Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_09-cv-02507/USCOURTS-casd-3_09-cv-02507-8/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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09cv2507-AJB (BLM)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

DAVID J. COTA, CDCR #C-26012,

Plaintiff,

v.

L.E. SCRIBNER, et al.,

Defendants.

 

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Case No. 09cv2507-AJB (BLM)

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR

APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL

[ECF No. 69]

On January 19, 2012, Plaintiff filed his fifth motion to appoint counsel in this case. ECF

No. 69; see also ECF Nos. 3, 31, 47, 57. In support, Plaintiff states that he is unable to afford

counsel, he lacks any legal knowledge and is almost totally dependent on a fellow inmate whose

legal understanding “is at its limit,” his status as a segregated inmate severely limits his “access

to investigate” in preparation for a jury trial, the issues in the case are complex and his claims

are meritorious, and he has been unable to secure counsel despite repeated efforts. Id. at 1-4.

Plaintiff states that he “does not ask for appointment of counsel because of lack of diligence .

. . but out of a genuine inability to effectively prepare and present his case and claims for pretrial and trial proceeding.” Id. at 6.

The Constitution provides no right to appointment of counsel in a civil case unless an

indigent litigant may lose his physical liberty if he loses the litigation. Lassiter v. Dep’t of Soc.

Servs., 452 U.S. 18, 25 (1981). However, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), courts are granted

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discretion to appoint counsel for indigent persons under “exceptional circumstances.”

Agyeman v. Corr. Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004). A finding of exceptional

circumstances demands at least “an evaluation of the likelihood of the plaintiff’s success on the

merits and an evaluation of the plaintiff’s ability to articulate his claims ‘in light of the complexity

of the legal issues involved.’” Id. (quoting Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir.

1986)). 

Plaintiff’s instant motion includes many of the same arguments he raised in his previous

motion for counsel—namely, Plaintiff asserts that the factual and legal complexity of his case,

combined with his limited ability to investigate and present his case, warrant the appointment

of counsel. Cf. ECF No. 69 at 6-8, with ECF No. 57 at 2-4. However, for the first time, Plaintiff

states that he attempted to secure counsel on his own. ECF No. 69 at 1-2, 4-5; see also ECF No.

58 at 3 n.3. Although unsuccessful, Plaintiff’s actions demonstrate “a reasonably diligent effort

to secure counsel,” thereby satisfying a prerequisite some courts have required prior to

appointing indigent plaintiffs an attorney. Bailey v. Lawford, 835 F. Supp. 550, 552 (S.D. Cal.

1993).

Additional circumstances have changed in this case since September 23, 2011, when the

Court denied Plaintiff’s most recent motion for counsel. See ECF No. 58. More specifically, this

Court’s most recent Order denying Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 57) was

filed prior to Judge Battaglia’s Order granting Defendants’ motion to dismiss and requiring

Defendants to file an answer (ECF Nos. 59 & 61). Defendants timely filed their Answer (ECF No.

65) and the Court subsequently issued a Case Management Conference Order Regulating

Discovery and Other Pretrial Proceedings (ECF No. 66). Thus, although the facts underlying

Plaintiff’s claims have not changed, the likelihood of this case going to trial has increased. Also,

during the course of these proceedings, the Southern District of California adopted, pursuant to

General Order No. 596 and 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), a Plan for the Representation of Pro Se

Litigants in Civil Cases.

Furthermore, in the interim between Plaintiff’s previous motion for counsel and the instant

motion, two particularly relevant decisions have been issued. First, on October 6, 2011, the

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1

 On December 14, 2011, the California Supreme Court granted Respondents’ Petition for Review, but no

order has yet been issued. In re Cabrera, 264 P.3d 822 (Cal. 2011). 

2

 Notably, the petitioner in Cabrera received court-appointed counsel. See 131 Cal. Rptr. 3d at 586.

3

 On November 2, 2011, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss which is still pending. ECF No. 92.

4

 Because, at least at this stage, Plaintiff’s claims seem to involve triable issues of fact, the Court cannot

assume that this case will be resolved on a motion for summary judgment. Compare ECF No. 50 (Plaintiff’s First

Amended Complaint) with ECF No. 65 (Defendants’ Answer, in which they deny Plaintiff’s allegations); see also ECF

No. 35 at 13-15, 18-26 (outlining the critical yet debatable facts underlying Plaintiff’s surviving claims). Plaintiff also

asserts that his case will be marked by conflicting testimony and that such a “credibility contest” necessitates the

appointment of counsel. ECF No. 69 at 8.

3 09cv2507-AJB (BLM)

California Court of Appeal denied rehearing of its decision granting a petition for writ of habeas

corpus for a prisoner who challenged his validation as an associate of the Mexican Mafia prison

gang on insufficient evidence grounds. In re Elvin Cabrera, 131 Cal. Rptr. 3d 578 (Cal. Ct. App.

2011).1

 Similar to Cabrera, one of the key allegations in Plaintiff’s case is that prison officials

lacked sufficient evidence to validate him as a Mexican Mafia prison gang associate.2

 See,

e.g., ECF No. 50 at 8-11, 22-26. Second, on September 23, 2011, the Prison Law Office and

Bingham McCutchen LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the Eastern District of California

demanding that California prison officials stop imposing racially discriminatory lockdowns.

Mitchell v. Felker et al., Case No. 2:08cv1196-JAM-EFB, ECF No. 70 (Motion for Leave to File

Second Amended Complain); ECF No. 83 (Order Granting Motion to Amend the Complaint); ECF

No. 84 (Second Amended Complaint).3

 Similar to Felker, one of the key allegations in Plaintiff’s

case is that prison officials targeted and removed Plaintiff from the general prison population

based on his race. See, e.g., ECF No. 50 at 3-7, 21-26.

Although the Court cannot, at this time, determine whether Plaintiff will succeed on the

merits of his case, Plaintiff’s claims have repeatedly proven to be sufficient to state a claim for

relief, having now survived two rounds of motions to dismiss. See ECF No. 61. The unrelated

yet exceedingly relevant litigation currently pending in other courts further suggests that

Plaintiff’s surviving claims are potentially meritorious. Moreover, the aforementioned cases

challenging the constitutionality of California prison gang validation and prison lockdown

procedures magnify the factual and legal complexity of Plaintiff’s case, thereby magnifying the

need for counsel, particularly if this case proceeds to trial.4

 Based on the foregoing, the Court

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finds that the “exceptional circumstances” required for court-appointed counsel are present. See,

e.g., Agyeman, 390 F.3d at 1103; Wilborn, 789 F.2d at 1331. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion for

Appointment of Counsel is GRANTED.

The Court will, in due course, exercise its discretion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1)

and randomly select a volunteer attorney from the Court’s Pro Bono Panel to represent Plaintiff

during the course of further proceedings before this Court. Once Pro Bono Counsel has been

selected, the Court will issue an Order Appointing Counsel.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: February 16, 2012

BARBARA L. MAJOR

United States Magistrate Judge

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