Mwasi v. Corcoran State Prison

Filing 42

ORDER Denying Motion For Appointment Of Counsel (Doc. 39 ), signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 2/4/2015. (Fahrney, E)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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1:13-cv-00695 AWI-JLT (PC)

KING MWASI,
Plaintiff,
v.
CORCORAN STATE PRISON,

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
(Doc. 39)

Defendant.

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On January 28, 2015, plaintiff filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel. This is

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the second such motion filed by Plaintiff. As he was advised previously, Plaintiff does not have a

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constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525

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(9th Cir. 1997), and the court cannot require an attorney to represent plaintiff pursuant to 28

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U.S.C. ' 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa,

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490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). However, in certain exceptional circumstances the court may request

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the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525.

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Without a reasonable method of securing and compensating counsel, the court will seek

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volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In determining whether

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Aexceptional circumstances exist, the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success of

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the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the

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complexity of the legal issues involved.@ Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
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Despite being advised of these standards previously, Plaintiff again iterates the difficulty

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of litigating this matter while in prison. Unfortunately, the Court has hundreds of cases with

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inmates facing the same situation. Virtually none of them have had any legal training, they do not

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have the amount of law library access they would like, they are concerned about their ability to

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handle trial and they all believe their case is of such complexity as to warrant appointment of

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counsel.

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However, once again, the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. The

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fact that Plaintiff is not well-versed in the law or its procedures and the fact that he has made

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serious allegations which, if proved, would entitle him to relief, does not make this case

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exceptional. To the contrary, this court is faced with similar cases every day. Further, as the

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Court informed him before, at this early stage in the proceedings, it cannot determine whether

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Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits, and based on a review of the record in this case, the

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court does not find that plaintiff cannot adequately articulate his claims. Id. Conversely, Plaintiff
has more than demonstrated his ability to communicate in writing.
For the foregoing reasons, plaintiff=s motion for the appointment of counsel is HEREBY
DENIED, without prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

February 4, 2015

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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