(PC) Manafov v. Rosario ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 VUSAL MANAFOV, Case No. 2:20-cv-00337-MCE-JDP (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME AND TO 13 v. APPOINT COUNSEL 14 D. ROSARIO, ECF No. 28 15 Defendant. 16 17 Plaintiff is a prisoner proceeding without counsel in this civil rights action brought under 18 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff has filed a motion that requests an extension of time and appointment 19 of counsel. ECF No. 28. As for the requested extension of time, plaintiff’s motion does not 20 identify the specific deadline he seeks to extend. Accordingly, the motion for an extension of 21 time will be denied without prejudice. 22 Plaintiff’s motion also fails to demonstrate that appointment of counsel is warranted at this 23 time. Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, see Rand v. 24 Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court lacks the authority to require an 25 attorney to represent plaintiff. See Mallard v. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of 26 Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). The court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel. See 27 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) (“The court may request an attorney to represent any person unable to 28 afford counsel”); Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. However, without a means to compensate counsel, the 1 | court will seek volunteer counsel only in exceptional circumstances. In determining whether such 2 | circumstances exist, “the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success on the merits 3 | [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the 4 | legal issues involved.” Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 5 Here, the allegations in the complaint are not exceptionally complicated, and plaintiff has 6 | not demonstrated that he is likely to succeed on the merits. For these reasons, plaintiff's motion 7 | to appoint counsel will be denied. The court may revisit this issue at a later stage of the 8 | proceedings if the interests of justice so require. If plaintiff later renews his request for counsel, 9 | he should provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances that he believes justify appointment 10 | of counsel in this case. 11 Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for an extension of time and 12 | appointment of counsel, ECF No. 28, is denied without prejudice. 13 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. 15 ( 1 Ow — Dated: _ April 8, 2021 16 JEREMY D. PETERSON 7 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28