(PC) Ruiz v. Orozco ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ROGELIO MAY RUIZ, 1:19-cv-00048-AWI-GSA (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR 13 v. APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL AND INTERPRETER 14 J. OROZCO, et al., (ECF Nos. 24, 28.) 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 I. BACKGROUND 19 On July 1, 2020 and July 14, 2020, Plaintiff filed motions seeking the appointment of 20 counsel and an interpreter. (ECF Nos. 24, 28.) Plaintiff asserts that he does not speak English, has 21 a low TABE score, and does not understand the law, rules of court, or legal terminology. 22 II. REQUEST FOR COUNSEL 23 Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. 24 Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court cannot require an attorney to represent 25 Plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the 26 Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298, 109 S.Ct. 1814, 1816 (1989). However, in certain 27 exceptional circumstances the court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to § 28 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. 1 Without a reasonable method of securing and compensating counsel, the court will seek 2 volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In determining whether 3 “exceptional circumstances exist, the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success of 4 the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity 5 of the legal issues involved.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 6 Plaintiff’s circumstances are challenging, but these circumstances alone do not make his 7 case exceptional under the law. Plaintiff’s complaint is in the screening stage, and at this stage of 8 the proceedings, the court cannot determine if Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits. Moreover, 9 Plaintiff has requested dismissal of this case if he is unable to proceed against one of the defendants. 10 Plaintiff acknowledges that someone is helping him with his case and with this assistance, 11 Plaintiff has been able to adequately articulate his claims. Plaintiff’s excessive force and medical 12 claims, found cognizable by the court, are not complex. The court does not find the exceptional 13 circumstances in this case required by the Ninth Circuit. Plaintiff is advised that he may renew his 14 motion for counsel at a later stage of the proceedings. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion for 15 appointment of counsel shall be denied, without prejudice. 16 III. REQUEST FOR AN INTERPRETER 17 Plaintiff also requests that the court appoint him an interpreter in this action to help him 18 litigate this case. Although the court acknowledges the difficulties Plaintiff’s limitations may pose 19 for him in this action, Plaintiff has not shown that this court has the authority to appoint him an 20 interpreter. “[T]he expenditure of public funds [on behalf of an indigent litigant] is proper only 21 when authorized by Congress . . . .“ Tedder v. Odel, 890 F.2d 210, 211–12 (9th Cir. 1989) (quoting 22 United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317, 321, 96 S.Ct. 2086, 48 L.Ed.2d 666 (1976)). The court 23 is unaware of any statute authorizing the expenditure of public funds for a court-appointed 24 interpreter in a civil action. The in forma pauperis statute does not authorize the expenditure of 25 public funds for court-appointed interpreters. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915; Loyola v. Potter, 2009 WL 26 1033398, at *2 (N.D.Cal. Apr.16, 2009) (“The court is not authorized to appoint interpreters for 27 litigants in civil cases, and, moreover, has no funds to pay for such a program.”); Fessehazion v. 28 Hudson Group, 2009 WL 2596619, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) (“[G]enerally, pro se civil litigants have 1 no entitlement to an interpreter or translator.”); Mendoza v. Blodgett, 1990 WL 263527, at *15 2 (E.D.Wash. Dec. 21, 1990) (“There is no specific statute which authorizes the court to appoint an 3 interpreter in civil in forma pauperis actions.”); compare Fed. R. Civ. P. 43(d) (granting a trial 4 judge discretion to appoint an interpreter for trial). Therefore, Plaintiff’s request for a court- 5 appointed interpreter shall be denied. 6 IV. CONCLUSION 7 For the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 8 1. Plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel, filed on July 1, 2020 and July 14, 9 2020, is denied without prejudice; and 10 2. Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of an interpreter, filed on July 14, 2020, is 11 DENIED. 12 13 IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 Dated: July 16, 2020 /s/ Gary S. Austin 15 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28