(HC) Lafond v. Zuniga ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RAOUL LAFOND, No. 2:22-cv-1093 AC P 12 Petitioner, 13 v. ORDER 14 WARDEN, FCI MENDOTA, 15 Respondent. 16 17 Petitioner, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, has filed an application for a writ of 18 habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. ECF No. 1. Petitioner has not, however, filed a 19 complete in forma pauperis affidavit or paid the required filing fee ($5.00). See 28 U.S.C. §§ 20 1914(a); 1915(a). See ECF No. 2. Specifically, petitioner has only submitted the first page of the 21 in forma pauperis application. See id. Petitioner will be provided the opportunity to either 22 submit the appropriate affidavit in support of a request to proceed in forma pauperis or submit the 23 appropriate filing fee. 24 In addition, petitioner has requested the appointment of counsel. ECF No. 3. In support 25 of the motion, petitioner states in part that he is indigent, that he is unversed in the law, and that 26 English is not his first language. Id. Petitioner also states that he has minimal access to the law 27 library and minimal writing supplies. Id. Currently, there exists no absolute right to appointment 28 of counsel in habeas proceedings. See Nevius v. Sumner, 105 F.3d 453, 460 (9th Cir. 1996). 1 || However, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A authorizes the appointment of counsel at any stage of the case “if 2 | the interests of Justice so require.” See Rule 8(c), Fed. R. Governing § 2254 Cases. In the 3 || present case, the court does not find that the interests of Justice would be served by the 4 || appointment of counsel at the present time. 5 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 6 1. Petitioner shall submit, within thirty days from the date of this order, a complete 7 || affidavit in support of his request to proceed in forma pauperis or the appropriate filing fee; 8 || petitioner’s failure to comply with this order will result in a recommendation that this action be 9 | dismissed; 10 2. The Clerk of Court is directed to send petitioner a copy of the in forma pauperis form 11 | used by this district; and 12 3. Petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 3) is DENIED without 13 || prejudice to a renewal of the motion at a later stage of the proceedings. 14 | DATED: June 28, 2022 ~ 15 Chthion— Chore ALLISON CLAIRE 16 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28