Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-00622/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-00622-1/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

ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ,

Plaintiff,

v.

WARDEN, SOLANO STATE PRISON, et 

al.,

Defendants.

No. 2:21-cv-00622 DB P

ORDER

Plaintiff, an inmate proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, seeks relief pursuant to 42 

U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff claims defendants were negligent in providing plaintiff with medical 

care. Before the court are plaintiff’s motions to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF Nos. 3, 11), 

plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 2), and plaintiff’s complaint for screening

(ECF No. 1). For the reasons set forth below, the court will grant plaintiff’s motion to proceed in 

forma pauperis (ECF No. 11), deny plaintiff’s previous motion to proceed in forma pauperis 

(ECF No. 3) as moot, and deny plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 2). The 

court will dismiss plaintiff’s complaint (ECF No. 1) with leave to amend.

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IN FORMA PAUPERIS

Plaintiff has submitted a declaration that makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. § 

1915(a). Accordingly, the request to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 11) will be granted. 

Plaintiff’s previous request to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 3) will be denied as moot.

Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. 28 U.S.C. §§ 

1914(a), 1915(b)(1). By this order, plaintiff will be assessed an initial partial filing fee in 

accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). By separate order, the court will direct 

the appropriate agency to collect the initial partial filing fee from plaintiff’s trust account and 

forward it to the Clerk of the Court. Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments 

of twenty percent of the preceding month’s income credited to plaintiff’s prison trust account. 

These payments will be forwarded by the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time 

the amount in plaintiff’s account exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C. § 

1915(b)(2).

SCREENING

I. Legal Standards

The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 

governmental entity or an officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C. § 

1915A(a). The court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims 

that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be 

granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 

U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) & (2).

A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact. 

Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 (9th 

Cir. 1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous where it is based on an 

indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 

490 U.S. at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully 

pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227. Rule 8(a)(2) of 

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “requires only ‘a short and plain statement of the claim 

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showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the defendant fair notice of what 

the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 

544, 555 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)).

However, in order to survive dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must 

contain more than “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action;” it must contain 

factual allegations sufficient “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic, 

550 U.S. at 555. In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the court must accept as true the 

allegations of the complaint in question, Hospital Bldg. Co. v. Rex Hospital Trustees, 425 U.S. 

738, 740 (1976), construe the pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and resolve all 

doubts in the plaintiff’s favor. Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 421 (1969).

The Civil Rights Act under which this action was filed provides as follows:

Every person who, under color of [state law] . . . subjects, or causes 

to be subjected, any citizen of the United States . . . to the deprivation 

of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution . 

. . shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, 

or other proper proceeding for redress.

42 U.S.C. § 1983. The statute requires that there be an actual connection or link between the 

actions of the defendants and the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by plaintiff. See

Monell v. Dept. of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978); Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 (1976). “A 

person ‘subjects’ another to the deprivation of a constitutional right, within the meaning of § 

1983, if he does an affirmative act, participates in another's affirmative acts or omits to perform 

an act which he is legally required to do that causes the deprivation of which complaint is made.” 

Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978).

Moreover, supervisory personnel are generally not liable under § 1983 for the actions of 

their employees under a theory of respondeat superior and, therefore, when a named defendant 

holds a supervisorial position, the causal link between him and the claimed constitutional 

violation must be specifically alleged. See Fayle v. Stapley, 607 F.2d 858, 862 (9th Cir. 1979); 

Mosher v. Saalfeld, 589 F.2d 438, 441 (9th Cir. 1978). Vague and conclusory allegations

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concerning the involvement of official personnel in civil rights violations are not sufficient. See

Ivey v. Board of Regents, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982).

II. Linkage Requirement

Under Section 1983, a plaintiff bringing an individual capacity claim must demonstrate 

that each defendant personally participated in the deprivation of his rights. See Jones v. 

Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). There must be an actual connection or link between 

the actions of the defendants and the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by plaintiff. See

Ortez v. Washington County, State of Oregon, 88 F.3d 804, 809 (9th Cir. 1996); see also Taylor 

v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989).

Government officials may not be held liable for the actions of their subordinates under a 

theory of respondeat superior. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676 (stating vicarious liability is inapplicable in 

Section 1983 suits). Since a government official cannot be held liable under a theory of vicarious 

liability in Section 1983 actions, plaintiff must plead sufficient facts showing that the official has 

violated the Constitution through his own individual actions by linking each named defendant 

with some affirmative act or omission that demonstrates a violation of plaintiff's federal rights. 

