Treglia v. Director of California Department of Corrections et al

Filing 38

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 04/23/10 ORDERING that dft shall reply w/i 14 days if they would wish to participate in a settlement conference and plf's 37 Motion to Appoint Counsel is DENIED. (Benson, A.)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 vs. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 DIRECTOR OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Defendants. / Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel. Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On February 22, 2010, and March 1, 2010, plaintiff filed motions to compel, for sanctions and for summary judgment which are pending before the court. On April 5, 2010, plaintiff filed a motion for a settlement conference. Defendant has not responded to the motion for a settlement conference, so defendant shall reply within 14 days and state if they wish to take part in a settlement conference. If defendant chooses not to proceed with a settlement conference, the court will address the pending motions. On April 21, 2010, plaintiff filed a motion requesting the appointment of counsel. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the court may request the voluntary 1 ORDER DANIEL TREGLIA, Plaintiff, No. 2:09-cv-0352 KJN P IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). In the present case, the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. Therefore, plaintiff's request for the appointment of counsel is denied. In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. Defendant shall reply within 14 days if they wish to participate in a settlement conference. 2. Plaintiff's April 21, 2010 request for the appointment of counsel is denied. DATED: April 23, 2010

_____________________________________ KENDALL J. NEWMAN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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