Condee v. Castillo et al
Filing
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ORDER DENYING 20 Motion to Appoint Counsel signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 10/18/16. (Marrujo, C)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CHRISTOPHER CONDEE,
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Plaintiff,
vs.
CASTILLO, et al.
Case No. 1:14-cv-01072-DAD-EPG-PC
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF
COUNSEL
(ECF No. 20)
Defendant.
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Plaintiff Christopher Condee is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this action
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alleging violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On September 27, 2016, the Court issued Findings and
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Recommendations recommending that Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint be dismissed
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with prejudice for failure to state a claim. (ECF No. 19.) On October 13, 2016, Plaintiff filed a
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motion for the appointment of counsel. (ECF No. 20.)
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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 an attorney to
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represent Plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ' 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court
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for the Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). However, in certain exceptional
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circumstances the Court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section
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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
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of 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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Plaintiff argues that exceptional circumstances exist because he has only a sixth grade
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education and is opposed by “teams of highly skilled and seasoned state’s attorneys, whose
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only job is to thwart prisoner law suits.” (ECF No. 20.) Plaintiff contends that, without counsel,
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his claim will fail because he will not be able to obtain adequate evidence to prove his case.
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Plaintiff’s case does not demonstrate the exceptional circumstances required for the
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appointment of counsel. The Court cannot find that there is a likelihood that Plaintiff’s claim
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will succeed on its merits because it has already found that the complaint fails to state a claim.
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Nor is this finding a result of any inability on Plaintiff’s part to articulate his claims. The Court
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was able to adequately evaluate the facts Plaintiff alleged in his complaints; the
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recommendation that the complaint be dismissed was made because, even assuming those facts
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to be true, the complaint does not state a legal cause of action.
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Plaintiff=s motion for the appointment of counsel (ECF No. 20) is DENIED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
October 18, 2016
/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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