(PC) Hatcher v. Junes ( 2021 )


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  • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JUSTIN HATCHER, A.K.A. LEXI No. 2:19-cv-0793 AC P HATCHER, 12 Plaintiff, 13 ORDER v. 14 G. JUNES, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action, has requested 19 appointment of counsel. ECF No. 23. In support of the motion, plaintiff states in part that she is 20 unable to afford counsel, that the issues in this case are complex and will require significant 21 research and investigation, that she has limited access to the law library, and that she has no 22 significant knowledge of the law. See id. at 1-2. 23 The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to require 24 counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 25 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the district court may request the 26 voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 27 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). 28 //// ] The test for exceptional circumstances requires the court to evaluate the plaintiffs 2 || likelihood of success on the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in 3 || light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. See Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 4 | 1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). Circumstances 5 || common to most prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library access, do not 6 || establish exceptional circumstances that would warrant a request for voluntary assistance of 7 || counsel. For these reasons, the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances at this 8 | time. 9 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for the appointment of 10 || counsel (ECF No. 23) is DENIED. 11 || DATED: June 4, 2021 ~ 12 Chthwen— Clare ALLISON CLAIRE 13 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Document Info

Docket Number: 2:19-cv-00793

Filed Date: 6/4/2021

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 6/19/2024