Id. at 676.

III. Allegations in the Complaint

Plaintiff states that, at all relevant times, he was a prisoner at California State Prison, 

Solano (“SOL”). (ECF No. 1 at 2.) Plaintiff names approximately 18 individuals as defendants 

in the complaint (Id. at 5, 8, 10) though it is unclear what the specific claims are as to each of 

these defendants.

Plaintiff alleges the following in his complaint: plaintiff has a history of mental health 

issues beginning at an unstated date after he was transferred to the custody of the California 

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) on March 17, 1997. (Id. at 8.) Plaintiff 

received medication in connection with these mental health issues. (Id.) In 2008, plaintiff was 

placed on suicide watch four to five times due to being in a state of depression. (Id.) Plaintiff 

was removed from suicide watch sometime later that year. (Id.)

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On December 24, 2008, after plaintiff was taken off suicide watch, plaintiff informed an 

unnamed “Add Seg Officer” that he was “hearing voices and seeing things.” (Id.) The officers 

“belaughed [sic] at me as if it was a joke.” (Id.) Later that day, plaintiff also informed an 

unnamed nurse what he was experiencing but “the nurse...laughed at me and she said she was 

only there to pass out pills and medication.” (Id.) The nurse then handed plaintiff “two bags of 

pills 90 of them.” (Id. at 9.) When plaintiff told the nurse that he was being given too many pills 

“she laughed and said here is your medication and walked away without even checking to see if 

she was giving me to [sic] many pills.” (Id.) Plaintiff heard voices telling him to take all of the 

pills. (Id.) The following day, December 25, 2008, plaintiff took “30 Abiliftys and 60 

Benedriles” and needed to be transported to the hospital for treatment. (Id. at 10.) This included 

“pumping” the plaintiff’s stomach. (Id.) Plaintiff “was unconscious for at least three days or 

longer” and spent a week in the hospital. (Id.)

At a later date, plaintiff’s hand was injured during an altercation with other inmates. (Id.) 

Plaintiff had surgery to repair his hand. (Id.) Plaintiff never received “medical follow up care” 

and the stitches from his hand were not removed until he was transferred to another institution. 

(Id.) 

IV. Does Plaintiff State a Claim under § 1983?

A. Possible Failure Exhaust Administrative Remedies

The complaint indicates that plaintiff may not have properly exhausted his administrative 

remedies at SOL prior to filing the instant action. (See ECF No. 1 at 2.) (stating prison officials 

did not respond to his administrative grievance and plaintiff “has done everything that he could 

do under the sircumstances [sic] to comply with the exhaustion or requirements.”) As a

demonstration of the exhaustion of administrative remedies is not a pleading requirement (see

Wyatt v. Terhune, 315 F.3d 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2003)), and inmates are not required to 

specifically plead or demonstrate exhaustion in their complaints (see Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199,

216 (2007)), the court will conduct a substantive screening of this action at this time. However, 

the plaintiff is warned that should defendants be ordered to respond to this action, any failure to 

exhaust that can be substantiated may be proffered by defendants as an affirmative defense in 

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support of the dismissal of this action. See generally Albino v. Baca, 747 F.3d 1162, 1166 (9th 

Cir. 2014) (stating failure to exhaust is affirmative defense defendants must plead and prove).

B. Substantive Claims

Plaintiff states that he is bringing the claims in his complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 

(ECF No. 1 at 1.) The complaint does not specify what constitutional rights the plaintiff alleges 

the defendants violated. From examining plaintiff’s complaint, there are two identifiable claims 

that plaintiff is seeking to bring. The first occurred on December 24, 2008, when plaintiff was 

allegedly provided with a large amount of medication which plaintiff took the following day, 

resulting in his hospitalization. (Id. at 8-10.) The second occurred at an undisclosed later date 

when plaintiff was not given post-surgery care for hand surgery he had received. (Id. at 10.) 

Both claims appear to be best described as Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference to medical 

need claims and will be analyzed as such.

Plaintiff may have intended to bring additional claims. However, only the two claims 

mentioned are identified in the complaint’s current form. In an amended complaint, plaintiff 

should be sure to identify what constitutional violations he is alleging and how each defendant

participated in those violations.

1. Legal Standard - Deliberate Indifference to Medical Needs

The Eighth Amendment prohibits the infliction of “cruel and unusual punishments.” U.S. 

Const. amend. VIII. The unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain constitutes cruel and unusual 

punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 319 (1986); 

Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651, 670 (1977); Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 105-06 (1976). 

