Ruiz

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 ARTHUR DEWAYNE TOWNSEND, JR., No. 2:20-cv-1179 KJM AC P Plaintiff, v. ORDER MIKE RUIZ, et al., Defendants. 16 Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with a civil rights action, has requested appointment of counsel. ECF No. 25. In support of the motion, plaintiff states in part that he is unable to afford counsel; that his incarceration will severely limit his ability to litigate the case; that the issues in this matter are complex; and that he has limited access to the prison law library. See ECF No. 25 at 1-2. As a result, he asks that the court appoint the firm Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld, LLP as counsel to assist him with litigating this case. See id. at 2. 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…