(PC) Fisher v. Galyen ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 AL GENE FISHER, Jr., Case No. 2:22-cv-01952-JDP (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL 13 v. ECF No. 10 14 T. GALYEN, 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. He has filed a motion asking that he be appointed counsel. ECF No. 10. 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 asks that counsel be appointed because the issues in this case are complex and he 4 | has a limited knowledge of the law. ECF No. 10 at 1. The court cannot conclude that exceptional 5 || circumstances requiring the appointment of counsel are present here. The allegations in the 6 | complaint are not exceptionally complicated, and plaintiff has not demonstrated that he is likely 7 | to succeed on the merits. For these reasons, plaintiff's motion to appoint counsel, ECF No. 10, is 8 | denied without prejudice. 9 The court may revisit this issue at a later stage of the proceedings if the interests of justice 10 | so require. If plaintiff later renews his request for counsel, he should provide a detailed 11 | explanation of the circumstances that he believes justify appointment of counsel in this case. 12 Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel, 13 | ECF No. 10, is denied without prejudice. 14 1s IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 | q Sty — Dated: _ March 24, 2023 Q——— 17 JEREMY D. PETERSON 18 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28