Neither accident nor negligence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, as “[i]t is obduracy 

and wantonness, not inadvertence or error in good faith, that characterize the conduct prohibited 

by the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause.” Whitley, 475 U.S. at 319.

If a prisoner’s Eighth Amendment claim arises in the context of medical care, the prisoner 

must allege and prove “acts or omissions sufficiently harmful to evidence deliberate indifference 

to serious medical needs.” Estelle, 429 U.S. at 106. An Eighth Amendment medical claim has 

two elements: “the seriousness of the prisoner’s medical need and the nature of the defendant’s 

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response to that need.” McGuckin v. Smith, 974 F.2d 1050, 1059 (9th Cir. 1992), overruled on 

other grounds by WMX Techs., Inc. v. Miller, 104 F.3d 1133 (9th Cir. 1997) (en banc).

A medical need is serious “if the failure to treat the prisoner’s condition could result in 

further significant injury or the ‘unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain.’” McGuckin, 974 

F.2d at 1059 (quoting Estelle, 429 U.S. at 104). Indications of a serious medical need include 

“the presence of a medical condition that significantly affects an individual’s daily activities.” Id.

at 1059-60. By establishing the existence of a serious medical need, a prisoner satisfies the 

objective requirement for proving an Eighth Amendment violation. Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 

825, 834 (1994). 

If a prisoner establishes the existence of a serious medical need, he must show that prison 

officials responded to the serious medical need with deliberate indifference. See Id. at 834. In 

general, deliberate indifference may be shown when prison officials deny, delay, or intentionally 

interfere with medical treatment, or may be shown by the way in which prison officials provide 

medical care. Hutchinson v. United States, 838 F.2d 390, 393-94 (9th Cir. 1988).

Before it can be said that a prisoner’s civil rights have been abridged with regard to 

medical care, “the indifference to his medical needs must be substantial. Mere ‘indifference,’ 

‘negligence,’ or ‘medical malpractice’ will not support this cause of action.” Broughton v. Cutter 

Laboratories, 622 F.2d 458, 460 (9th Cir. 1980) (citing Estelle, 429 U.S. at 105-06); see also

Toguchi v. Soon Hwang Chung, 391 F.3d 1051, 1057 (9th Cir. 2004) (“Mere negligence in 

diagnosing or treating a medical condition, without more, does not violate a prisoner’s Eighth 

Amendment rights.”); McGuckin, 974 F.2d at 1059 (same). Deliberate indifference is “a state of 

mind more blameworthy than negligence” and “requires ‘more than ordinary lack of due care for 

the prisoner’s interests or safety.’” Farmer, 511 U.S. at 835.

Delays in providing medical care may manifest deliberate indifference. Estelle, 429 U.S. 

at 104-05. To establish a claim of deliberate indifference arising from delay in providing care, a 

plaintiff must show that the delay was harmful. See Hallett v. Morgan, 296 F.3d 732, 745-46 (9th 

Cir. 2002); Berry v. Bunnell, 39 F.3d 1056, 1057 (9th Cir. 1994); McGuckin, 974 F.2d at 1059; 

Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335 (9th Cir. 1990); Hunt v. Dental Dep’t, 865 F.2d 198, 

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200 (9th Cir. 1989); Shapley v. Nevada Bd. of State Prison Comm’rs, 766 F.2d 404, 407 (9th Cir. 

1985). In this regard, “[a] prisoner need not show his harm was substantial; however, such would 

provide additional support for the inmate’s claim that the defendant was deliberately indifferent to 

his needs.” Jett v. Penner, 439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 2006).

Finally, mere differences of opinion between a prisoner and prison medical staff or 

between medical professionals as to the proper course of treatment for a medical condition do not 

give rise to a § 1983 claim. See Toguchi, 391 F.3d at 1058; Jackson v. McIntosh, 90 F.3d 330, 

332 (9th Cir. 1996); Sanchez v. Vild, 891 F.2d 240, 242 (9th Cir. 1989); Franklin v. Oregon, 662 

F.2d 1337, 1344 (9th Cir. 1981).

2. Analysis

i. Negligence in Providing Plaintiff with Additional Medication

Plaintiff claims that his constitutional rights were violated by an unidentified nurse 

“neglect[ing] to check my medications to see how many pills to give me” (ECF No. 1 at 10) and 

providing plaintiff with more medication than necessary (Id. at 9). Plaintiff alleges that this was 

the result of “medical neglect and negligence.” (Id. at 11.) As stated above, plaintiff has not 

specified what constitutional rights were violated. However, this appears to be most accurately 

viewed as an Eighth Amendment claim for deliberate indifference to plaintiff’s serious medical 

needs.

