Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_15-cv-01264/USCOURTS-caed-2_15-cv-01264-5/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

ZACHARIAH DANIELS, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

R. FOX, Warden, et al., 

Defendants. 

No. 2:15-cv-1264 GEB AC P 

ORDER 

Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with this civil rights 

action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff moves for reconsideration of this court’s 

March 24, 2016 order denying without prejudice his request for appointment of counsel. See 

ECF No. 29. The court construes plaintiff’s motion as a second request for appointment of 

counsel. For the reasons stated below, the court grants plaintiff’s request for the limited purpose 

of appointing counsel to prepare for, and represent plaintiff at, the settlement conference 

scheduled by separate order in this case for May 4, 2017. 

Indigent prisoners are not entitled to legal representation in Section 1983 cases and 

therefore this court is without authority to compel an attorney to assume such representation. 

Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). Nevertheless, in certain 

“exceptional circumstances” a district court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel 

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); 

Case 2:15-cv-01264-GEB-AC Document 33 Filed 11/29/16 Page 1 of 4
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Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). “Exceptional circumstances” 

may exist when a plaintiff has a reasonable likelihood of succeeding on the merits of his claims, 

but has difficulty articulating his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues 

involved. Palmer v. Valdez, 560 F.3d 965, 970 (9th Cir. 2009). The burden of demonstrating 

exceptional circumstances is on the plaintiff. Id. Circumstances common to most prisoners do 

not establish exceptional circumstances. Id. However, these considerations must be balanced 

with the reality that only a limited number of attorneys are available to represent indigent 

prisoners pro bono. Simply put, there are not enough attorneys to represent all indigent prisoners 

demonstrating exceptional circumstances. 

In considering plaintiff’s prior request for appointment of counsel, the court reasoned in 

part, ECF No. 12 at 10-11: 

Plaintiff is recognized by CDCR to have disabilities within the 

meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 

specifically, mobility impairment, mental depression and stress, and 

his request for appointment of counsel was prepared with the 

assistance of a Library Technical Assistant. The request informs 

the court that plaintiff is prescribed psychotropic medications that 

impair plaintiff’s abilities to read, write and understand (supporting 

documentation is provided). 

. . . The court cannot determine, at this juncture, whether there is a 

reasonable likelihood of success on plaintiff’s claims. Moreover, 

the existing claims are not particularly complex, and have been well 

documented throughout the administrative exhaustion process. 

Finally, despite plaintiff’s assertions to the contrary, it appears that 

plaintiff is fully capable of articulating his claims pro se. Plaintiff’s 

inmate grievances are cogent and detailed, and demonstrate that 

plaintiff can adhere to procedural requirements and deadlines. . . . 

Plaintiff’s indigence and lack of legal expertise are circumstances 

shared with most prisoners. Plaintiff’s psychological challenges 

and medication side effects are circumstances shared by many other 

prisoners. For these several reasons, the court finds that plaintiff 

has failed to demonstrate exceptional circumstances warranting the 

appointment of counsel at this time. 

 In the same order, the court found that plaintiff’s original complaint stated potentially 

cognizable claims against four defendants, and accorded plaintiff the option of proceeding on his 

original complaint or filing a Second Amended Complaint (SAC).1

 See ECF No. 12. Plaintiff 

 

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 The court found plaintiff’s original complaint more coherent than his First Amended 

Complaint. 

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chose to file a SAC. See ECF No. 20. In an order filed contemporaneously with this order, the 

court finds that the SAC incorporates the allegations of the original complaint and adds additional 

claims against a total of nine defendants. The court directs plaintiff to submit the information 

necessary for the United States Marshal to serve process of the SAC on these nine defendants. 

The instant motion for appointment of counsel was prepared by another inmate who states 

that all of plaintiff’s pleadings were prepared by other prisoners. See ECF No. 29 at 2-3 (citing 

Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 3163 (authorizing inmates to assist other inmates in the preparation of 

legal documents)). Indeed, review of these pleadings and plaintiff’s numerous motions indicates 

that each was either typed or handwritten in a style distinct from plaintiff’s signature. The instant 

motion emphasizes that this court has already found plaintiff’s claims potentially cognizable. The 

motion challenges this court’s assessment that plaintiff’s indigence, lack of legal expertise, and 

psychological and medication challenges are circumstances common to other prisoners, and 

asserts that “those similarly situated prisoners very well are articulating there (sic) own pleadings 

without assistance of need for assistance from other prisoners.” ECF No. 29 at 3. The motion 

adds that now “plaintiff is very restricted within an administrative segregation unit where access 

to other prisoners is very difficult.” Id. 

 A prisoner’s confinement in administrative segregation does not present an exceptional 

circumstance. Nevertheless, the undersigned finds that this factor, together with plaintiff’s 

documented physical and mental disabilities, side effects to medication, and dependence on other 

inmates for the preparation of his legal documents – together with the court’s finding that 

plaintiff’s SAC states cognizable claims against nine defendants and the fact that this case is now 

scheduled for a settlement conference – demonstrate exceptional circumstances warranting 

appointment of counsel. However, due to the limited number of available attorneys, this 

appointment will be for the sole purpose of representing plaintiff at the settlement conference. 

Legal representation at the settlement conference will accord plaintiff his best chance to reach an 

acceptable resolution of this case. 

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 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 

1. Plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration, construed as a second request for appointment of 

counsel, ECF No. 29, is granted in part. 

 2. Counsel is appointed in this case for the limited purpose of preparing for, and 

representing plaintiff at, the settlement conference scheduled in this case for May 4, 2017. 

 3. The Clerk of Court is directed to contact Sujean Park, Alternative Dispute Resolution 

Coordinator, for the purpose of locating an attorney admitted to practice in this court who is 

willing to accept the appointment described herein. 

DATED: November 28, 2016 

Case 2:15-cv-01264-GEB-AC Document 33 Filed 11/29/16 Page 4 of 4