(PC) Driver v. Kern County Superior Court ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 BILLY DRIVER, No. 2:20-cv-1665 TLN KJN P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 KERN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding pro se, in an action brought under 42 U.S.C. 19 § 1983. Plaintiff requests the appointment of counsel. Plaintiff identifies five counsel whom he 20 wishes appointed to represent him in this action. 21 District courts lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in section 22 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In exceptional 23 circumstances, the court may request an attorney to voluntarily represent such a plaintiff. See 28 24 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. 25 Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). When determining whether “exceptional 26 circumstances” exist, the court must consider plaintiff’s likelihood of success on the merits as 27 well as the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the 28 legal issues involved. Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009) (district court did not 1 | abuse discretion in declining to appoint counsel). The burden of demonstrating exceptional 2 || circumstances is on the plaintiff. Id. Circumstances common to most prisoners, such as lack of 3 || legal education and limited law library access, do not establish exceptional circumstances that 4 || warrant a request for voluntary assistance of counsel. 5 Having considered the factors under Palmer, the court finds that plaintiff failed to meet his 6 || burden of demonstrating exceptional circumstances warranting the appointment of counsel at this 7 || time. However, if any of the five counsel identified in the pending motion wish to represent 8 | plaintiff in this action, they may contact the court. 9 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for the appointment of 10 || counsel (ECF No. 178) is denied without prejudice. 11 || Dated: September 6, 2022 Aectl Aharon 13 KENDALL J. NE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 14 15 | drivi665.31(4) 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28