(HC)West

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

8

KENNETH JAMES WEST, 1:22 -cv-00172-ADA-BAK (HC) Petitioner,

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR

v. APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE (Doc. No. 23)

OF CALIFORNIA,

14 Respondent.

16 Before the court is Petitioner’s motion to appoint counsel. (Doc. No. 23). Petitioner, a state prisoner, has pending a pro se amended petition for writ of habeas corpus filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. (Doc. No. 14). Petitioner requests the court to appoint counsel to represent him because he has no legal training, he is unable to write a legal argument or research relevant authority relevant to his claims, and the complexity of the case is “such that denial of counsel would amount to a denial of due process.” (Doc. No. 23). There is no automatic, constitutional right to counsel in federal habeas proceedings. See Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 752 (1991); Anderson v. Heinze, 258 F.2d 479, 481 (9th Cir. 1958). The Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, however, authorizes this…