Filed: May 19, 2016
Latest Update: May 19, 2016
Summary: ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL ERICA P. GROSJEAN , District Judge . On May 16, 2016, plaintiff filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel. Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520 , 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court cannot require an attorney to represent plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296
Summary: ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL ERICA P. GROSJEAN , District Judge . On May 16, 2016, plaintiff filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel. Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520 , 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court cannot require an attorney to represent plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296 ..
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ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
ERICA P. GROSJEAN, District Judge.
On May 16, 2016, plaintiff filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel. Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court cannot require an attorney to represent plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Mallard v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298, 109 S.Ct. 1814, 1816 (1989). However, in certain exceptional circumstances the Court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525.
Without a reasonable method of securing and compensating counsel, the Court will seek volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In determining whether "exceptional circumstances exist, the district court must evaluate both the likelihood of success of the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved." Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
In the present case, the Court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. Plaintiff asserts that he is incarcerated and unknowledgeable about the law. This, without more, does not make his case exceptional. At this stage of the proceedings, the Court cannot find that Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits of the case. Defendants have not filed an Answer to the Complaint, and discovery has not been opened. Plaintiff claims that Defendants in this case failed to provide him with kosher meals and services. This claim is not complex, and a review of the record shows that Plaintiff is responsive, adequately communicates, and is able to articulate his claims. Therefore, Plaintiff's motion shall be denied, without prejudice to renewal of the motion at a later stage of the proceedings.
For the foregoing reasons, plaintiff's motion for the appointment of counsel is HEREBY DENIED, without prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
