(PC) Smith v. Shasta County Jail ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JAMES EDWARD SMITH, No. 2:21-cv-0877 JAM CKD P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 SHASTA COUNTY JAIL, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff, a former county inmate currently in state custody, is proceeding pro se in an 18 action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff requests that the court appoint counsel. District 19 courts lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in section 1983 cases. 20 Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In exceptional circumstances, the 21 court may request an attorney to voluntarily represent such a plaintiff. See 28 U.S.C. § 22 1915(e)(1); Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 23 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). When determining whether “exceptional circumstances” 24 exist, the court must consider plaintiff’s likelihood of success on the merits as well as the ability 25 of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues 26 involved. Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009) (district court did not abuse 27 discretion in declining to appoint counsel). The burden of demonstrating exceptional 28 circumstances is on the plaintiff. Id. Circumstances common to most prisoners, such as lack of 1 | legal education and limited law library access, do not establish exceptional circumstances that 2 || warrant a request for voluntary assistance of counsel. 3 Having considered the factors under Palmer, the court finds that plaintiff has failed to 4 | meet his burden of demonstrating exceptional circumstances warranting the appointment of 5 || counsel at this time. 6 Plaintiff has also filed a motion for an extension of time to file an amended complaint. 7 Good case appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that : 8 1. Plaintiff's request for the appointment of counsel (ECF No. 19) is denied without 9 prejudice. 10 2. Plaintiff's motion for an extension of time (ECF No. 19) is granted. 11 | Plaintiffis granted thirty days from the date of this order in which to file an amended complaint. 12 | Dated: October 6, 2021 / aa / x ly a 13 CAROLYN K DELANEY 14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 12/smit0877.31+36.docx 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28