Slamen v. Sabin

Filing 17

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 4/29/15 ORDERING that Plaintiffs request for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 16 ) is denied; and Plaintiff's request for an extension of time is granted and plaintiff shall have an additional 30 days in which to file his amended complaint. (Dillon, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MARC SLAMEN,

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No. 2:14-cv-1067-EFB P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

MANUEL SABIN, M.D., et al.,
Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel in an action brought under 42

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U.S.C. § 1983. He requests an extension of time to file his amended complaint and further

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requests that the court appoint counsel.

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District courts lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in section

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1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In exceptional

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circumstances, the court may request an attorney to voluntarily to represent such a plaintiff. See

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28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1); Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v.

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Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). When determining whether “exceptional

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circumstances” exist, the court must consider the likelihood of success on the merits as well as the

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ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues

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involved. Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009). Having considered those factors,

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the court finds there are no exceptional circumstances in this case.
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The court will, however, grant plaintiff an extension of time to file his amended complaint
pursuant to the court’s April 7, 2015 order.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s request for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 16) is denied; and

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2. Plaintiff’s request for an extension of time is granted and plaintiff shall have an

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additional thirty (30) days in which to file his amended complaint. Plaintiff is admonished that

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failure to timely file his amended complaint may result in dismissal of this action.

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DATED: April 29, 2015.

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