Lewis
Lewis v. Unknown
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 DONALD R. LEWIS Case No.: 20cv1042-MMA (MSB)
Petitioner,
ORDER DENYING PETITIONER’S MOTION
v. FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL [ECF NO. 7] UNKNOWN, et al., Respondents. 16
On August 3, 2020, Petitioner, proceeding pro se, filed a motion asking the Court to appoint counsel. (See ECF No. 7; see also ECF No. 6.) Petitioner claims that his case in complex and because of his “limited intellectu[a]l ability and understanding,” he will not have meaningful access to the courts without court-appointed counsel. (Id. at 2.) I. LEGAL STANDARD The Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not extend to federal habeas corpus actions by state prisoners. Habeas Corpus Res. Ctr. v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 816 F.3d 1241, 1244 (9th Cir. 2016) (noting that there is no federal constitutional right to appointment of counsel in postconviction collateral attacks on a conviction or sentence…