(PC) Jones v. Shute ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 MARCELL JONES, No. 2:22-cv-1384 DB P 11 Plaintiff, 12 v. ORDER 13 MICHELLE SHUTE, et al., 14 Defendants. 15 16 Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action, has requested 17 appointment of counsel. Plaintiff states that he has an eye condition that severely limits his vision 18 and causes him difficulty focusing. 19 The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to require 20 counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 21 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the district court may request the 22 voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 23 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). 24 The test for exceptional circumstances requires the court to evaluate the plaintiff’s 25 likelihood of success on the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in 26 light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. See Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 27 1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). This court is 28 sympathetic to the difficulties plaintiff must face in preparing his pleadings. However, plaintiff 1 | more than adequately responded to the court’s initial screening order. His first amended 2 | complaint is sixteen pages long. It details his medical condition and explains defendants’ 3 | responses to that condition. This court finds that, at the present time, plaintiff is sufficiently able 4 | to articulate his claims. This court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. 5 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for the appointment of 6 | counsel (ECF No. 7) is denied without prejudice to its renewal at a later stage of these 7 | proceedings. 8 | Dated: October 31, 2022 9 10 ll ‘BORAH BARNES UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 | DLB:9 DB prisoner inbox/civil rights/R/jone1384.31 24 25 26 27 28