Andrew Clark v. J. Walters

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied Andrew Clark’s motion for appointment of counsel without prejudice in his pro se civil rights action against J. Walters. The court held that Clark had not demonstrated exceptional circumstances under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), particularly because the likelihood of success could not yet be determined and he appeared able to articulate his claims.

Holdings

1. An indigent plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in a civil rights action, and the court cannot require an attorney to represent the plaintiff under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1).
2. Exceptional circumstances require evaluation of both the plaintiff's likelihood of success on the merits and the plaintiff's ability to articulate claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues. Plaintiff did not establish exceptional circumstances warranting appointment of counsel.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff was entitled to appointment of counsel in his prisoner civil rights action.
2. Whether exceptional circumstances existed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) based on the likelihood of success on the merits and Plaintiff's ability to articulate his claims pro se.

Disposition

other