(PC) Cyprian v. Constable ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 REALIOUS CYPRIAN, No. 2:19-cv-0689 JAM AC P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 T. CONSTABLE, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff, an inmate currently housed at California Health Care Facility (“CHCF”), has 18 requested the appointment of counsel. ECF No. 59. In support of the motion, plaintiff states that 19 due to new COVID-19 cases and modified programming at CHCF, his access to legal help and to 20 resources has been greatly hindered. See id. at 1. Plaintiff further represents that his own 21 confinement and transfers to different facility yards have also served to make it more difficult for 22 him to seek and receive legal help and assistance. See id. 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 court may request the voluntary 26 assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 27 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). 28 //// 1 The court recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented functional 2 || challenges both to the prison system and to the courts, and that as a result, litigants’ abilities to 3 || proceed with their actions in traditional ways have been frequently stymied. Unfortunately, the 4 || litigation delays plaintiff has been experiencing cannot be said to be outside the norm. The court 5 || has been, and will continue to be, open to the granting of continuances on as “as needed” basis. 6 || Moreover, plaintiff has thus far proven capable of presenting his positions to the court. For these 7 || reasons the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances in this case. 8 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs request for the appointment of 9 || counsel (ECF No. 59) is DENIED. 10 | DATED: October 15, 2021 □ Ctlhter— Lane ALLISONCLAIRE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28