(PC) Knapp v. Madera County Department of Corrections

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 ARTHUR DEAN KNAPP, 1:18-cv-00811-LJO-SKO (PC)

Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR

v. APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL

MADERA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF (Doc. 48) CORRECTIONS, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 On October 7, 2019, Plaintiff Arthur Dean Knapp filed a motion seeking the appointment of counsel. (Doc. 48.) Plaintiffs do not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in section 1983 actions, Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the Court cannot require an attorney to represent plaintiffs under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). See Mallard v. U.S. Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 304-05 (1989). However, in “exceptional circumstances,” the Court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section 1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. The Court will seek volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In determining whether “exceptional circumstances exist, a district court must evaluate both the 26 …