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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 | ANTONIO ESPINOZA, No. 2:94-cv-1665-KJM-DB 12 Petitioner, ORDER 13 v. 14 | WARDEN, 1S Respondent. 16 17 Petitioner is a state prisoner represented by counsel in the Office of the Federal Public 18 | Defender’s Office for the Eastern District of California. In March of this year, the Magistrate 19 | Judge issued an order appointing an independent expert under Federal Rule of Evidence 706. MJ 20 | Order, ECF No. 331. The expert will assess whether petitioner is competent for purposes of 21 | Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17, which requires a district court to “appoint a guardian ad 22 | litem—or issue another appropriate order—to protect a minor or incompetent person who is 23 | unrepresented” by a general guardian, committee, conservator or like fiduciary. Fed. R. Civ. P. 24 | 17(c)(2). 25 The Magistrate Judge determined that “both parties should bear the costs of the expert’s 26 | work,” petitioner because his…