Etuate Sekona v. Lizarraga et al

Filing 76

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 09/18/19 DENYING 73 Motion to Appoint Counsel. (Plummer, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ETUATE SEKONA,

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No. 2:17-cv-0346-KJM-EFB P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

JOE A. LIZARRAGA, et al.,

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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 has once again requested that the court appoint counsel. As plaintiff has been

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previously informed (ECF Nos. 14, 21 32, 59), district courts lack authority to require counsel to

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represent indigent prisoners in section 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S.

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296, 298 (1989). In exceptional circumstances, the court may request an attorney to voluntarily

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to represent such a plaintiff. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1); Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017

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(9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). When

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determining whether “exceptional circumstances” exist, the court must consider the likelihood of

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success on the merits as well as the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of

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the complexity of the legal issues involved. Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009).

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Having considered those factors, the court still finds there are no exceptional circumstances in

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

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counsel (ECF No. 73) is denied.

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DATED: September 18, 2019.

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