Gullatt III v. Dirkse ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOHN JACOB GULLATT, III, Case No. 1:20-cv-00473-NONE-EPG 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL 14 JEFF DIRKSE, et al., (ECF No. 21) 15 Defendants. 16 17 John Jacob Gullatt, III (“Plaintiff”) is a pretrial detainee or federal prisoner proceeding 18 pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On 19 June 14, 2021, Plaintiff filed a motion for appointment of counsel, stating, in part, that the 20 complexity of this case and his inability, until just recently, to access the law library warrant the 21 Court’s appointment of counsel. (ECF No. 21). 22 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), the Court may request that an attorney represent an 23 indigent party in a civil case. However, the appointment of counsel is not a constitutional right, 24 and the Court cannot require an attorney to represent a party. See Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 25 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), withdrawn in part on other grounds, 154 F.3d 952 (9th Cir. 1998); 26 Mallard v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 27 (1989). Without a reasonable method of securing and compensating counsel, the Court will seek 28 the voluntary assistance of counsel only in the most serious and exceptional circumstances. 1 | Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. In determining whether exceptional circumstances exist, “a district court 2 | must evaluate both the likelihood of success of the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to 3 || articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Jd. (internal 4 | quotation marks and citations omitted). 5 The circumstances in this case are not exceptional. First, there is nothing to indicate a 6 | likelihood of success on the merits at this juncture. Notably, when the Court screened the 7 | complaint, it found that Plaintiff failed to state any claims under Younger abstention. (ECF No. 8 | 14). Although the Court gave Plaintiff leave to amend and later granted an extension to respond to 9 | the screening order, Plaintiff failed to timely respond. (ECF No. 16). Accordingly, the Court has 10 | issued findings and recommendations that this case be dismissed for failure to comply with a 11 | court order and to prosecute, which Plaintiff has received an extension of time to object to. (ECF 12 | Nos. 17, 19, 20). 13 Second, although Plaintiff’s claims have thus far been deemed unmeritorious, Plaintiff has 14 | been able to articulate his claims in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. 15 | Therefore, the Court declines to seek the voluntary assistance of counsel. 16 Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel (ECF 17 | No. 21) is denied. 18 19 IT IS SO ORDERED. 20 | Dated: _ Jume 16, 2021 [Jee hey □ 1 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 22 23 24 25 26 27 28