Evans v. Supreme Court of California et al

Filing 7

ORDER by Judge ARMSTRONG denying 6 Motion to Appoint Counsel (lrc, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/30/2011)

Evans v. Supreme Court of California et al

Doc. 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 United States District Court For the Northern District of California 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Plaintiff has filed a motion for appointment of counsel to represent him in this action. 18 There is no constitutional right to counsel in a civil case unless an indigent litigant may lose 19 his physical liberty if he loses the litigation. See Lassiter v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 452 U.S. 18, 25 20 (1981); Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997) (no constitutional right to counsel in 21 § 1983 action), withdrawn in part on other grounds on reh'g en banc, 154 F.3d 952 (9th Cir. 1998) 22 (en banc). The court may ask counsel to represent an indigent litigant under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 only 23 in "exceptional circumstances," the determination of which requires an evaluation of both (1) the 24 likelihood of success on the merits, and (2) the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se 25 in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. See id. at 1525; Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 26 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986). Both of 27 these factors must be viewed together before reaching a decision on a request for counsel under 28 § 1915. See id. v. CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT, al., Defendants. et JAMES EVANS, JR., Plaintiff, No. C 10-04778 SBA (PR) ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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Dockets.Justia.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 United States District Court For the Northern District of California 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

The Court is unable to assess at this time whether exceptional circumstances exist which would warrant seeking volunteer counsel to accept a pro bono appointment. The proceedings are at an early stage and it is premature for the Court to determine Plaintiff's likelihood of success on the merits. Moreover, Plaintiff has been able to articulate his claims adequately pro se in light of the complexity of the issues involved. See Agyeman v. Corrs. Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004). Accordingly, the request for appointment of counsel at this time is DENIED. This does not mean, however, that the Court will not consider appointment of counsel at a later juncture in the proceedings; that is, after Defendants have filed their dispositive motion such that the Court will be in a better position to consider the procedural and substantive matters at issue. Therefore, Plaintiff may file a renewed motion for the appointment of counsel after Defendants' dispositive motion has been filed. If the Court decides that appointment of counsel is warranted at that time, it will seek volunteer counsel to agree to represent Plaintiff pro bono. This Order terminates Docket no. 6. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: 3/28/11 SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG United States District Judge

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 United States District Court For the Northern District of California 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA JAMES EVANS JR., Case Number: CV10-04778 SBA Plaintiff, CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE v. CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT et al, Defendant. /

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. That on March 30, 2011, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by placing said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery receptacle located in the Clerk's office.

James Evans F-06497 California State Prison - Corcoran P.O. Box 8800 Corcoran, CA 93212 Dated: March 30, 2011 Richard W. Wieking, Clerk By: LISA R CLARK, Deputy Clerk

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