(PC) Davis v. Uddin

[6] 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA [9] 10 MAURICE DARONTE DAVIS, No. 2:22-cv-0864 DB P 11 Plaintiff, 12 v. ORDER 13 MESKATH UDDIN, 14 Defendants. [15] 16 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action pursuant to 42 17 U.S.C. § 1983 . Plaintiff claims that defendant violated his Eighth Amendment rights. Presently 18 before the court is plaintiff’s motion for the appointment of counsel. (ECF No. 20.) 19 In support of his motion, plaintiff argues that he has not legal experience and “will need 20 help with legal and complex procedures, legal or mixed legal and factual questions.” (ECF No. 21 20 at 2.) He also argues he is a participant in the California Department of Corrections and 22 Rehabilitation’s mental health program, he will need expert assistance in proving his claims, and 23 he does not have the funds to hire an investigator. (Id.) 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). 1 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 In the present case, the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. 9 | Plaintiff's filings in this action indicate that he is able to articulate his claims at this time. 10 | Therefore, the undersigned will deny the motion to appoint counsel without prejudice to its 11 | renewal at a later stage of the proceedings. 12 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for the appointment of 13 | counsel (ECF No. 20) is denied. 14 | Dated: February 17, 2023 [16] U7 ‘BORAH BARNES UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE [22] DB:12 23 | DB/DB Prisoner Inbox/Civil Rights/R/davi0864.31