Patton v. Cortez Masto et al
Filing
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ORDER Denying Plaintiff's 28 Motion to See Outside Doctor and Denying 33 Motion to Appoint Counsel. Signed by Magistrate Judge Peggy A. Leen on 4/22/2015. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLD)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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KENNETH PATTON,
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Plaintiff,
v.
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Case No. 2:14-cv-00519-LDG-PAL
ORDER
IRA HOLLINGSWORTH,
(Mtn Outside Doctor – Dkt. #28;
Mtn for Appoint. of Counsel – Dkt. #33)
Defendant.
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This matter is before the court on Plaintiff Kenneth Patton’s Motion to See Outside
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Doctor (Dkt. #28) and Motion for Appointment of Counsel (Dkt. #33). These motions were
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referred to the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A) and LR IB 1-3 and 1-9.
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Mr. Patton is a prisoner proceeding in this case pro se and in forma pauperis. Mr. Patton
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initiated this action in state court, and on April 7, 2014, Defendant Ira Hollingsworth removed it
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to federal court. See Petition for Removal (Dkt. #1). The court screened Mr. Patton’s Complaint
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(Dkt. #8) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915, determined that it stated claims against Mr.
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Hollingsworth for excessive force and retaliation, and scheduled this case for an inmate early
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mediation conference. See Screening Order (Dkt. #7); Order (Dkt. #11). The mediation was
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held August 13, 2014, and was unsuccessful. See Minutes of Proceedings (Dkt. #13). Pursuant
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to the court’s Order (Dkt. #14), the Attorney General filed an Acceptance of Service (Dkt. #18)
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on behalf of Mr. Hollingsworth, who filed an Answer (Dkt. #21) on October 20, 2014.
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I.
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MOTION TO SEE OUTSIDE DOCTOR
The court has considered Mr. Patton’s Motion (Dkt. #28) and Mr. Hollingsworth’s
Opposition (Dkt. #30). No reply was filed.
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Mr. Patton requests to see an outside doctor in order to receive a detailed report and
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examination about his arm. Motion (Dkt. #28) at 1. The motion cites no legal authority
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supporting his request. It appears Patton is seeking an appointment with an outside doctor to
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examine him and write a report to support his excessive force claim. He sent two letters to
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Deputy Attorney General Frost but received no response.
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Rule 35 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure authorizes a district court to order a party
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whose mental or physical condition is in controversy to submit to a physical or mental
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examination by a licensed professional. Fed. R. Civ. P 35(a)(1). An order for the physical
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examination “may be made only on motion for good cause and on notice to all parties and the
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person to be examined; and must specify the time, place, manner, conditions, and scope of the
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examination, as well as the person or persons who will perform it.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 35(1)(2)(A)
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and (B). The rule allows an opposing party who complies with the rule to obtain an order
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requiring a Plaintiff to submit to a medical examination. It does not allow a party who has
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placed his or her mental or physical condition at issue to obtain an expert examination or report.
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Rule 35 does not authorize Mr. Patton to seek his own free examination to obtain
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evidence to prosecute his case. Smith v. Carroll, 602 F. Supp. 2d 521, 526 (D. Del. 2009).
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Instead, in limited circumstances, Rule 35 “allows the court to order a party to submit to a
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physical examination at the request of an opposing party.” Id. (emphasis added); see also Brown
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v. United States, 74 F. App’x 611, 614 (7th Cir. 2003) (holding that Rule 35 does not permit the
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court to appoint an expert to examine an indigent party who seeks an examination of himself).
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“The expenditure of public funds on behalf of an indigent litigant is proper only when authorized
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by Congress.” Tedder v. Odel, 890 F.2d 210 (9th Cir. 1989). Numerous court have recognized
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that the in forma pauperis statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1915, does not authorize the expenditure of public
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funds for witnesses. See, e.g., Gorton v. Todd, 793 F. Supp. 2d 1171, 1181 n.11 (E.D. Cal. 2011)
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(discussing multiple cases). As the Seventh Circuit pointed out in Brown, “no civil litigant, even
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an indigent one, has a legal right” to “compel the government to bear the cost and responsibility
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for hiring an expert witness to testify on his behalf in order to establish a fundamental element of
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his case.” 74 Fed. Appx. at 614–15.
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II.
MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
The court has also considered Mr. Patton’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel (Dkt.
#33) and Mr. Hollingsworth’s Opposition (Dkt. #35). No reply was filed.
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Mr. Patton requests an order appointing him counsel in this case because he cannot afford
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to hire an attorney. Motion (Dkt. #33) at 1. Mr. Patton represents that that his imprisonment will
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greatly limit his ability to litigate this case. He further states that the issues involved in this case
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are complex and will require significant research. If the case proceeds to trial, Mr. Patton states
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that counsel would be better able to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
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A litigant in a civil rights action does not have a Sixth Amendment right to appointed
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counsel. Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009); Ivey v. Board of Regents, 673
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F.2d 266 (9th Cir. 1982).
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attorney to represent” litigants proceeding in forma pauperis. Id. The statute does not require
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the court to appoint counsel to represent such litigants, but only to request such representation on
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a pro bono basis. See Mallard v. United States Dist. Ct., 490 U.S. 296, 304–05 (1989); United
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States v. 30.64 Acres of Land, 795 F.2d 796, 798–804 (9th Cir. 1986). The appointment of
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counsel is limited to cases presenting exceptional circumstances. See Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d
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1089, 1093 (9th Cir. 1980) (per curiam); In deciding whether to appoint counsel, the court
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should consider the likelihood of the success of the party’s claims on the merits and the ability of
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the pro se party to articulate claims in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.
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Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991) (finding that neither factor is controlling);
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Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986).
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), the court “may request an
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Here, Mr. Patton has not established that exceptional circumstances exist to justify the
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appointment of counsel. Although the court recognizes that Mr. Patton has no legal training, the
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facts alleged and legal issues raised in this case are not especially complex and he has
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demonstrated sufficient ability to write and articulate his claims in his Complaint (Dkt. #8) and
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numerous motion filings. The court appreciates that it is difficult for pro se parties to litigate
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their claims and that almost every pro se party would benefit from representation by counsel.
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However, the court cannot require counsel to accept representation on a pro bono basis, and the
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number of attorneys available to accept appointment is very limited.
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Accordingly,
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IT IS ORDERED:
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Plaintiff’s Motion to See Outside Doctor (Dkt. #28) is DENIED.
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2.
Plaintiff’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel (Dkt. #33) is DENIED.
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Dated this 22nd day of April, 2015.
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PEGGY A. LEEN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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