Wallace v. Ducart
Filing
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ORDER denying 45 Motion to Appoint Counsel. (Illston, Susan) (Filed on 5/7/2018)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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GEORGE ELLIS WALLACE,
Plaintiff,
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Case No. 16-cv-03798-SI
ORDER
v.
Re: Dkt. No. 45
C. E. DUCART, et al.,
Defendants.
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Plaintiff has requested that counsel be appointed to represent him in this action. Docket
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No. 45. A district court has the discretion under 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(1) to designate counsel to
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represent an indigent civil litigant in exceptional circumstances. See Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789
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F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986). This requires an evaluation of both the likelihood of success on
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the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of
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the legal issues involved. See id. Neither of these factors is dispositive and both must be viewed
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together before deciding on a request for counsel under § 1915(e)(1). Here, exceptional
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circumstances requiring the appointment of counsel are not evident at this time. Plaintiff has been
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able to adequately articulate his claims, and there appears to be a low likelihood of success on the
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merits. The request for appointment of counsel is DENIED. Docket No. 45.
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Plaintiff stated in his request for counsel that he has limited law library access due to a
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prison lockdown. To aid him with at least some of his research for an upcoming deadline, within
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seven days of the date of this order, defendants must mail to plaintiff a copy of all the cases and
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other legal authorities they cited in their supplement to their motion for summary judgment.
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The court now resets the briefing schedule on defendants’ supplement to their motion for
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summary judgment as follows: Plaintiff must file and serve on defense counsel any supplement to
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his opposition to the motion for summary judgment no later than June 15, 2018. Defendants must
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file and serve any supplement to their reply brief no later than June 29, 2018.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 7, 2018
______________________________________
SUSAN ILLSTON
United States District Judge
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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