Owens v. John Doe et al

Filing 28

ORDER denying without prejudice Plaintiff's 27 Motion to Temporarily Appoint Counsel signed by Hon. Brian A Tsuchida. **2 PAGE(S), PRINT ALL**(Mychal Owens, Prisoner ID: 878377) (TH)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MYCHAL OWENS,
Plaintiff,

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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
TEMPORARILY APPOINT
COUNSEL

v.
JOHN DOE, et al.,
Defendants.

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CASE NO. C17-1027-JCC-BAT

Plaintiff Mychal Owens has filed a motion to temporarily appoint counsel for the purpose

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of securing witness declarations. Dkt. 27. The Court hereby DENIES the motion without

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prejudice.

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Mr. Owens states that because he is in Department of Corrections custody, he is unable to

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get specific information or locations for witnesses and cannot serve or contact witnesses directly.

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He further states that he is unable to access the legal library or legal information, is housed in a

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psychiatric in-patient facility with limited resources, and has mental health issues. As the Court

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has noted in denying Mr. Owens’s previous requests for counsel, the Court may appoint counsel

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for indigent civil litigants only under exceptional circumstances. Agyeman v. Corrections Corp.

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of Am., 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004). The Court again finds that Mr. Owens has not

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presented exceptional circumstances that would justify the appointment of counsel, even on a

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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
TEMPORARILY APPOINT COUNSEL - 1

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temporary or limited basis. To the extent Mr. Owens identifies difficulties with the discovery

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process, Mr. Owens must seek to confer with the defendants and, if the issue cannot be resolved,

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file a motion related to the discovery issue.

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The Clerk shall send a copy of this Order to Mr. Owens.

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DATED this 23rd day of January, 2018.

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A

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BRIAN A. TSUCHIDA
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
TEMPORARILY APPOINT COUNSEL - 2