Hill v. Phoenix Police Department ( 2019 )

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 7 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 9 10 Michael Lynn Hill, No. CV-18-01824-PHX-SRB (ESW) 11 Plaintiff, ORDER 12 v. 13 Unknown Moller, et al., 14 Defendants. 15 16 17 The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s “Notice of Plaintiff Motion Requesting 18 Appointment of Counsel” (Doc. 19). 19 There is no constitutional right to the appointment of counsel in a civil case. Ivey v. 20 Bd. of Regents of the Univ. of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 269 (9th Cir. 1982)). In pro se and in 21 forma pauperis proceedings, district courts do not have the authority “to make coercive 22 appointments of counsel.” Mallard v. United States District Court, 490 U.S. 296, 310 23 (1989). District courts, however, do have the discretion to request that an attorney 24 represent an indigent civil litigant upon a showing of “exceptional circumstances.” 28 25 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1); Agyeman v. Corrections Corp. Of America, 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 (9th 26 Cir. 2004); Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991). A determination with 27 respect to exceptional circumstances requires an evaluation of the likelihood of success on 28 the merits as well as the ability of Plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the 1 || complexity of the legal issue involved. Id. “Neither of these factors is dispositive and both 2|| must be viewed together before reaching a decision.” Jd. (quoting Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (th Cir. 1986)). 4 Having considered both elements, the Court does not find that exceptional 5 || circumstances are present that would require the appointment of counsel in this case. 6|| Plaintiff is in no different position than many pro se prisoner litigants. His filings in this 7 || case demonstrate his ability to clearly articulate his position to the Court. His case is not 8 || complex. Accordingly, 9 IT IS ORDERED denying Plaintiff's “Notice of Plaintiff Motion Requesting 10 || Appointment of Counsel” (Doc. 19). 11 Dated this 25th day of September, 2019. 12 13 C | Honorable Eileen S. Willett 15 United States Magistrate Judge 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 _2-