Goolsby v. Rohrer et al

Filing 14

ORDER denying 7 Motion to Appoint Counsel signed by Judge J Richard Creatura.(MET) cc: plaintiff

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT TACOMA

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ANTWONE DORNELL GOOLSBY,

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Plaintiff,
v.
LIZA ROHRER, DAN PACHOLKE,
BERNARD WARNER,

CASE NO. C14-5577 RBL-JRC
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF
COUNSEL WITHOUT PREJUDICE

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Defendants.
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The District Court has referred this 42 U.S.C. §1983 civil rights action to Magistrate

17 Judge J. Richard Creatura. The Court’s authority for the referral is 28 U.S.C. §§ 636(b)(1)(A)
18 and (B) and Local Magistrate Judge Rules MJR 1, MJR 3, and MJR 4.
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Plaintiff asks the Court to appoint counsel to represent him in this matter (Dkt. 7). There

20 is no right to have counsel appointed in cases brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Although the
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Court can request counsel to represent a party, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), the Court may do so only in
exceptional circumstances. Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Franklin v.
Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1236 (9th Cir. 1984); Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089 (9th Cir. 1980). A
finding of exceptional circumstances requires the Court to evaluate both the likelihood of success on
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR
APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL WITHOUT
PREJUDICE - 1

1 the merits and the ability of plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the
2 legal issues involved. Wilborn, 789 F.2d at 1331.
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Plaintiff has articulated a claim that he was denied access to courts based on his transfer to

4 California prisons and his alleged inability to access Washington law (Dkt. 6). Plaintiff has multiple
5 Washington State convictions and is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole (Dkt. 6).
6 Plaintiff filed this motion at the same time that he moved for in forma pauperis status and filed a
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proposed complaint (Dkt.1).
Defendants are in the process of appearing and waiving service and the case is not at a stage
where the Court can assess if plaintiff can show a likelihood of success on the merits. Further,
although plaintiff’s handwriting sometimes is difficult to decipher, he is able to articulate his claims.
At this time, plaintiff has failed to show that exceptional circumstances warrant appointment

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of counsel. The Court denies his motion for appointment of counsel without prejudice.

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Dated this 8th day of September, 2014.
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A

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J. Richard Creatura
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR
APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL WITHOUT
PREJUDICE - 2