Rangel v. Williams

Opinion

1 2 3 5 7 8 9 JONATHAN RANGEL, Case No. 21-cv-00278-JSC

10 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTIONS FOR 11 v. APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL AND FOR ADDITIONAL LAW LIBRARY 12 V. WILLIAMS, et al., ACCESS 13 Defendants. Re: Dkt. Nos. 8, 10

14 Plaintiff, a California prisoner, filed this civil rights case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He has 15 filed a motion for appointment of counsel. There is no constitutional right to counsel in a civil 16 case. Lassiter v. Dep't of Social Services, 452 U.S. 18, 25 (1981). 28 U.S.C. § 1915 confers on a 17 district court only the power to "request" that counsel represent a litigant who is proceeding in 18 forma pauperis. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1). The Court has only the power to ask pro bono counsel to 19 represent Plaintiff, not the power to “appoint” counsel. Plaintiff has presented his claims 20 effectively, and the issues, at least at this stage, are not complex. The motion is DENIED. If 21 circumstances change such that Plaintiff needs an attorney, the Court will sua sponte refer the case 22 to the Federal Pro Bono Project to look for counsel to represent Plaintiff pro bono. 23 Plaintiff has filed a motion to order prison officials to increase his weekly time in the law 24 library from two hours to six hours per week. Plaintiff does not presently have a deadline for 25 filing, but he states that he would like to use the time to familiarize himself with the Federal Rules 26 of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules. The Defendants are health care employees at Salinas 27 Valley State Prison. The Court does not have jurisdiction to order non-parties --- such as the law 1 deadline, he can renew his request to prison officials for additional hours in the law library, and/or 2 he may request an extension of time from the Court. 4 Dated: March 23, 2021 5 6 ne JAGQQUELINE SCOTT CORL 7 United States Magistrate Judge 8 9 10 11 12

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