Shotwell v. Brandt et al

Filing 21

ORDER by Judge Claudia Wilken DENYING 17 MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL; DENYING 12 REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF TIME AS MOOT. (ndr, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/16/2011)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA United States District Court For the Northern District of California 10 11 12 13 14 15 No. C 10-05232 CW (PR) MANUEL E. SHOTWELL, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL; DENYING REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF TIME AS MOOT Plaintiff, v. S. BRANDT, et al., Defendants. / 16 17 Plaintiff, a state prisoner, filed the instant pro se prisoner 18 complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 19 motion for appointment of counsel and also his request for 20 extension of time to respond to the Court's Order directing him to 21 show cause as to why his claims against the unserved defendants 22 should not be dismissed. 23 Before the Court is Plaintiff's There is no constitutional right to counsel in a civil case 24 unless an indigent litigant may lose his physical liberty if he 25 loses the litigation. 26 U.S. 18, 25 (1981); Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 27 1997) (no constitutional right to counsel in § 1983 action), 28 withdrawn in part on other grounds on reh'g en banc, 154 F.3d 952 See Lassiter v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 452 1 (9th Cir. 1998) (en banc). 2 an indigent litigant under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 only in "exceptional 3 circumstances," the determination of which requires an evaluation 4 of both (1) the likelihood of success on the merits, and (2) the 5 ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light 6 of the complexity of the legal issues involved. 7 Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wilborn v. 8 Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986). 9 factors must be viewed together before reaching a decision on a United States District Court For the Northern District of California 10 11 The court may ask counsel to represent See id. at 1525; Both of these See id. request for counsel under § 1915. The Court is unable to assess at this time whether exceptional 12 circumstances exist which would warrant seeking volunteer counsel 13 to accept a pro bono appointment. 14 stage and it is premature for the Court to determine Plaintiff's 15 likelihood of success on the merits. 16 appointment of counsel at this time is DENIED without prejudice to 17 the Court's considering at a later stage of the proceedings whether 18 appointment of counsel is warranted. 19 The proceedings are at an early Accordingly, the request for On May 2, 2011, Plaintiff filed a motion for extension of time 20 to respond to the Court's April 18, 2011 Order. 21 Court directed Plaintiff to show cause as to why claims against the 22 unserved named Defendants should not be dismissed within thirty 23 days from the date of that Order. 24 a timely response to the Court's Order to show cause. 25 26 In that Order, the On May 4, 2011, Plaintiff filed Accordingly, Plaintiff's motion for extension of time is DENIED as moot. 27 28 2 1 This Order terminates Docket nos. 12 and 17. 2 IT IS SO ORDERED. 3 Dated: 6/16/2011 CLAUDIA WILKEN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 4 5 6 7 8 9 United States District Court For the Northern District of California 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 2 3 MANUEL E SHOTWELL, Case Number: CV10-05232 CW 4 Plaintiff, CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 5 v. 6 S BRANDT et al, 7 Defendant. 8 9 United States District Court For the Northern District of California 10 11 12 / 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 June 16, 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. 13 14 17 Manuel Shotwell T-57486 D-7-118 low Salinas Valley State Prison P. O. Box 1050 Soledad, Ca 93960-1050 18 Dated: June 16, 2011 15 16 19 Richard W. Wieking, Clerk By: Nikki Riley, Deputy Clerk 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4

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