(PC) Jones v. Speidell ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CHARLES B. JONES, Case No. 1:16-cv-01335-DAD-JLT (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL 13 v. (Doc. 61) 14 R. SPEIDELL; M. STEWART, 15 Defendants. 16 17 Charles B. Jones requests the appointment of counsel to represent him in this action. (Doc. 18 61.) Plaintiffs do not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in section 1983 actions, 19 Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the Court cannot require an attorney 20 to represent a party under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). See Mallard v. U.S. Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 21 304-05 (1989). However, in “exceptional circumstances,” the Court may request the voluntary 22 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 extraordinary cases. In determining whether 25 “exceptional circumstances exist, a district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success on 26 the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the 27 complexity of the legal issues involved.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). /// 1 In the present case, the Court does not find the requisite exceptional circumstances. Even 2 if it is assumed that Plaintiff is not well versed in the law and has made serious allegations that, if 3 proven, would entitle him to relief, his case is not extraordinary. The Court is faced with similar 4 cases almost daily. Furthermore, based on a review of the records in this case, the Court does not 5 find that Plaintiff cannot adequately articulate his claims. 6 In his motion, Plaintiff states that he requires counsel, in part, to assist with discovery, 7 summary judgment proceedings, and preparation for trial. (See Doc. 61 at 3, 8.) However, no 8 summary judgment motions are pending, the discovery and dispositive-motion deadlines have 9 already passed (see Doc. 49), and no trial date has been set. The only upcoming court date is a 10 telephonic trial confirmation hearing on February 1, 2021, for which the deadline to submit 11 pretrial statements is December 14, 2020. (Doc. 60.) 12 For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s motion for the appointment of 13 counsel without prejudice to refiling at a later date. 14 IT IS SO ORDERED. 15 16 Dated: June 17, 2020 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27