(PC) Hill v. Youssef ( 2024 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 TION ALONZO GRIMMETT HILL, Sr., Case No. 2:23-cv-00492-JDP (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER 13 v. GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO MODIFY THE SCHEDULING ORDER AND 14 A. YOUSSEF, et al., DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL 15 Defendants. ECF Nos. 22 & 23 16 17 18 Plaintiff has filed a motion to modify the September 7, 2023 scheduling order, ECF 19 No. 22, and a motion to appoint counsel, ECF No. 23. Good cause appearing, plaintiff’s motion 20 to modify the scheduling order is granted. 21 Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, see Rand 22 v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court lacks the authority to require an 23 attorney to represent plaintiff. See Mallard v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for the S. Dist. of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 24 298 (1989). The court can request the voluntary assistance of counsel. See 28 U.S.C. 25 § 1915(e)(1) (“The court may request an attorney to represent any person unable to afford 26 counsel”); Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. But without a means to compensate counsel, the court will 27 seek volunteer counsel only in exceptional circumstances. In determining whether such 28 1 | circumstances exist, “the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success on the merits 2 | [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the 3 | legal issues involved.” Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). 4 The appointment of counsel is not warranted. The allegations in the complaint are not 5 | exceptionally complicated, and plaintiff has not demonstrated that he is likely to succeed on the 6 | merits. 7 Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that: 8 1. Plaintiff's motion to modify the scheduling order, ECF No. 22, is granted. 9 2. All requests for discovery shall be filed on or before February 6, 2024. All other 10 | deadlines remain unchanged. 11 3. Plaintiff's motion to appoint counsel, ECF No. 23, is denied. 12 3 IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 ( ie — Dated: _ January 9, 2024 q———_ 15 JEREMY D. PETERSON 16 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28