Ramirez v. Price, et al

Filing 8

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 1/14/15 ORDERING that 6 Motion to Appoint Counsel is DENIED without prejudice; For the reasons stated in the courts order filed concurrently with the instant order, theClerk of Court is directed to serve this order on plaintiff at both his current and anticipated addresses, specifically: California State Prison, Corcoran P.O. Box 8800 Corcoran CA 93212-8309 and 912 Multnomah Drive Modesto CA 95350.(Dillon, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOHN A. RAMIREZ,

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No. 2:14-cv-3013 AC P

Plaintiff,

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v.

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P. PRICE, et al.,

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ORDER

Defendants.

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Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action, requests appointment

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of counsel. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to

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require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in Section 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States

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Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the district court

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may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v.

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Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36

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(9th Cir. 1990).

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The test for exceptional circumstances requires the court to evaluate the plaintiff’s

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likelihood of success on the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in

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light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. See Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328,

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1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). Circumstances

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common to most prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library access, do not
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establish exceptional circumstances supporting a request for voluntary assistance of counsel.
In the present case, plaintiff has completed a form request for appointment of counsel that

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contains no factors unique to this case. Thus, plaintiff has failed to meet his burden of

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demonstrating exceptional circumstances warranting the appointment of counsel at this time. See

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Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009) (plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating

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exceptional circumstances warranting appointment of counsel). Moreover, plaintiff’s request is

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premature, as he is required by separate order to submit additional information in support of his

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application to proceed in forma pauperis before the court may proceed to screen the merits of

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plaintiff’s complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel, ECF No. 6, is denied without prejudice.

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2. For the reasons stated in the court’s order filed concurrently with the instant order, the

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Clerk of Court is directed to serve this order on plaintiff at both his current and anticipated

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addresses, specifically:

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California State Prison, Corcoran
P.O. Box 8800
Corcoran CA 93212-8309

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and

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912 Multnomah Drive
Modesto CA 95350
DATED: January 14, 2015

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