(PC) Felix v. Casey ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 EDDIE FELIX, No. 2:18-cv-3185 DJC AC P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 JOHN CASEY, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff filed a motion for extension of time to file objections to the findings and 18 recommendations dated November 7, 2023. 19 In addition, plaintiff has requested appointment of counsel. District courts lack authority 20 to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in section 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States 21 Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In exceptional circumstances, the court may request an 22 attorney to voluntarily represent such a plaintiff. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1); Terrell v. Brewer, 23 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 24 1990). When determining whether “exceptional circumstances” exist, the court must consider 25 plaintiff’s likelihood of success on the merits as well as the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his 26 claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 27 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009) (district court did not abuse discretion in declining to appoint counsel). 28 The burden of demonstrating exceptional circumstances is on the plaintiff. Id. Circumstances 1 | common to most prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library access, do not 2 || establish exceptional circumstances that warrant a request for voluntary assistance of counsel. 3 Having considered the factors under Palmer, the court finds that plaintiff has failed to 4 | meet his burden of demonstrating exceptional circumstances warranting the appointment of 5 || counsel at this time. 6 Good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 7 1. Plaintiffs motion for an extension of time (ECF No. 61) is granted; 8 2. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of this order in which to file objections to 9 || the findings and recommendations; and 10 3. Plaintiff's motion for the appointment of counsel (ECF No. 61) is denied without 11 | prejudice. 12 | DATED: December 12, 2023 13 Chthwen— Clare ALLISON CLAIRE 14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28