Opinion ID: 539921
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Right to Counsel Claim

Text: 15 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1915(d) provides that the district court may appoint counsel for indigent civil litigants. The district court refused to appoint counsel for Wood. That decision was not an abuse of discretion. 16 Counsel should only be appointed in exceptional circumstances, based on such factors as the likelihood of success on the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims in light of their complexity. Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328 at 1331 (9th Cir.1986). The instances that Wood claims indicate the presence of these factors are difficulties which any litigant would have in proceeding pro se; they do not indicate exceptional factors. 17 AFFIRMED.