Ellis v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 23

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 11/8/2017 DENYING 22 Motion for Appointment of Counsel.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LYNNETTE ELLIS,

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No. 2:16-cv-1490-EFB PS

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting
Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant.

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On September 20, 2017, the court denied plaintiff’s motion to remand and granted the

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Commissioner’s motion for summary judgment. ECF No. 20. The Clerk of the Court closed the

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case and judgment was entered accordingly. ECF No. 21. On October 26, 2017, plaintiff filed a

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motion for appointment of counsel. ECF No. 22.

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28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) authorizes the appointment of counsel to represent an indigent

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civil litigant in certain exceptional circumstances. See Agyeman v. Corrections Corp. of America,

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390 F.3d 1101, 1103 (9th Cir 2004); Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir.1991);

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Richards v. Harper, 864 F.2d 85, 87 (9th Cir.1988). In considering whether exceptional

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circumstances exist, the court must evaluate (1) the plaintiff’s likelihood of success on the merits;

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and (2) the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the

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legal issues involved. Terrell, 935 F.2d at 1017. Because this case is closed, the court does not

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find that exceptional circumstances exist justifying the appointment of counsel.
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Accordingly, plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 22) is denied.
DATED: November 8, 2017.

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