Juarez v. Kobor, et al

Filing 12

ORDER DENYING 10 Motion to Appoint Counsel signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 3/4/2014. (Marrujo, C)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOSE JUAREZ,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
W. KOBOR, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Case No.: 1:14-cv-00016-SAB (PC)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
[ECF No. 10]

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Plaintiff Jose Juarez is appearing pro se in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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Now pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel, filed February

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27, 2014. Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v.

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Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court cannot require any attorney to represent

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plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the Southern

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District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). However, in certain exceptional circumstances the court

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

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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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“exceptional circumstances exist, the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success on the

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

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legal issues involved.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

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In the present case, the Court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. Even if it

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assumed that plaintiff is not well versed in the law and that he has made serious allegations which, if

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proved, would entitle him to relief, his case is not exceptional. Plaintiff alleges an Eighth Amendment

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claim against several defendants for denying him appropriate medical attention. The legal issues

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present in this action are not complex, and Plaintiff has thoroughly set forth his allegations in the

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complaint. However, at this early stage in the proceedings, the court cannot make a determination that

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

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does not find that plaintiff cannot adequately articulate his claims. Id.
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s motion for the appointment of counsel is HEREBY
DENIED, without prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

March 4, 2014
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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