Berrera v. Sivyer et al

Filing 32

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 10/24/2016 DENYING, without prejudice, plaintiff's 28 request for appointment of counsel and for a Spanish language interpreter. (Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ERNESTO BERRERA,

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No. 2:15-cv-0610-KJM-EFB P

Plaintiff,

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v.

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J. SIVYER, et al.,

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ORDER

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 that the court appoint counsel and a Spanish language interpreter.

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ECF No. 28.

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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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Plaintiff has also requested the assistance of a Spanish language interpreter, as plaintiff’s

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primary language is not English. The court will deny the request at this early stage of the

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proceedings. Plaintiff’s pleadings have been in English and he has succeeded in effectively

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communicating with the court. Moreover, plaintiff fails to point to any authority authorizing the

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expenditure of public funds for a court-appointed interpreter in a civil action. See Gonzalez v.

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Bopari, No. 1:12-cv-01053-LJO-GBC, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178295 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 17, 2012)

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(discussing lack of statutory authority for court to appoint interpreters in civil in forma pauperis

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actions).

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s request for appointment of

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counsel and for a Spanish language interpreter (ECF No. 28) is denied without prejudice.

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DATED: October 24, 2016.

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