(PC) Jackson v. Pfeiffer ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DUWAYNE M. JACKSON, Case No.: 1:21.-cv-00452-JLT (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL 13 v. (Doc. 2) 14 C. PFEIFFER, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 On March 12, 2021, Plaintiff filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel. (Doc. 2) 18 Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. 19 Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court cannot require an attorney to represent 20 Plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the 21 Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the court 22 may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 23 1525. However, without a reasonable method of securing and compensating counsel, the court will 24 seek volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In determining whether 25 exceptional circumstances exist, the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success of 26 the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity 27 of the legal issues involved. Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 28 In the present case, the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. Even if 1 the Court assumes that Plaintiff is not well versed in the law and that he has made serious allegations 2 which, if proved, would entitle him to relief, his case is not exceptional. This Court is faced with 3 similar cases almost daily. Furthermore, at this early stage in the proceedings, the Court cannot 4 determine whether Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits. Based on a review of the record in 5 this case, the Court does not find that Plaintiff cannot adequately articulate his claims. Id. 6 Therefore, Plaintiff’s motion for the appointment of counsel is DENIED without prejudice. 7 IT IS SO ORDERED. 8 9 Dated: March 27, 2021 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28