Ireland v. Penzone ( 2020 )

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Howard George Ireland, No. CV-20-00650-PHX-SRB (ESW) 10 Plaintiff, ORDER 11 v. 12 Paul Penzone, et al., 13 Defendants. 14 15 The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s “Petition for Appointment of Counsel” (Doc. 16 30). There is no constitutional right to the appointment of counsel in a civil case. Ivey v. 17 Bd. of Regents of the Univ. of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 269 (9th Cir. 1982)). In pro se and 18 in forma pauperis proceedings, district courts do not have the authority “to make coercive 19 appointments of counsel.” Mallard v. United States District Court, 490 U.S. 296, 310 20 (1989). District courts, however, do have the discretion to request that an attorney 21 represent an indigent civil litigant upon a showing of “exceptional circumstances.” 28 22 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1); Agyeman v. Corrections Corp. Of America, 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 23 (9th Cir. 2004); Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991). A determination 24 with respect to exceptional circumstances requires an evaluation of the likelihood of 25 success on the merits as well as the ability of Plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in 26 light of the complexity of the legal issue involved. Id. “Neither of these factors is 27 dispositive and both must be viewed together before reaching a decision.” Id. (quoting 28 Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986)). 1 Having considered both elements, the Court does not find that exceptional 2|| circumstances are present that would require the appointment of counsel in this case. || Plaintiff is in no different position than many pro se prisoner litigants. His filings in this 4|| case demonstrate his ability to clearly articulate his position to the Court. His case is not 5 || complex. 6 Accordingly, 7 IT IS ORDERED denying Plaintiffs “Petition for Appointment of Counsel” 8 || (Doc. 30). 9 Dated this 16th day of December, 2020. . Cay) doh Honorable Eileen S. Willett 2 United States Magistrate Judge 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -2-