Carlos Alberto Izquierdo-Matos v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Todd M. Lyons, Acting Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jesus Rocha, Acting Field Office Director, San Diego Field Office
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Benjamin J. Cheeks (author)
Analysis
Petitioner Carlos Izquierdo-Matos filed a motion for appointment of counsel in his habeas corpus action against federal immigration officials. The court granted the motion and appointed the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. to represent the petitioner.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion for Appointment of Counsel granted“Accordingly, Petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel is GRANTED, and Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. is APPOINTED to represent her.” | agree with court The court applied the correct legal standard under 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B) and the Ninth Circuit precedent in Rand v. Rowland. The record indicates the petitioner is indigent, the legal issues are complex, and the Federal Defenders are prepared to assist. The court found a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits. The decision follows from the law and the recited record. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the statutory authority and the controlling Ninth Circuit case law for appointing counsel in habeas cases. It applies the two-part test from Rand v. Rowland (likelihood of success and ability to present claims pro se) and finds that the interests of justice warrant appointment based on the petitioner's indigency, the complexity of the case, and the readiness of the Federal Defenders. The reasoning is sound and directly answers the motion.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CARLOS ALBERTO IZQUIERDO- Case No.: 25-cv-2979-BJC-BLM MATOS, 12 ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR Petitioner, APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL 13 v. 14 KRISTI NOEM, Secretary of the [ECF No. 2] 15 Department of Homeland Security, 16 PAMELA JO BONDI, Attorney General, TODD M. LYONS, Acting Director, 17 Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 18 JESUS ROCHA, Acting Field Office Director, San Diego Fie1d Office, 19 CHRISTOPHER LAROSE, Warden at 20 Otay Mesa Detention Center, 21 Respondents. 22 23 Before the Court is Petitioner Carlos Izquierdo-Matos’ Motion for Appointment of 24 Counsel, seeking the Court’s appointment of the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. 25 pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2). ECF No. 2. Under this statute, a district court may 26 appoint counsel for an indigent habeas petitioner pursuing relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 if 27 the court determines that the interests of justice require it. 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B). In 28 1 making this decision, the court must consider both the petitioner’s likelihood of success on 2 merits and their ability to effectively present their claims pro se, given the complexity 3 || of the legal issues involved. See Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520 (9th Cir. 1997) (citations 4 || omitted). 5 Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. is prepared to assist Petitioner, as evidenced 6 ||by their involvement in drafting the present motion and the supporting declaration of 7 ||Zandra Lopez, an appellate attorney with Federal Defenders. ECF No. 2 at 13. 8 || Additionally, Petitioner states that he lacks the financial means to retain private counsel 9 has shown a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits. /d. After careful 10 ||consideration of the arguments presented, the Court finds that appointing counsel is 11 || warranted in this case. Accordingly, Petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel is 12 ||} GRANTED, and Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. is APPOINTED to represent her. 13 |} IS SO ORDERED. 14 || Dated: November 6, 2025 15 17 18 Honorable Benjamin J. Cheeks United States District Judge 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 25-cv-02740-BJC-BJW