Dominguez

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 RICARDO C. WHEATLEY, JR., Case No. 1:20-cv-00481-BAK (SAB) (PC)

Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR

APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL

v. SERGEANT D. DOMINGUEZ, et al., (ECF No. 17) Defendants.

16 Plaintiff Ricardo C. Wheatley, Jr., is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On August 18, 2022, Plaintiff filed a motion for the appointment of counsel. (ECF No 17.) As grounds, Plaintiff states that he cannot afford to hire counsel; the issues in this case are complex; because he is in a mental hospital, he has limited access to the law library; and he has contacted two attorneys but was unable to obtain representation. (Id.) Plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this action. Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997). The district courts lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in section 1983 cases. Mallard…