Ogbuehi

*458 Plaintiff Gregory Smith is an indigent, self-represented prison inmate pursuing medical malpractice claims against a doctor and a nurse practitioner employed by the Pleasant Valley State Prison (Pleasant Valley). He filed a motion for the appointment of counsel, arguing the trial court should consider (1) the factual complexity of the issues relating to pain medication, dosage and his spinal condition; (2) his limited ability to investigate the facts, obtain discovery and get expert witnesses; (3) the legal complexity of the case; and (4) his showing that, on their face, his claims had merit. The trial court noted the right of criminal defendants to appointed counsel, cited the statute governing the appointment of public defenders, but stated it was without authority to appoint an attorney for a plaintiff in a civil case, and denied the motion. Subsequently, the trial court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment because Smith, as he predicted, did not obtain a medical expert's declaration contradicting the opinion of defendants' expert that the care provided Smith met the applicable standard of care.

The California Constitution and Penal Code section 2601,…