(HC) Fegan v. Schultz

Opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 STEPHEN FEGAN, Case No. 1:24-cv-01250-KES-SAB-HC

12 Petitioner, ORDER DENYING PETITIONER’S MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL 13 v. (ECF No. 8) 14 SCHULTZ, et al.,

15 Respondents.

17 18 Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus 19 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. 20 Petitioner has moved for appointment of counsel. (ECF No. 8.) There currently exists no 21 absolute right to appointment of counsel in habeas proceedings. See, e.g., Chaney v. Lewis, 801 22 F.2d 1191, 1196 (9th Cir. 1986); Anderson v. Heinze, 258 F.2d 479, 481 (9th Cir. 1958). 23 However, the Criminal Justice Act authorizes the appointment of counsel at any stage of the 24 proceeding for financially eligible persons if “the interests of justice so require.” 18 U.S.C. 25 § 3006A(a)(2)(B). To determine whether to appoint counsel, the “court must evaluate the 26 likelihood of success on the merits as well as the ability of the petitioner to articulate his claims 27 pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). 1 Petitioner contends that counsel should be appointed because the issues and claims in this 2 | case are particularly complex. (ECF No. 8 at 2.) Upon review of the petition, the Court finds that 3 | Petitioner appears to have a sufficient grasp of his claims and the legal issues involved and that 4 |he is able to articulate those claims adequately. Further, the Court has issued findings and 5 | recommendation recommending dismissal of the petition as successive. (ECF No. 5.) Therefore, 6 | Petitioner does not demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits such that the interests of 7 | justice require the appointment of counsel at the present time. 8 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Petitioner’s motion to appoint counsel 9 | No. 8) is DENIED. 10 i IT IS SO ORDERED. FA. ee 12 | Dated: _ December 3, 2024 STANLEY A. BOONE 13 United States Magistrate Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28