Anthony A. Sanchez v. J. Nunez-Ruiz, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied, without prejudice, a state prisoner’s motion for appointment of pro bono counsel in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. The court found that Plaintiff had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits and appeared able to articulate his claims, while allowing him to renew the request at a later stage.

Holdings

1. A plaintiff in this civil rights action does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel, and the court cannot require an attorney to represent the plaintiff under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1).
2. Exceptional circumstances did not warrant appointment of pro bono counsel because the court could not determine that Plaintiff was likely to succeed on the merits and Plaintiff appeared able to articulate his claims pro se.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court should appoint pro bono counsel for a pro se prisoner under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1).
2. Whether exceptional circumstances existed based on the likelihood of success on the merits and Plaintiff's ability to articulate his claims pro se.

Disposition

other