(PC) Foster v. Tulare County Sheriff's Department ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 JONAS B. FOSTER, 1:20-cv-01596-SAB (PC) 11 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR 12 v. APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL, WITHOUT PREJUDICE 13 TULARE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, et al (ECF No. 3) 14 Defendant. 15 16 On November 12, 2020, Plaintiff filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel. 17 Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. Rowland, 18 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the Court cannot require an attorney to represent 19 plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the 20 Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). However, in certain exceptional 21 circumstances the Court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 22 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. 23 Without a reasonable method of securing and compensating counsel, the Court will seek 24 volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In determining whether 25 “exceptional circumstances exist, the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success 26 of the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the 27 complexity of the legal issues involved.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 28 /// 1 In the present case, the Court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. Even 2 | if it is assumed that Plaintiff is not well versed in the law and that he has made serious allegations 3 | which, if proved, would entitle him to relief, his case is not exceptional. This Court is faced with 4 | similar cases almost daily. Circumstances common to most prisoners, such as lack of legal 5 | education and limited law library access, do not establish exceptional circumstances that would 6 || warrant a request for voluntary assistance of counsel. In the present case, the Court has yet to 7 | screen Plaintiff's complaint and based on a cursory review of the complaint, the Court does not g | find the required exceptional circumstances. 9 For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s motion for the appointment of counsel is HEREBY 10 | DENIED, without prejudice. 11 12 | TPIS SO ORDERED. Al (ee 13 |) Dated: _ November 13, 2020 OF 4 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 >