Allred v. California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation et al

Filing 22

ORDER denying 21 Motion to Appoint Counsel signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 9/1/2017. (Lundstrom, T)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF
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CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION,
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et al.,
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Defendants.
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JESSE D. ALLRED,

Case No.: 1:16-cv-01571-LJO-SAB (PC)
ORDER DENYING, WITHOUT PREJUDICE,
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT
OF COUNSEL
[ECF No. 21]

Plaintiff Jesse D. Allred is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Currently before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel, filed August 31,

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2017. Plaintiff requests appointment of counsel to assist him in litigating this action and with service

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of process on unserved Defendants.

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There is no constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d

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1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court cannot require any attorney to represent plaintiff pursuant to

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28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 490

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

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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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“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).
In the present case, the Court does find that neither the interests of justice nor exceptional

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circumstances warrant appointment of counsel at this time. LaMere v. Risley, 827 F.2d 622, 626 (9th

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Cir. 1987); Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991). Circumstances common to most

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prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library access, do not establish exceptional

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circumstances that would warrant a request for voluntary assistance of counsel. While a pro se litigant

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may be better served with the assistance of counsel, so long as a pro se litigant, such as Plaintiff in this

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instance, is able to “articulate his claims against the relative complexity of the matter,” the

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“exceptional circumstances” which might require the appointment of counsel do not exist. Rand v.

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Rowland, 113 F.3d at 1525 (finding no abuse of discretion under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) when district

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court denied appointment of counsel despite fact that pro se prisoner “may well have fared better-

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particularly in the realm of discovery and the securing of expert testimony.”) Accordingly, Plaintiff’s

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motion for appointment of counsel is denied, without prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

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September 1, 2017
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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