(PC) Pratt v. United State of America ( 2019 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 BYRON PRATT, 1:19-cv-01465-SKO (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL 13 v. (Doc. 6) 14 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On November 25, 2019, Plaintiff Byron Pratt filed a motion seeking the appointment of 18 counsel. (Doc. 6.) Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this civil 19 action, see Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the Court cannot require 20 an attorney to represent a party under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). See Mallard v. U.S. Dist. Court, 21 490 U.S. 296, 304-05 (1989). However, in “exceptional circumstances,” the Court may request 22 the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. 23 Given that the Court has no reasonable method of securing and compensating counsel, the 24 Court will seek volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In determining 25 whether “exceptional circumstances exist, a district court must evaluate both the likelihood of 26 success on the merits [and] the ability of the [petitioner] to articulate his claims pro se in light of 27 the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). /// 1 In the present case, the Court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. Even 2 assuming Plaintiff is not well versed in the law and has made serious allegations that, if proven, 3 would entitle him to relief, his case is not extraordinary. The Court is faced with similar cases 4 almost daily. In addition, at this stage in the proceedings, the Court cannot make a determination 5 as to whether Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits. 6 For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s motion for the appointment of 7 counsel without prejudice. 8 IT IS SO ORDERED. 9 Sheila K. Oberto 10 Dated: December 2, 2019 /s/ . UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27