(HC) Townsel v. Davis ( 2019 )

2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 9 10 ANTHONY LETRICE TOWNSEL, Case No.: 1:19-cv-01394-JLT (HC) 11 Petitioner, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL 12 v. (Doc. 2) 13 RON DAVIS, 14 Respondent. 15 16 17 Petitioner has requested the appointment of counsel. There currently exists no 18 absolute right to appointment of counsel in habeas proceedings. See, e.g., Anderson v. 19 Heinze, 258 F.2d 479, 481 (9th Cir. 1958); Mitchell v. Wyrick, 727 F.2d 773, 774 (8th Cir. 20 1984). However, Title 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B) authorizes the appointment of counsel 21 at any stage of the case if "the interests of justice so require." See Rule 8(c), Rules 22 Governing Section 2254 Cases. In the present case, the Court does not find that the interests 23 of justice require the appointment of counsel at the present time. Accordingly, Petitioner’s 24 request for appointment of counsel is DENIED. 25 IT IS SO ORDERED. 26 Dated: October 8, 2019 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston 27 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 28