Castro

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ROBERT CURTIS WILLIAMS, III Case No. 1:20-cv-01617-SAB (PC)

Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S

REQUEST FOR APPOINTMENT OF

v. IMPARTIAL EXPERT WITNESS

CASTRO, et al., (ECF No. 78)

Defendants.

16 Plaintiff Robert Curtis Williams, III is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. As part of his untimely pretrial statement and on the morning of jury trial, Plaintiff seeks the appointment of an impartial expert witness to testify at trial as to his mental health diagnosis. (ECF No. 78.) However, Plaintiff’s request is both untimely and not justified. First, Plaintiff’s request, brought by way of pretrial statement, is untimely. Indeed, Plaintiff’s pretrial statement was initially due December 30, 2022, and was not filed until February 21, 2023. (ECF Nos. 49, 78.) Second, Federal Rule of Evidence 706 allows a court to appoint an expert witness on the motion …