Stevenson v. Jones
Filing
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ORDER DENYING REQUESTS FOR DISCOVERY AND COUNSEL 28 29 . (Illston, Susan) (Filed on 4/11/2017)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CHARLES L. STEVENSON,
Plaintiff,
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Case No. 15-cv-05241-SI
ORDER DENYING REQUESTS FOR
DISCOVERY AND COUNSEL
v.
Re: Dkt. Nos. 28, 29
M. JONES,
Defendant.
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Plaintiff has filed a “motion for Brady discovery material,” in which he asks for
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“exculpatory” evidence from defendant’s personnel file. (Docket No. 28.) A Brady motion is a
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procedure used in criminal cases, not in civil cases. The court already authorized the parties to
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engage in discovery, and plaintiff does not need a further court order to conduct discovery.
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(Docket No. 6 at 4.) If plaintiff wants to obtain discovery, he must comply with the discovery
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rules in Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26-37. The court generally is not involved in the
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discovery process and becomes involved only when there is a dispute between the parties about
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discovery responses. Discovery requests and responses normally are exchanged between the
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parties without any copy sent to the court. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d) (listing discovery requests and
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responses that “must not” be filed with the court until they are used in the proceeding or the court
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orders otherwise). Plaintiff’s motion for Brady material is DENIED. (Docket No. 28.)
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Plaintiff has filed a motion for appointment of counsel to represent him in this action. A
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district court has the discretion under 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(1) to designate counsel to represent an
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indigent civil litigant in exceptional circumstances. See Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328,
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1331 (9th Cir. 1986). This requires an evaluation of both the likelihood of success on the merits
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and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal
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issues involved. See id. Neither of these factors is dispositive and both must be viewed together
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before deciding on a request for counsel under § 1915(e)(1). Here, exceptional circumstances
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requiring the appointment of counsel are not evident at this time. Plaintiff states that he has been
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denied pro per status at the jail at which he is housed. The exhibit to his motion indicates that
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jailers are not designating him “pro per” because he is not proceeding pro per in his criminal case,
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but that Prisoner Legal Services department in the jail would provide some sort of assistance to
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him in his civil action. (Docket No. 29-2 at 2.) Although it may not be precisely the pro per
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status he desires, plaintiff has not shown that he has attempted to utilize the assistance which is
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being offered him by Prisoner Legal Services.
Further, plaintiff’s legal claims are rather
straightforward and he has been able to articulate his position adequately while representing
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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himself. Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel is DENIED. (Docket No. 29.)
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 11, 2017
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SUSAN ILLSTON
United States District Judge
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