Turner v. Riaz et al

Filing 43

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 09/19/18 GRANTING 42 Motion to Appoint Counsel. The Clerk of Court is directed to contact Ms. Sujean Park, Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator, for the purpose of locating an attorney admitted to practice in this court who is willing to accept this appointment. The current deadline for filing dispositive motions, September 28, 2018, is VACATED until further order of this court. (cc: ADR Director) (Plummer, M)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10
11

LAFONZO R. TURNER,

12

No. 2:16-cv-0969 MCE AC P

Plaintiff,

13

v.

14

N. RIAZ, et al.,

15

ORDER

Defendants.

16
17

Plaintiff Lafonzo Turner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with

18

this civil rights action alleging deliberate indifference to plaintiff’s safety and serious medical

19

needs, against defendants Dr. Riaz, Dr. Duc, and Dr. Nguyen. See ECF Nos. 1, 12. Discovery

20

closed on June 29, 2018; the dispositive motion deadline is September 28, 2018. See ECF No.

21

34. Presently pending is plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel, filed on plaintiff’s behalf

22

by another inmate, Mr. Santiago, a self-described “jailhouse lawyer,” on the ground that plaintiff

23

recently suffered traumatic brain injury. See ECF No. 42.

24

Mr. Santiago states, under penalty of perjury, that plaintiff suffered a grave traumatic

25

brain injury on July 12, 2018, and remains in administratively segregated medical facilities at

26

California State Prison Corcoran following his hospital release. Mr. Santiago avers that plaintiff

27

is suffering “effects of confusion, sight impairment, ability to concentrate, with the additional

28

impingements of ongoing migraines 24/7 headaches and dizziness when sitting up; among other
1

1

things plaintiff has been confined to a wheelchair with incontinence. . . . [F]urthermore plaintiff

2

has no access to the law library or other inmates being that he is [in] medical/ad-seg.” ECF No.

3

42 at 1-2 (with minor edits). The request includes the findings from plaintiff’s July 12, 2018 CT

4

scan of his facial bones, demonstrating significant injuries, and a diagnosis of traumatic brain

5

injury. Id. at 3-5.

6

The undersigned finds the instant motion for appointment of counsel persuasive for the

7

reasons stated. Although the Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to require

8

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

9

Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989), the district court may request the voluntary assistance of

10

counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), when a case presents exceptional circumstances.

11

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

12

1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). The test for exceptional circumstances requires the court to evaluate the

13

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

14

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

15

1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). In the present

16

case, Mr. Santiago has persuasively demonstrated that plaintiff is unable to represent himself at

17

the dispositive motion stage against three medical professionals.

18

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

19

1. Plaintiff’s motion for the appointment of counsel, ECF No. 42, is GRANTED;

20

2. The Clerk of Court is directed to contact Ms. Sujean Park, Alternative Dispute

21

Resolution Coordinator, for the purpose of locating an attorney admitted to practice in this court

22

who is willing to accept this appointment.

23

3. The current deadline for filing dispositive motions, September 28, 2018, is VACATED

24

until further order of this court.

25

DATED: September 19, 2018

26
27
28
2