For a claim of deliberate indifference to medical need to succeed, more than negligence or 

medical malpractice is necessary. Broughton, 622 F.2d at 460; Farmer, 511 U.S. at 835. Plaintiff 

must allege facts that show that the defendant’s acted with deliberate indifference. Id. As 

plaintiff appears to claim that he was harmed due to the unidentified nurse’s negligence, not her 

deliberate indifference, plaintiff has failed to allege facts sufficient to allege facts necessary to

state a cognizable claim.

As such, this claim will be dismissed with leave to amend. In an amended complaint, 

defendant must be sure to identify particular defendants and how they participated in the denial of 

plaintiff’s constitutional rights.

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ii. Failure to Provide Post-Surgery Care

Plaintiff also alleges that he was not provided with post-treatment care following surgery 

he received on his hand. (ECF No. 1 at 10.) Specifically, plaintiff alleges stitches that were 

placed in his hand during surgery were not removed until he was later transferred to another 

institution. (Id.) As with the previous claim, this also appears to be an Eighth Amendment claim 

for deliberate indifference to plaintiff’s serious medical needs.

Plaintiff again alleges in this claim that plaintiff’s harm resulted from “medical neglect”

and “medical negligence.” (Id.) As stated above, an allegation of negligence is insufficient to 

establish deliberate indifference by the defendants. Broughton, 622 F.2d at 460; Farmer, 511 

U.S. at 835. As such, plaintiff has failed to allege facts sufficient to state a claim for deliberate 

indifference to medical needs. 

Additionally, plaintiff has not identified any defendant specifically connected with this 

claim nor has plaintiff alleged how individual defendants participated in the deprivation of 

plaintiff’s constitutional rights. To bring a claim under § 1983, plaintiff must bring identify 

defendants who personally participated in depriving plaintiff of his constitutional rights. See

Jones, 297 F.3d at 934. Plaintiff must identify the actions taken by the defendants and show an 

actual link between those actions and the deprivation of plaintiff’s rights. See Ortez, 88 F.3d at 

809. As plaintiff has not identified which defendants were involved in this claim and how they 

participated in depriving plaintiff of his constitutional rights, plaintiff has not alleged facts 

sufficient to state this claim under § 1983.

For these reasons, this claim will be dismissed with leave to amend as plaintiff has failed 

to allege sufficient facts to state a claim for deliberate indifference in violation of his Eighth 

Amendment rights.

AMENDING THE COMPLAINT 

This court finds above that plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a cognizable claim. 

Plaintiff’s complaint will be dismissed with leave to file an amended complaint stating claims 

against any defendants identified in the complaint or any other defendant.

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If plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, he must address the problems with his 

complaint that are explained above. Any amended complaint must be complete in itself. The 

court cannot refer to a prior complaint to understand the plaintiff’s claims.

In an amended complaint plaintiff must clearly identify each defendant and the action that 

defendant took that violated plaintiff’s constitutional rights. The court is not required to review 

exhibits to determine what plaintiff’s charging allegations are as to each named defendant. If 

plaintiff wishes to add a claim, he must include it in the body of the complaint. The charging 

allegations must be set forth in the amended complaint, so defendants have fair notice of the 

claims plaintiff is presenting. That said, plaintiff need not provide every detailed fact in support 

of his claims. Rather, plaintiff should provide a short, plain statement of each claim. See Fed. R. 

Civ. P. 8(a). 

Any amended complaint must show the federal court has jurisdiction, the action is brought 

in the right place, and plaintiff is entitled to relief if plaintiff’s allegations are true. It must 

contain a request for particular relief. Plaintiff must identify as a defendant only persons who 

personally participated in a substantial way in depriving plaintiff of a federal constitutional right. 

Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978) (stating that a person subjects another to the 

deprivation of a constitutional right if he does an act, participates in another’s act, or omits to 

perform an act he is legally required to do that causes the alleged deprivation). “Vague and 

conclusory allegations of official participation in civil rights violations are not sufficient.” Ivey v. 

Bd. of Regents, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982) (citations omitted). 

In an amended complaint, the allegations must be set forth in numbered paragraphs. Fed. 

R. Civ. P. 10(b). Plaintiff may join multiple claims if they are all against a single defendant. Fed.

R. Civ. P. 18(a). If plaintiff has more than one claim based upon separate transactions or 

occurrences, the claims must be set forth in separate paragraphs. Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(b).

