Baugh v. Adamson ( 2021 )

2 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 5 * * * 6 SIDNEY BAUGH, Case No. 3:20-cv-00119-MMD-CLB 7 Plaintiff, ORDER v. 8 KIM ADAMSON, et al., 9 Defendants. 10 11 Pro se Plaintiff Sidney Baugh, through the help of another inmate, filed a motion 12 for appointment of counsel. (ECF No. 8 at 1 n.1.) Baugh asserts the following. Since 13 contracting COVID-19, Baugh has had difficulty reading and writing and understanding 14 abstract or complicated concepts such as legal theories relevant to this case. (Id. at 2.) 15 Baugh will need expert witnesses and discovery in this case and Baugh is not capable of 16 presenting that information. (Id. at 5-7.) Defendants filed a response (ECF No. 9), and 17 Baugh filed a reply (ECF No. 11). 18 A litigant does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in 42 U.S.C. § 19 1983 civil rights claims. See Storseth v. Spellman, 654 F.2d 1349, 1353 (9th Cir. 1981). 20 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), “[t]he court may request an attorney to represent any 21 person unable to afford counsel.” The Court, however, will appoint counsel for indigent 22 civil litigants only in “exceptional circumstances.” Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 23 (9th Cir. 2009) (§ 1983 action). “When determining whether ‘exceptional circumstances’ 24 exist, a court must consider ‘the likelihood of success on the merits as well as the ability 25 of the petitioner to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues 26 involved.” Id. “Neither of these considerations is dispositive and instead must be viewed 27 together.” Id. 28 /// 1 The Court does not find exceptional circumstances that warrant the appointment 2 || of counsel at this time. See Baker v. Macomber, Case No. 2:15-CV-00248-TLN-AC, 2020 3 || WL 1182495, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 12, 2020) (finding that “[clircumstances common to 4 || most prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library access, do not 5 || establish exceptional circumstances that warrant a request for voluntary assistance of 6 || counsel”). The Court thus denies the motion for appointment of counsel without prejudice. 7 It is therefore ordered that Plaintiff Sidney Baugh’s motion for appointment of 8 || counsel (ECF No. 8) is denied without prejudice. 9 DATED THIS 25" Day of June 2021. 10 _— 11 Af ( A _ 12 MIRANBA M. DU 13 CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 95