(PC) Gonzalez v. Perez ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MICHAEL HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ, No. 1:19-cv-1447-JLT (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTIONS FOR APPOINTMENT OF 13 v. COUNSEL 14 GUARD H. PEREZ, et al., (Docs. 4, 17, 19, 21, 22, 26) 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff has filed multiple motions for the appointment of counsel. The United States 18 Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent 19 prisoners in § 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In 20 certain exceptional circumstances, the court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel 21 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); 22 Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). The court does not find the 23 required exceptional circumstances in this case. Accordingly, the Court DENIES without 24 prejudice plaintiff’s motions for the appointment of counsel. 25 IT IS SO ORDERED. 26 27 Dated: April 14, 2020 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28