Martinez v. Davey

Filing 19

ORDER DENYING Motion for Appointment of Counsel 18 , signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 4/5/17: Motion is denied without prejudice. (Hellings, J)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RICARDO MARTINEZ,

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Plaintiff,
v.

1:16-cv-01658-MJS (PC)
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
(ECF No. 18)

D. DAVEY,
Defendant.

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On March 9, 2017, plaintiff filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel.

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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

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to represent plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ' 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District

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Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298, 109 S.Ct. 1814, 1816 (1989).

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However, in certain exceptional circumstances the court may request the voluntary

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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

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will seek volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In

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determining whether Aexceptional circumstances exist, the district court must evaluate

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both the likelihood of success of the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate

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his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.@ Id. (internal
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quotation marks and citations omitted).
In the present case, the court does not find the required exceptional

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circumstances. Even if it is assumed that Plaintiff is not well versed in the law and that

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he has made serious allegations which, if proved, would entitle him to relief, his case is

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not exceptional. This court is faced with similar cases almost daily. Further, at this early

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stage in the proceedings, the court cannot make a determination that Plaintiff is likely to

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succeed on the merits, and based on a review of the record in this case, the court does

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not find that Plaintiff cannot adequately articulate his claims. Id.

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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.
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Dated:

April 5, 2017

/s/

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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Michael J. Seng

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