(PC) Bullock v. Dowbak ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RICHARD LEE BULLOCK, No. 2:23-cv-1634 TLN CKD P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 JOHN M. DOWBACK, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff filed a motion for extension of time to file an amended complaint. Good cause 18 appearing, that request will be granted. 19 Plaintiff also requests that the court appoint counsel. District courts lack authority to 20 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 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 7 1. Plaintiffs motion for an extension of time (ECF No. 14) is granted. 8 2. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of this order in which to file an amended 9 || complaint. Failure to file an amended complaint within 30 days will result in a recommendation 10 || that this action be dismissed. 11 3. Plaintiff's motion for the appointment of counsel (ECF No. 14) is denied. 12 | Dated: December 12, 2023 / ae / a Ly a 13 CAROLYN K DELANEY 14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 || bull1634.31+36 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28