Herrera v. Rouch

Filing 22

ORDER DENYING 21 Motion to Appoint Counsel signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 10/10/2013. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ROBERTO HERRERA,

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Plaintiff,

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ORDER
DENYING
MOTION
APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL

FOR

v.

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CASE No. 1:13-cv-00289-LJO-MJS

ROUCH,

(ECF No. 21)

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff Roberto Herrera is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma

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pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (ECF No. 1.) On

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September 20, 2013, Plaintiff filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel.1 (ECF

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No. 21.)

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Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action,

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Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997) (partially overruled en banc on

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other grounds, 154 F.3d 952, 954 n. 1 (9th Cir. 1998)), and the Court cannot require an

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attorney to represent plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United

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States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989).
In certain exceptional circumstances the Court may request the voluntary

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Plaintiff concurrently filed a request for a preliminary injunction. That request is addressed in a separate
order.

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assistance of counsel pursuant to section 1915(e)(1).

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However, without a reasonable method of securing and compensating counsel, the

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Court will seek volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In

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determining whether “exceptional circumstances exist, the district court must evaluate

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both the likelihood of success of the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate

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his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Id. (internal

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quotation marks and citations omitted).

Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525.

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In the present case, the Court does not find the required exceptional

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circumstances. Even if it is assumed that Plaintiff is not well versed in the law and that

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he has made serious allegations which, if proved, would entitle him to relief, his case is

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not exceptional. This Court is faced with similar cases almost daily. Further, at this early

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stage in the proceedings, the Court cannot make a determination that Plaintiff is likely to

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succeed on the merits, and based on a review of the record in this case, the Court does

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not find that Plaintiff cannot adequately articulate his claims. Id.
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel is

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DENIED, without prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

October 10, 2013

/s/

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
DEAC_Signature-END:

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Michael J. Seng

ci4d6

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