(PC) Lake v. Covello ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOHN LAKE, No. 2:20-cv-0419 TLN CKD P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 PATRICK COVELLO, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in an action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 18 Plaintiff requests that the court appoint counsel. District courts lack authority to require counsel 19 to represent indigent prisoners in section 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 20 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In exceptional circumstances, the court may request an attorney to 21 voluntarily represent such a plaintiff. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 22 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). 23 When determining whether “exceptional circumstances” exist, the court must consider plaintiff’s 24 likelihood of success on the merits as well as the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro 25 se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 26 (9th Cir. 2009) (district court did not abuse discretion in declining to appoint counsel). The 27 burden of demonstrating exceptional circumstances is on the plaintiff. Id. Circumstances 28 ///// wOASe 2 OUT EOP RIN INE MVOC PIO er OY ev 1 | common to most prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library access, do not 2 | establish exceptional circumstances that warrant a request for voluntary assistance of counsel. 3 Having considered the factors under Palmer, the court finds that plaintiff has failed to 4 | meet his burden of demonstrating exceptional circumstances warranting the appointment of 5 | counsel at this time. 6 Plaintiff has also requested a 30-day extension of time. While it is not clear, it appears 7 | plaintiff seeks an extension of time to file objections to the court’s May 1, 2020 findings and 8 | recommendations. So construed, that request will be granted. 9 Finally, plaintiff asks that the court order Assistant Attorney General Monica Anderson to 10 | assist plaintiff in locating 8 boxes of his personal property which are missing. The court has no 11 authority to do this. The California Office of the Attorney General generally represents 12 | California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation employees in civil actions. That office 13 | is not charged with investigating a prisoner’s loss of property. 14 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 15 1. Plaintiffs request for the appointment of counsel (ECF No. 12) is denied. 16 2. Plaintiff's motion for an extension of time (ECF No. 12) is granted. Plaintiff is granted 17 | 30 days from the date of this order to file objections to the court’s May 1, 2020 findings and 18 || recommendations. 19 3. Plaintiff's request that the court order Assistant Attorney General Monica Anderson to 20 | assist plaintiff in locating 8 missing boxes of his personal property is denied. 21 | Dated: June 16, 2020 dp. A. fe 2 CAROLYN K DELANEY 23 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 24 25 26 | iy 57 lake0419.31+36 28