(PC) Chavez v. Kings County ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PABLO CHAVEZ, Case No. 1:20-cv-00369-AWI-EPG (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION 13 FOR APPOINTMENT OF PRO BONO v. COUNSEL, WITHOUT PREJUDICE, AND 14 GRANTING EXTENSION OF TIME KINGS COUNTY, et al., (ECF No. 36) 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 Pablo Chavez (“Plaintiff”) is a former prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in 19 this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 20 On April 29, 2021, Plaintiff filed a motion for appointment of pro bono counsel. (ECF 21 No. 25). Plaintiff asks for appointment of counsel because he does not understand what to do. 22 Plaintiff also asks the Court to give him extra time to get a lawyer. 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a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. 24 Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), withdrawn in part on other grounds, 154 F.3d 952 25 (9th Cir. 1998), and the Court cannot require an attorney to represent Plaintiff pursuant to 28 26 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 27 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). However, in certain exceptional circumstances the Court may request 28 the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 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, a 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 5 complexity of the legal issues involved.” Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). 6 The Court will not order appointment of pro bono counsel at this time. The Court has 7 reviewed the record in this case, and at this time the Court is unable to make a determination that 8 Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits of his claims. Moreover, it appears that Plaintiff can 9 adequately articulate his claims. 10 However, the Court will grant Plaintiff an extension of time to file his scheduling and 11 discovery statement. On March 1, 2021, the Court issued an order requiring the parties to submit 12 scheduling and discovery statements within thirty days. (ECF No. 32). On March 31, 2021, 13 Defendants filed their scheduling and discovery statement. (ECF No. 34). Plaintiff did not file a 14 scheduling and discovery statement, and his deadline to do so passed. However, on April 14, 15 2021, the Court granted Plaintiff an additional twenty-one days to file his scheduling and 16 discovery statement. Plaintiff now states that he does not know what to do, but the Court’s order 17 issued on March 1, 2021, which the Court re-sent to Plaintiff on April 14, 2021, clearly explains 18 what Plaintiff must do. That is, Plaintiff must file a scheduling and discovery statement that 19 addresses the issues identified in the March 1, 2021 order.1 20 Nevertheless, the Court will grant Plaintiff an extension of time to file his scheduling and 21 1 As stated in the March 1, 2021 order, the statement 22 shall address all of the following issues: 23 i. A brief summary of the parties’ claims and/or defenses. ii. The name and, if known, the address and telephone number of each witness, besides 24 expert witnesses, the party may call at trial. iii. A description by category and location of all documents the party may use at trial. 25 iv. Whether any third parties, other than Plaintiff’s institution of confinement, is likely to have relevant documents. 26 v. Whether the party intends to use expert witnesses. vi. If a settlement conference has not occurred, when the party will be prepared to 27 participate in a settlement conference. (ECF No. 32, pgs. 1-2). 28 1 | discovery statement. After the Court receives Plaintiffs statement, the Court will issue a 2 | scheduling order that will explain the next deadlines in the case and what to do to for those 3 | deadlines. 4 Plaintiff is advised that he is not precluded from renewing his motion for appointment of 5 | pro bono counsel at a later stage of the proceedings. 6 For the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that: 7 1. Plaintiff's motion for appointment of pro bono counsel is DENIED without 8 prejudice; and 9 2. Plaintiff has until June 9, 2021, to file his scheduling and discovery statement. 10 i IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 | Dated: _May 3, 2021 [see ey B UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28