Dukes v. Chau

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied without prejudice plaintiff Darnell Maurice Dukes’s motion for appointment of counsel in his pro se civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court found no exceptional circumstances warranting volunteer counsel because the claims did not appear unusually complex, plaintiff could articulate his allegations, and the court had not yet screened the complaint to assess the likelihood of success.

Holdings

1. The court may request voluntary assistance of counsel under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) only in exceptional circumstances, evaluated by considering both the likelihood of success on the merits and the plaintiff's ability to articulate the claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues. Plaintiff did not establish exceptional circumstances at this stage, so the motion for appointment of counsel was denied without prejudice.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court should request volunteer counsel for a pro se prisoner under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) based on alleged exceptional circumstances.

Disposition

other