(PC) Turner v. Guibord ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ANTHONY DEWAYNE LEE TURNER, No. 2:19-cv-0416 DB P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 SACRAMENTO CITY FIRE DEPT., et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with this civil rights action pursuant to 42 18 U.S.C. § 1983. On April 13, 2020, plaintiff’s second amended complaint was screened and found 19 devoid of a cognizable claim. (ECF No. 14.) Plaintiff was then directed to file a notice as to 20 whether he wished to proceed on the pleading as screened, to stand on his complaint, or to 21 dismiss the action. Plaintiff now moves for a 180-day extension of time to respond to the 22 screening order. (ECF No. 15.) The extension is sought because of lockdowns at the facility 23 where he is housed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Good cause appearing, this request will be 24 granted in part. 25 Plaintiff also moves for the appointment of counsel on the grounds that he is proceeding in 26 pro per, he has limited access to the law library or supplies, and he is indigent. District courts, 27 however, lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in section 1983 cases. 28 wOAOe 2 LDU VTE MMU BOI er AY ev 1 | Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In exceptional circumstances, the 2 | court may request an attorney to voluntarily represent such a plaintiff. See 28 U.S.C. § 3 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 4 | F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). When determining whether “exceptional circumstances” 5 || exist, the court must consider plaintiff's likelihood of success on the merits as well as the ability 6 | of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues 7 | involved. Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009) (district court did not abuse 8 | discretion in declining to appoint counsel). The burden of demonstrating exceptional 9 | circumstances is on the plaintiff. Id. Circumstances common to most prisoners, such as lack of 10 | legal education and limited law library access, do not establish exceptional circumstances that 11 | warrant a request for voluntary assistance of counsel. Having considered the factors under 12 | Palmer, the court finds that plaintiff has failed to meet his burden of demonstrating exceptional 13 | circumstances warranting the appointment of counsel at this time. 14 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for the appointment of 15 | counsel is DENIED without prejudice. Plaintiff's motion for an extension of time is GRANTED 16 | IN PART. Plaintiff shall file his notice or a third amended complaint within ninety days from the 17 | date of this Order. 18 | Dated: May 4, 2020 19 20 21 Di ibox/Routineluni416 cot ma SEAT anes UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 22 23 24 25 26 27 28