Williams v. Htay et al
Filing
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ORDER DENYING 11 Motion to Appoint Counsel signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 3/24/2016. (Sant Agata, S)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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1:15-cv-01026 EPG (PC)
JOHN ERIC WILLIAMS,
Plaintiff,
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
v.
(ECF No. 11.)
HTAY, et al.,
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Defendant.
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On March 17, 2016, Plaintiff filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel. Plaintiff
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does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. Rowland, 113
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F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the Court cannot require an attorney to represent Plaintiff
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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
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Court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113
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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.
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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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In determining whether
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In the present case, the Court does not find the required exceptional circumstances.
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Plaintiff argues that counsel should be appointed because he suffers an unspecified mental
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disability. This alone does not make Plaintiff’s case exceptional under the Ninth Circuit’s
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standards discussed above. Furthermore, at this stage in the proceedings, the Court cannot make
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a determination that Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits. At this juncture, Plaintiff’s
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Complaint awaits the Court=s screening required under 28 U.S.C. 1915. Thus, to date the Court
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has not found any cognizable claims in Plaintiff=s Complaint for which to initiate service of
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process, and no other parties have yet appeared. Moreover, based on a review of the record in
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this case, the Court finds that Plaintiff can adequately articulate his claims. Therefore, Plaintiff=s
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motion shall be denied without prejudice to renewal of the motion at a later stage of the
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proceedings.
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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 24, 2016
/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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