Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_15-cv-01714/USCOURTS-caed-1_15-cv-01714-6/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

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Plaintiff Percy Lee Rhodes is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action 

pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Plaintiff consented to the jurisdiction of 

the United States Magistrate Judge on November 23, 2015. Local Rule 302.

Currently before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel, filed October 27, 

2016. Plaintiff requests appointment of counsel because he is indigent, has limited access to the law 

library, and the complexity of the action. 

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 any 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 (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.

PERCY LEE RHODES,

 Plaintiff,

v.

FRESNO COUNTY, et al.,

Defendants.

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Case No.: 1:15-cv-01714-SAB (PC)

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR 

APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL, WITHOUT 

PREJUDICE

[ECF No. 26]

Case 1:15-cv-01714-DAD-SAB Document 27 Filed 10/28/16 Page 1 of 3
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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 on 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). 

The test for exceptional circumstances requires the Court to evaluate the Plaintiff’s likelihood 

of success on the merits and the ability of the Plaintiff to articulate his claims pro se in light of the 

complexity of the legal issues involved. See Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 

1986); Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). Circumstances common to most 

prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library access, do not establish exceptional 

circumstances that would warrant a request for voluntary assistance of counsel. Furthermore, the fact 

that Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis does not entitle him to counsel. While a prose litigant 

may be better served with the assistance of counsel, so long as a pro se litigant, such as Plaintiff in this 

instance, is able to “articulate his claims against the relative complexity of the matter,” the 

“exceptional circumstances” which might require the appointment of counsel do not exist. Rand, 113 

F.3d at 1525 (finding no abuse of discretion under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) when district court denied 

appointment of counsel despite fact that pro se prisoner “may well have fared better – particularly in 

the realm of discovery and the security of expert testimony.”) In sum, the Court finds Plaintiff’s 

reasons for requesting appointment of counsel indistinguishable from the reasons asserted by most 

prisoners. Plaintiff filed a second amended complaint on August 17, 2016, which will be screened by 

the Court in due course. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of 

counsel is be DENIED without prejudice. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: October 28, 2016 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 1:15-cv-01714-DAD-SAB Document 27 Filed 10/28/16 Page 2 of 3
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Case 1:15-cv-01714-DAD-SAB Document 27 Filed 10/28/16 Page 3 of 3