(PC) Vasquez v. Moghaddam ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 ANDREW VASQUEZ, No. 2:19-cv-01283 AC P 11 Plaintiff, 12 v. ORDER 13 EILYA MOGHADDAM, et al., 14 Defendants. 15 16 Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action, has requested 17 appointment of counsel. ECF No. 48. In support of the motion, plaintiff states, in part, that he 18 cannot afford an attorney as evidenced by the fact that he has been granted in forma pauperis 19 status; that his imprisonment will affect his ability to litigate this case; that the issues in the case 20 are complex and will require significant research; that he has limited access to the law library; 21 that research has shown that prisoners rarely win cases they file on their own; and that it is in the 22 public’s interest that his request for the appointment of counsel be granted. Id. at 1-3, 10. The 23 motion also provides several pages of argument on the merits of plaintiff’s claims. Id. at 4-9. 24 The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to require 25 counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 26 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the district court may request the 27 voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 28 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). ] The test for exceptional circumstances requires the court to evaluate the plaintiffs 2 || likelihood of success on the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in 3 || light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. See Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 4 | 1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). Circumstances 5 || common to most prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library access, do not 6 || establish exceptional circumstances that would warrant a request for voluntary assistance of 7 || counsel. 8 The circumstances plaintiff presents are common to most prisoners and not exceptional. 9 || Moreover, plaintiff has demonstrated that he is capable of continuing to prosecute this matter. He 10 || has been able to make cogent, viable arguments after having reviewed the screened complaint. 11 || See ECF Nos. 14 (first amended complaint), 32 (reply). He has timely filed changes of address 12 || and a request for an extension of time. ECF Nos. 7, 12, 33. Furthermore, despite his currently 13 || reduced access to the prison law library, the instant motion demonstrates plaintiffs ability to 14 | locate and cite to statutes, medical manuals and case law. See ECF No. 48 at 2-10. For all these 15 || reasons, the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. 16 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs motion for the appointment of 17 || counsel (ECF No. 48) is DENIED. 18 | DATED: June 14, 2022 ~ 19 ththienr—Chnp—e_ ALLISON CLAIRE 20 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28