Humes v. Sacramento County

Filing 18

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney on 7/3/2018 DENYING 17 Motion for the Appointment of Counsel. (Henshaw, R)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JON HUMES,

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No. 2:18-cv-0946 CKD P
Plaintiff,

v.

ORDER

SACRAMENTO COUNTY,
Defendant.

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Plaintiff is a Sacramento County Jail prisoner proceeding pro se in an action brought

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under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff requests that the court appoint counsel. District courts lack

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authority to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in section 1983 cases. Mallard v.

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United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In exceptional circumstances, the court may

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request an attorney to voluntarily represent such a plaintiff. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell

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v. 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). When determining whether “exceptional circumstances” exist, the court must

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consider plaintiff’s likelihood of success on the merits as well as the ability of the plaintiff to

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articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. Palmer v.

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Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009) (district court did not abuse discretion in declining to

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appoint counsel). The burden of demonstrating exceptional circumstances is on the plaintiff. Id.

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Circumstances common to most prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library
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access, do not establish exceptional circumstances that warrant a request for voluntary assistance

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of counsel.

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Having considered the factors under Palmer, the court finds that plaintiff has failed to

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meet his burden of demonstrating exceptional circumstances warranting the appointment of

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counsel at this time.

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

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counsel (ECF No. 17) is denied without prejudice.

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Dated: July 3, 2018

_____________________________________
CAROLYN K. DELANEY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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hume0946.31

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