Jones

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 PATRICK BRADY, No. 2:21-cv-0489 AC P Plaintiff, v. ORDER SCOTT JONES, et al., Defendants. 16 Plaintiff, a county inmate proceeding pro se with a civil rights action, has requested appointment of counsel. ECF No. 5. In support of the motion, plaintiff states among other things that he is unable to afford counsel, that the issues in his case are complex, that he has limited access to the jail’s law library, and that he has limited knowledge of the law. See id. at 1. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the district court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332, 1335-36…