(PC) Bland v. Rodriguez ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOSHUA BLAND, Case No. 1:20-cv-00478-DAD-EPG (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION 13 FOR APPOINTMENT OF PRO BONO v. COUNSEL, WITHOUT PREJUDICE 14 ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, et al., (ECF No. 75) 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 Joshua Bland (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in 19 this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 20 On October 15, 2021, Plaintiff filed a notice of change of address, along with a motion for 21 appointment of pro bono counsel. (ECF No. 75). Plaintiff asks for appointment of counsel to 22 safeguard his rights. 23 Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. 24 Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), withdrawn in part on other grounds, 154 F.3d 952 25 (9th Cir. 1998), and the Court cannot require an attorney to represent Plaintiff pursuant to 28 26 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 27 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). However, in certain exceptional circumstances the Court may request 28 the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. 1 Without a reasonable method of securing and compensating counsel, the Court will seek 2 | volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In determining whether 3 | “exceptional circumstances exist, a district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success of 4 | the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the 5 | complexity of the legal issues involved.” Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). 6 The Court will not order appointment of pro bono counsel at this time. The Court has 7 || reviewed the record in this case, and at this time the Court is unable to make a determination that 8 | Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits of his claims. Moreover, it appears that Plaintiff can 9 | adequately articulate his claims. 10 Plaintiff is advised that he is not precluded from renewing his motion for appointment of 11 | pro bono counsel at a later stage of the proceedings. 12 For the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion for appointment of pro 13 | bono counsel is DENIED without prejudice. 14 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 | Dated: _ October 18, 2021 [see hey UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28