Brown v. Branch

Opinion

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5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 7 8 DARREN B. BROWN, 9 Plaintiff, CASE NO. 2:25-cv-01055-LK-BAT 10 v. ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF 11 BRANCH, C. BLOOD, and NUA, King COUNSEL, DKT. 11. County Corrections Officers, 12 Defendant. 13 Plaintiff, a prisoner at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center filed a pro se civil rights 14 complaint against King County Jail corrections officers alleging they used excessive force in 15 2022. See Complaint at Dkt. 5. The Court, has reviewed the Plaintiff’s motion and the record and 16 ORDERS as follows: 17 (1) The Court DENIES without prejudice Plaintiff’s motion for counsel. Dkt. 11. A 18 person filing a civil lawsuit generally has no right to counsel. See Campbell v. Burt, 141 F.3d 19 927, 931 (9th Cir. 1998). The Court may appoint counsel for an indigent civil litigant but only if 20 “exceptional circumstances” exist. Agyeman v. Corrections Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 21 9th Cir. 2004). To determine if “exceptional circumstances” exist, the Court considers the 22 likelihood of success on the merits, and the ability of Plaintiff to articulate his claims pro 23 se given the complexity of the legal issues involved. Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th 1 Cir. 1983). 2 Plaintiff argues the Court should appoint counsel because he has limited access to the law 3 library; it is difficult to conduct discovery while detained, his rights were “seriously violated,” 4 and counsel should be appointed under Gideon v. Wainwright. Plaintiff’s rationale for

5 appointment of counsel applies to a significant number of pro se prisoner lawsuits and thus does 6 not constitute an exceptional circumstance. Further, Plaintiff alleges Defendants beat him. He 7 has thus far been able to articulate his claims for relief despite his claimed limitations, and it is 8 too early to determine the merits of the allegation. 9 (2) The Clerk shall provide a copy of this Order to the parties. 10 DATED this 24th day of July, 2025. 11 A 12 BRIAN A. TSUCHIDA United States Magistrate Judge 13

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