1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JIMMIE EARL JONES, III, No. 2:25-cv-3231-DMC-P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 CYPRIAN PUISIS, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff, a prisoner proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action pursuant to 18

. Pending before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for the appointment of counsel. 19 See ECF No. 2. 20 The United States Supreme Court has ruled that district courts lack authority to 21 require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 cases. See Mallard v. United States Dist. 22 Court,

(1989). In certain exceptional circumstances, the court may request the 23 voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to

(e)(1). See Terrell v. Brewer, 935

, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright,

(9th Cir. 1990). 25 A finding of “exceptional circumstances” requires an evaluation of both the likelihood of success 26 on the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his claims on his own in light of the 27 complexity of the legal issues involved. See Terrell, 935 F.2d at 1017. Neither factor is 28 dispositive, and both must be viewed together before reaching a decision. See id. In Terrell, the 1 | Ninth Circuit concluded the district court did not abuse its discretion with respect to appointment 2 | of counsel because: 3 ... Terrell demonstrated sufficient writing ability and legal knowledge to articulate his claim. The facts he alleged and the issues he raised were not 4 of substantial complexity. The compelling evidence against Terrell made it 5 extremely unlikely that he would succeed on the merits.

‘ Id. at 1017.

7 In the present case, the Court does not find the required exceptional circumstances. 8 | Plaintiff contends that the appointment of counsel is warranted because he is indigent. See ECF 9 || No. 2. The Court recognizes the unique difficulties of litigating from prison. Plaintiff's indigency, 10 || however, is not an exceptional circumstance. Plaintiff's complaint reflects that he maintains the 11 | writing ability and legal knowledge to articulate his claims on his own. Furthermore, a review of 12 || the complaint suggests that the issues likely involved in this case are not of substantial legal or 13 || factual complexity. Finally, at this early stage of the proceedings before the complaint has been 14 || screened or found appropriate for service, the Court cannot find that Plaintiff has established a 15 | likelihood of success on the merits. 16 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion for the 17 || appointment of counsel, ECF No. 2, is denied. 18 19 || Dated: November 20, 2025 Co 20 DENNIS M. COTA 7] UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 22 23 24 25 26 27 28