Ruiz v. Mobert
Filing
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ORDER DENYING 46 Motion to Appoint Counsel, signed by Magistrate Judge Jeremy D. Peterson on 8/24/2020. (Martin-Gill, S)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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Case No. 1:17-cv-00709-AWI-JDP
ROGELIO MAY RUIZ,
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO APPOINT
COUNSEL
Plaintiff,
v.
ECF No. 46
R. MOBERT,
Defendant.
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Plaintiff is a prisoner proceeding without counsel in this civil rights action brought under
42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff moves for the appointment of counsel. ECF No. 46.
Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, see Rand
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v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court lacks the authority to require an
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attorney to represent plaintiff. See Mallard v. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
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Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). The court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel. See
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28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) (“The court may request an attorney to represent any person unable to
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afford counsel”); Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. However, without a means to compensate counsel, the
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court will seek volunteer counsel only in exceptional circumstances. In determining whether such
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circumstances exist, “the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success on the merits
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[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.” Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
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The court cannot conclude that exceptional circumstances requiring the appointment of
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counsel are present here. Plaintiff was appointed counsel in this case to help him amend his
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complaint. ECF No. 39. Plaintiff is now able to state a claim. ECF No. 48. The allegations in
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the complaint are not exceptionally complicated. Further, plaintiff has not demonstrated that he is
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likely to succeed on the merits.
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Plaintiff also raises the issue that he primarily speaks Spanish. While interpreter services
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are available to the court under limited circumstances to translate oral proceedings, there is no
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statutory right—or source of funding available to the court—for a plaintiff in a civil suit to have
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written documents translated. See Kouichi Taniguchi v. Kan Pac. Saipan, Ltd., 566 U.S. 560, 575
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(2012) (holding that interpretation services under the Court Interpreters Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1920, do
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not include costs for document translation).
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The court may revisit this issue at a later stage of the proceedings if the interests of justice
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so require. If plaintiff later renews his request for counsel, he should provide a detailed
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explanation of the circumstances that he believes justify appointment of counsel in this case.
Accordingly, plaintiff’s motion to appoint counsel, ECF No. 46, is denied without
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prejudice.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated:
August 24, 2020
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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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No. 204.
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