Betts v. Terronez

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California denied without prejudice Domenic Jarelle Betts’s motion for appointment of counsel in his pro se 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. The court held that Betts had not shown exceptional circumstances because the record did not establish a likelihood of success at that early stage or an inability to articulate his claims.

Holdings

1. A district court may request counsel for an indigent civil litigant only upon a showing of exceptional circumstances, evaluated by considering cumulatively the likelihood of success on the merits and the litigant's ability to articulate claims in light of the complexity of the legal issues.
2. Betts did not establish exceptional circumstances warranting appointment of counsel because the early stage of the proceedings made likelihood of success impossible to predict and he had shown that he could effectively articulate his claims pro se.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an indigent prisoner proceeding pro se established exceptional circumstances warranting appointment of counsel in a civil-rights action.
2. Whether the plaintiff's likelihood of success on the merits and ability to articulate his claims justified appointment of counsel when considered cumulatively.

Disposition

other