Morales v. Davey et al

Filing 53

ORDER GRANTING Plaintiff's 47 Motion for Appointment of Counsel signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 5/17/2019. Attorney Justin Arrion Palmer,Christian Pereira for Jose Lorenzo Morales added. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOSE LORENZO MORALES,

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Case No.: 1:17-cv-01673-AWI-JLT (PC)

Plaintiff,

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v.

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ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF
COUNSEL

GAMBOA, et al.,

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(Doc. 47)
Defendants.

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The plaintiff has moved the Court for appointment of counsel. Plaintiffs do not have a

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constitutional right to appointed counsel in actions such as this, Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520,

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1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the Court cannot require an attorney to represent plaintiff pursuant to 28

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

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

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the 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 an

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exceptional circumstance exists, the district court must evaluate the likelihood of success of the

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merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims while considering the complexity

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of the legal issues involved. Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

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The Court finds that the appointment of counsel in this case is warranted. Justin Palmer

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and Christian Pereira have been selected from the court’s pro bono attorney panel to represent

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plaintiff and have agreed to be appointed. Accordingly, the Court ORDERS:

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1. Justin Palmer and Christian Pereira are appointed as counsel in the above entitled matter.

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2. Appointed counsel SHALL notify Sujean Park at [phone], or via email at

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[e-mail] if they have any questions related to the appointment.
3. The Clerk of the Court is directed to serve a copy of this order on Justin Palmer at

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Filer/Palmer LLP, 249 E. Ocean Blvd., Suite 501, Long Beach, CA 90802 and Christian

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Pereira at Pereira Law, 249 E. Ocean Blvd., Suite 814, Long Beach, CA 90802.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

May 17, 2019

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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