIED
There are not exceptional circumstances supporting appointment of counsel. The
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Court cannot make a determination at this stage of the litigation that Plaintiff is likely to
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succeed on the merits. The claims alleged do not appear to be novel or unduly complex.
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The facts alleged to date appear straightforward and unlikely to involve any extensive
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investigation and discovery. Even if it is assumed that Plaintiff is not well versed in the law
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and that he has made serious allegations which, if proved, would entitle him to relief, his
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case is not exceptional. This Court is faced with similar cases almost daily.
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The papers filed by Plaintiff in this case reflect an appreciation of the legal issues
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and standards relating to retaliation and medical indifference and an ability to express
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same adequately in writing. The Court does not find that at present he cannot adequately
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articulate his claims pro se.
Finally, Plaintiff makes no showing that he has exhausted diligent efforts to secure
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counsel. His lack of funds and efforts to date do not demonstrate that further efforts to
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secure counsel necessarily would be futile.1
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III.
For the reasons stated, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for
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ORDER
appointment of counsel (ECF No. 52) is DENIED, without prejudice.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated:
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June 5, 2014
/s/
Michael J. Seng
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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See e.g., Thornton v. Schwarzenegger, 2011 WL 90320, *3–4 (S.D. Cal. January 11, 2011) (cases cited).
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