Aldridge

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 CRAIG RICHARD, No. 2:19-cv-2006 TLN DB P Plaintiff, v. ORDER L. ALDRIDGE, Warden, Defendant. 15 Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action, has requested appointment of counsel or “guardian aid.” Plaintiff states he suffers from multiple conditions including legal blindness and mental illness and has relied on prisoner assistance to prosecute this case. Plaintiff states his conditions would make it difficult for him to present evidence at trial. Plaintiff requests a competency hearing for the purpose of appointment of a guardian ad litem under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(c). A court must appoint a guardian ad litem, or issue another appropriate order, to protect a minor or an incompetent person who is unrepresented in an action. Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c)(2). However, in this case, plaintiff does not show a “substantial question” exists regarding his mental competence such that a hearing…