(PC) James v. Sacramento County Sheriff Dept. ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RONALD EUGENE JAMES, No. 2:23-CV-0853-KJM-DMC-P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff, a prisoner proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action. Pending 18 before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for the appointment of counsel, ECF No. 3. 19 The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to 20 require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 cases. See Mallard v. United States Dist. 21 Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the court may request the 22 voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). See Terrell v. Brewer, 935 23 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). 24 A finding of “exceptional circumstances” requires an evaluation of both the likelihood of success 25 on the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims on his own in light of the 26 complexity of the legal issues involved. See Terrell, 935 F.2d at 1017. Neither factor is 27 dispositive and both must be viewed together before reaching a decision. See id. In Terrell, the 28 1 | Ninth Circuit concluded the district court did not abuse its discretion with respect to appointment 2 | of counsel because: 3 ... Terrell demonstrated sufficient writing ability and legal knowledge to articulate his claim. The facts he alleged and the issues he raised were not 4 of substantial complexity. The compelling evidence against Terrell made it 5 extremely unlikely that he would succeed on the merits. Id. at 1017. 6 7 In the present case, the Court does not at this time find the required exceptional 8 | circumstances. According to Plaintiff, appointment of counsel is warranted because: (1) Plaintiff 9 || is unable to afford counsel; (2) Plaintiffs incarceration will limit his ability to litigate; (3) 10 | Plaintiff predicts the trial will involve conflicting testimony and believes counsel would help 11 | Plaintiffto present evidence and perform examinations; and (4) Plaintiff has made repeated 12 || efforts to obtain a lawyer. See ECF No. 3, pgs. 1-2. The Court finds these circumstances are not 13 || exceptional but represent circumstances common to almost every prisoner bringing a lawsuit in 14 || federal court. 15 While there is not enough information for the Court to determine the likelihood of 16 || success at this early stage in the proceedings, the Court finds that Plaintiff's complaint 17 || demonstrates his ability to articulate his own claims. See ECF No. 1. Furthermore, the Court 18 || finds that Plaintiffs facts and legal issues are not so complex as to require counsel. See id. 19 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's request for the 20 || appointment of counsel, ECF No. 3, is denied. 21 22 | Dated: June 23, 2023 Co 23 DENNIS M. COTA 4 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 25 26 27 28