Sahota

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 RODERICK WILLIAM LEAR, No. 2:18-cv-3099 MCE DB P 11 Plaintiff, 12 v. ORDER 13 PREETRANJAN SAHOTA, et al., 14 Defendants. 15 16 Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action, has requested 17 appointment of counsel. Plaintiff states that he lacks legal experience and feels overwhelmed by 18 the parties’ current discovery disputes. He asks for the appointment of counsel to assist in 19 opposing any motion for summary judgment and to assist in the settlement conference set for 20 January 5, 2021. 21 The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to require 22 counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 23 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the district court may request the 24 voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 25 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright,…