The federal rules contemplate brevity. See Galbraith v. County of Santa Clara, 307 F.3d 

1119, 1125 (9th Cir. 2002) (noting that “nearly all of the circuits have now disapproved any 

heightened pleading standard in cases other than those governed by Rule 9(b)”); Fed. R. Civ. P. 

84; cf. Rule 9(b) (setting forth rare exceptions to simplified pleading). Plaintiff’s claims must be 

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set forth in short and plain terms. See Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 514 (2002) 

(“Rule 8(a) is the starting point of a simplified pleading system, which was adopted to focus 

litigation on the merits of a claim.”); Fed. R. Civ. P. 8. 

An amended complaint must be complete in itself, without reference to any prior pleading. 

E.D. Cal. R. 220. Once plaintiff files an amended complaint, the original pleading is superseded. 

By signing an amended complaint, plaintiff certifies he has made reasonable inquiry and has 

evidentiary support for his allegations, and for violation of this rule, the court may impose 

sanctions sufficient to deter repetition by plaintiff or others. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11.

USAGE OF “DOE” DEFENDANTS

The use of John Does in pleading practice is generally disfavored – but it is not prohibited. 

See Gillespie v. Civiletti, 629 F.2d 637, 642 (9th Cir. 1980); Wakefield v. Thompson, 177 F.3d 

1160, 1163 (9th Cir. 1999); Lopes v. Viera, 543 F. Supp.2d 1149, 1152 (E.D. Cal. 2008). 

Eventually, plaintiff may be afforded an opportunity for limited, preliminary discovery to identify 

the names of the John Does “unless it is clear that discovery would not uncover their identities,” 

Gillespie, 629 F.2d at 642, and only after the court is satisfied he has exhausted every other 

possibility of finding their names. Since by this order plaintiff will be granted leave to file an 

amended complaint, he must use the time given to amend to do everything he can to supply the 

names of the Doe defendant without further assistance from the court. He may seek extensions of 

time for the filing of an amended complaint for that purpose if necessary.

Further, “John Doe” defendant liability must also be properly alleged. A plaintiff may use 

“Doe” designations to refer to defendants whose names are unknown; however, he must number 

them in the complaint, e.g., “John Doe 1,” “John Doe 2,” so that each numbered John Doe refers 

to a specific person. If plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, he shall either name the 

defendants involved or list the Doe defendants involved and describe what each did to violate his 

rights. If plaintiff can only list these defendants as John Doe, plaintiff should allege specific acts 

that each Doe defendant did, such as “John Doe 1 did X” and John Doe 2 did Y.” Alexander v. 

Tilton, No. 1:07-cv-0759 LJO DLB, 2009 WL 464486, *5 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 24, 2009).

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MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL

On December 7, 2020, plaintiff filed a document entitled “Request for Accommodations 

by Persons with Disabilities and Response.” (ECF No. 2.) Given the purpose of this document is 

to request that the court appoint counsel to assist the plaintiff (Id.), this appears to be a motion for 

appointment of counsel. 

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to require 

counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 

U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the 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); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). 

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.

In the present case, the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. As the 

court will find that plaintiff’s complaint does not state a cognizable claim, the court is unable to 

determine plaintiff’s likelihood of success on the merits. Additionally, it does not currently appear 

that plaintiff is unable to articulate claims pro se and the claims plaintiff seeks to bring do not 

seem to involve complex legal issues. As such, plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel will 

be denied without prejudice to its renewal at a later stage of the proceedings.

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CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, and good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as 

follows:

1. Plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 11) is granted.

2. Plaintiff is obligated to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. Plaintiff 

is assessed an initial partial filing fee in accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 

1915(b)(1). All fees shall be collected and paid in accordance with this court’s order 

to the Director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation filed 

concurrently herewith.

3. Plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 3) is denied as 

moot.

4. Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 2) is denied.

5. Plaintiff’s complaint (ECF No. 1) is dismissed with leave to amend.

6. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of service of this order to file an amended 

complaint that complies with the requirements of the Civil Rights Act, the Federal 

Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Local Rules of Practice. The amended complaint 

must bear the docket number assigned to this case and must be labeled “First 

Amended Complaint.” 

7. Plaintiff is warned that his failure to comply with this order will result in a 

recommendation that this action be dismissed.

Dated: August 2, 2021

DB:14

DB:1/Orders/Prisoner/Civil.Rights/S/rodr0622.scrn

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