Chen v. Campbell et al
Filing
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ORDER denying plaintiff's 4 Motion to Appoint Counsel by Judge Ricardo S Martinez.(RS) cc plaintiff
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
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Case No. C17-149 RSM
JOHN CHEN,
Plaintiff,
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL
v.
ANDREW CAMPBELL and ANDREW
HARTSTONE, INTERNAL REVENUE
SERVICE,
Defendants.
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This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Amended Motion to Appoint Counsel,
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Dkt. #4. Plaintiff argues that he needs court-appointed counsel because his prior counsel was
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ineffective, he is unemployed with financial difficulties, and because he has sought the
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involvement of several attorneys who were “unwilling to pick up a case went bad (sic) and the
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amount of claims allowed compared to the length and cost.” Dkt. #4 at 1. Plaintiff states that
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he has “studied my case and prepared my evidences but the IRS had taken the advantage of me
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before legally and culturely (sic).” Id.
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In “exceptional circumstances,” a district court may appoint counsel for indigent civil
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litigants. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1); Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997),
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overruled on other grounds, 154 F.3d 952 (9th Cir. 1998). To decide whether exceptional
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL - 1
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circumstances exist, the Court must evaluate both “the likelihood of success on the merits [and]
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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.” Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986) (quoting
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Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983)). A plaintiff must plead facts showing he
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has an insufficient grasp of his case or the legal issues involved and an inadequate ability to
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articulate the factual basis of his claims. Agyeman v. Corrections Corp. of America, 390 F.3d
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1101, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004).
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In this case, given Plaintiff’s income, assets, and expenses, it appears that Plaintiff can
afford counsel. See Financial Affidavit, Dkt. #2 at 4. Even if Plaintiff could not afford
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counsel, Plaintiff appears capable of preparing his own case and presenting it to the Court in an
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understandable fashion. Based on the limited record before the Court, it is not clear that
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Plaintiff’s claims are likely to succeed on the merits. Taking all of this into consideration, the
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Court finds that this case lacks the “exceptional circumstances” necessary to appoint counsel
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and will deny Plaintiff’s Motion.
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Having reviewed the relevant briefing, the declarations and exhibits attached thereto,
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and the remainder of the record, the Court hereby finds and ORDERS that Plaintiff’s Amended
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Motion to Appoint Counsel (Dkt. #4) is DENIED.
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DATED this 3 day of April 2017.
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A
RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL - 2
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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL - 3
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