Williams v. Ortega
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Mitchell D. Dembin (author)
Analysis
The court considered a motion by a pro se prisoner to appoint counsel in a civil rights action. The court denied the motion, finding that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate exceptional circumstances, particularly given the court's recommendation to grant summary judgment against him.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion to appoint counsel denied“Based on the foregoing, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs motion to appoint counsel.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the standard from the Ninth Circuit, which requires a showing of exceptional circumstances, including a likelihood of success on the merits. Because the court had already recommended granting summary judgment against the plaintiff, the plaintiff could not demonstrate a likelihood of success. The court also correctly noted that common prisoner hardships (lack of legal education) are not sufficient on their own. The decision follows logically from the cited authorities and the procedural posture. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the legal standard for appointing counsel in § 1983 cases and applies it to the facts. It notes that the plaintiff's arguments regarding lack of legal education are insufficient and, more critically, that the plaintiff lacks a likelihood of success because the court has already recommended granting summary judgment. The reasoning is sound and supported by the cited Ninth Circuit precedent.
How this analysis was made · dispute it
inconsistent with cited authorityOpinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 LANCE WILLIAMS, Case No.: 18cv547-LAB-MDD 11 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S 12 v. MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL 13 O. ORTEGA, et al., [ECF No. 120] Defendants. 14 15 16 On January 20, 2021, Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se and 17 in forma pauperis, moved the Court to appoint counsel. (ECF No. 120). In 18 support, Plaintiff explains the case is “too complex and difficult to litigate 19 with [his] mental health impairments and [the] coronavirus pandemic.” (Id. 20 at 1). Additionally, Plaintiff lacks a legal education and law library access. 21 (Id. at 1-2). 22 District courts lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent 23 prisoners in § 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 24 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the district court may 25 request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 26 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. 1 ||circumstances requires the court to evaluate the plaintiff's likelihood of 9 success on the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims 3 se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved. See Wilborn v. 4 || Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986); Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 5 954 (9th Cir. 1983). 6 First, circumstances common to most prisoners, such as lack of legal 7 ||education and limited law library access do not establish exceptional g circumstances that would warrant a request for voluntary assistance of 9 ||counsel. (ECF No. 24 at 2); see e.g., Wood, 900 F.2d at 1335-36 (affirming 10 ||denial of appointment of counsel where plaintiff lacked legal education and 11 || had limited law library access); Galvan v. Fox, No. 2:15-cv-01798-KJM (DB), 12 ||2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56280, at *23 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 12, 2017). Second, and 13 ||more importantly, the Court has reeommended that Defendants’ motion for 14 ||summary judgment be granted. (ECF No. 114). Accordingly, Plaintiff has 15 ||not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits and, therefore, has not 16 || demonstrated exceptional circumstances to appoint counsel. See Wilborn, 17 || 789 F.2d at 13831. Based on the foregoing, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs 18 ||motion to appoint counsel. 19 IT ISSO ORDERED. Dated: January 21, 2021 Mitel [> Hon. Mitchell D. Dembin 22 United States Magistrate Judge 23 24 25 26 27