Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_13-cv-00747/USCOURTS-caed-1_13-cv-00747-7/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 Jamisi Jermaine Calloway is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights 

action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff has consented to the jurisdiction of a United States 

Magistrate Judge. (ECF No. 8.)

Now pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s third motion for appointment of counsel, filed 

December 7, 2016. (ECF No. 36.) Plaintiff states in support that he lacks a high school diploma or a 

GED, that his case is complex, that he lacks legal knowledge, and that he requires counsel to assist 

him in articulating his case.

As has been previously explained to Plaintiff, he 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 him 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 

JAMISI JERMAINE CALLOWAY,

 Plaintiff,

v.

M.D. BITER, et al.,

Defendants.

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Case No.: 1:13-cv-00747-SAB (PC)

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S THIRD 

MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL, 

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

(ECF No. 36)

Case 1:13-cv-00747-LJO-SAB Document 37 Filed 12/08/16 Page 1 of 3
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exceptional circumstances the court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 

section 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525.

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 a 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 exceptional circumstances necessary to request 

volunteer counsel. At this early stage in the proceedings, the Court cannot find any likelihood of 

success on the merits. Nor does the Court find that Plaintiff cannot adequately articulate his claims or 

respond to the Court’s orders. In several of his pleadings, the Court in fact found that Plaintiff stated 

cognizable claims, although his most recent amended complaint was dismissed with leave to amend

for the failure to state any claim upon which relief could be granted. (ECF No. 35.) Plaintiff is advised 

that he is not precluded from renewing the motion for appointment of counsel at a later stage of the 

proceedings, if appropriate.

Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s third motion for appointment of 

counsel, filed December 7, 2016 (ECF No. 36), will be DENIED without prejudice. 

 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 8, 2016 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 1:13-cv-00747-LJO-SAB Document 37 Filed 12/08/16 Page 2 of 3
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Case 1:13-cv-00747-LJO-SAB Document 37 Filed 12/08/16 Page 3 of 3