Gaines
Gaines v. Greigore
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 JACOBI GAINES, Case No. 23-cv-06195-RMI
Plaintiff,
ORDER
v. 9 Re: Dkt. No. 23 KARL GREIGORE, Defendant.
12 Plaintiff, a detainee proceeding pro se, filed a civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court ordered service and Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on September 3, 2024. Presently pending is Plaintiff’s motion to appoint advisory counsel to help prepare for trial, that was filed prior to Defendant’s motion for summary judgment. There is no constitutional right to counsel in a civil case, Lassiter v. Dep’t of Social Services, 452 U.S. 18, 25 (1981), and although district courts may “request” that counsel represent a litigant who is proceeding in forma pauperis, as plaintiff is here, see 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), that does not give the courts the power to make “coercive appointments of counsel.” Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 310 (1989). The Ninth Circuit has held that a district court may ask counsel to…