Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_11-cv-01201/USCOURTS-caed-1_11-cv-01201-6/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Raul Lopez
Respondent
Damous D. Nettles
Petitioner

Document Text:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

DAMOUS D. NETTLES,

Petitioner,

v.

RAUL LOPEZ,

Respondent.

No. 1:11-cv-1201-AWI-JLT (HC)

ORDER GRANTING REQUEST TO 

RECHARACTERIZE THIS ACTION AS A 

“PC” CASE (Doc. 62)

ORDER GRANTING REQUEST FOR 

COUNSEL TO WITHDRAW (Doc. 63)

ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR 

APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL

On August 22, 2016, the Court issued an order directing petitioner Damous D. Nettles to 

notify the Court whether he wished his habeas petition to be recharacterized as an action brought 

under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, pursuant to the Ninth Circuit’s 6-5 en banc decision in this case. (Doc. 

No. 55.) 

On February 13, 2017, counsel for Mr. Nettles notified the Court that he wished to have 

the matter recharacterized. (Doc. 62) Thus, the Court DIRECTS the Clerk of the Court to 

recharacterize this case as a “PC” case. Once recharacterized, the Court will screen the pleading

to determine whether it states any cognizable claims.

In addition, appointed counsel for petitioner on appeal seeks to withdraw from Mr. 

Nettles’ representation. (Doc. 62) He notes that the Criminal Justice Act does not authorize 

counsel for § 1983 cases and he lacks experience or knowledge of practice in this area. Id. Thus, 

Case 1:11-cv-01201-AWI-JLT Document 64 Filed 02/14/17 Page 1 of 3
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

2

the request is GRANTED and Mr. John Balazs is relieved as Mr. Nettles’ counsel in the § 1983 

proceeding.

Finally, Mr. Nettles seeks appointment of pro bono counsel. (Doc. 62) Plaintiff does not 

have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in the recharacterized action, Rand v. Rowland, 

113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court cannot require an 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. 

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 an 

exceptional circumstance exists, the court must evaluate both “the likelihood of success of the 

merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of 

the legal issues involved.” Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525 (internal quotation marks and citations 

omitted).

In this case, the court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. First, the 

Court has not yet determined whether Mr. Nettles has or can state any cognizable claims when 

considering all of the issues the Court raised in its order regarding recharacterization (Doc. 55) 

Thus, the court cannot now make a determination that plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits, 

and based on a review of the record in this case, the court does not find that plaintiff cannot 

adequately articulate his claims. Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. Second, even if the Court assumes that 

plaintiff is not well-versed in the law and that he has made serious allegations which, if proved, 

would entitle him to relief, his case is not exceptional. This court is faced with similar cases 

daily. Therefore, the request for appointment of counsel is DENIED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: February 14, 2017 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 1:11-cv-01201-AWI-JLT Document 64 Filed 02/14/17 Page 2 of 3
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

3

Case 1:11-cv-01201-AWI-JLT Document 64 Filed 02/14/17 Page 3 of 3