Brownnen
(PC) Lowery v. Brownnen
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 JOSHUA PHILLIP LOWERY, Case No. 2:23-cv-01566-JDP (PC) Plaintiff, ORDER v. DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTIONS FOR
THE APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
BROWNNEN, et al., ECF No. 37 Defendants.
16 Plaintiff has moved for the appointment of counsel. ECF No. 37. Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action, see Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the court lacks the authority to require an attorney to represent plaintiff. See Mallard v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for the S. Dist. of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). The court can request the voluntary assistance of counsel. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) (“The court may request an attorney to represent any person unable to afford counsel”); Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. But without a means to compensate counsel, the court will seek volunteer counsel only in exceptional circumstances. In determining whether such circumstances exist, “the district court…