(PC) Walker v. Grether ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOEVON VIYALE WALKER, Case No. 2:22-cv-0463-WBS-JDP (PC) 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 K. GRETHER, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 Plaintiff is a state inmate proceeding without counsel in this civil rights action brought 19 under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff moves for the appointment of counsel. ECF No. 35. 20 Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, see Rand 21 v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court lacks the authority to require an 22 attorney to represent plaintiff. See Mallard v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for the S. Dist. of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 23 298 (1989). The court can request the voluntary assistance of counsel. See 28 U.S.C. 24 § 1915(e)(1) (“The court may request an attorney to represent any person unable to afford 25 counsel”); Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. But without a means to compensate counsel, the court will 26 seek volunteer counsel only in exceptional circumstances. In determining whether such 27 circumstances exist, “the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success on the merits 28 1 | [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the 2 | legal issues involved.” Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 3 Plaintiff moves for the appointment of counsel because he is unable to afford counsel, 4 | being incarcerated limits his ability to litigate, and the issues in this case complex. ECF No. 35 at 5 | 1. The allegations in the complaint are not exceptionally complicated, and plaintiff has not 6 | demonstrated that he is likely to succeed on the merits. Indeed, the challenges plaintiff identified 7 | are unfortunately common to many prisoners. Plaintiff has not demonstrated exceptional 8 | circumstances warranting the appointment of counsel. 9 Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for the appointment of 10 || counsel, ECF No. 35, is denied. 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. 13 ( 1 Ow — Dated: _ October 5, 2023 q-—— 14 JEREMY D. PETERSON 15 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28