Dawson v. Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation et al
Filing
61
ORDER DENYING Request for Appointment of Counsel 58 , signed by Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin on 10/19/17. (Martin-Gill, S)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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ISAAC DA’BOUR DAWSON,
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
1:15-cv-01867-DAD-GSA-PC
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR
APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
(ECF No. 58.)
CDCR, et al.,
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Defendants.
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Issac Da’bour Dawson (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma
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pauperis with this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On September 18, 2017,
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Plaintiff requested court assistance to obtain a lawyer to represent him in this case. (ECF No.
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58.)
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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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“exceptional 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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In the present case, the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. At
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this stage of the proceedings, the court cannot make a determination that Plaintiff is likely to
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succeed on the merits. Defendants have filed a motion to dismiss some of the claims against
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them, which is pending and may result in the dismissal of claims. Plaintiff’s claims, arising
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from allegations of improper strip searches and retaliation, do not appear complex. Moreover,
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based on the court’s record, Plaintiff is able to adequately articulate his claims. Therefore,
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Plaintiff’s request for appointment of counsel shall be denied. Plaintiff is advised that he is not
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precluded from renewing the motion for appointment of counsel at a later stage of the
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proceedings.
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Therefore, based on the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s request
for the appointment of counsel is DENIED, without prejudice.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
October 19, 2017
/s/ Gary S. Austin
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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