Barden v. King County Sheriff et al

Filing 16

ORDER denying Plaintiff's 11 Motion to Appoint Counsel, by Hon. Brian A Tsuchida.**2 PAGE(S), PRINT ALL**(Jared Barden, Prisoner ID: 875457)(SWT)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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8 JARED MATTHEW BARDEN,
Plaintiff,

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Case No. 2:17-226 JCC-BAT
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
APPOINT COUNSEL

v.

11 ANDREW SKAAR, et al.,
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Defendants.

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Jared Matthew Barden, who is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights
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action, has filed a motion to appoint counsel. Dkt. 11. For the following reasons, the Court
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DENIES the motion.
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Generally, a person has no right to counsel in a civil action. See Campbell v. Burt, 141
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F.3d 927, 931 (9th Cir. 1998). The Court may appoint counsel for indigent civil litigants under
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28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), but only under “exceptional circumstances.” Agyeman v. Corrections
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Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004). When determining whether “exceptional
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circumstances” exist, the Court considers “the likelihood of success on the merits as well as the
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ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues
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involved.” Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983).
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Mr. Barden states that he requires that appointment of counsel because he is indigent and
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL - 1

1 is unable to hire counsel on his own. Dkt. 11. This is not an extraordinary circumstance
2 warranting the appointment of counsel. In addition, plaintiff has not shown that he is likely to
3 prevail on the merits of his claim. Appointment of counsel is therefore not justified at this time,
4 and the Court DENIES the motion (Dkt. 11).
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The Clerk shall provide a copy of this Order to plaintiff and counsel for defendants.

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DATED this 3rd day of May, 2017.

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A

BRIAN A. TSUCHIDA
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL - 2