The opinion
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4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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7 MISTY DANIELLE BROWN, Case No. 19-cv-05797-JSC
8 Plaintiff,
ORDER RE: PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
9 v. TO APPOINT COUNSEL
10 MEGAN BRENNAN, Re: Dkt. No. 10
Defendant.
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12 Misty Danielle Brown sues the Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service for
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employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Dkt. No. 1.)1 On
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October 10, 2019, the Court granted Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis and
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ordered service of summons upon reviewing the complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2).
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Now before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion to appoint counsel. (Dkt. No. 10.) After careful
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18 consideration the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s motion.
19 A plaintiff has no constitutional right to appointment of counsel in a civil action. See
20 United States v. McQuade, 579 F.2d 1180, 1181 (9th Cir. 1978). A court may, however, appoint
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counsel for indigent parties under 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(1). Id. at 1181. Such appointments are
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within “the sound discretion of the court and are granted only in exceptional circumstances.” Id.
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In determining whether exceptional circumstances exist, courts should evaluate “the likelihood of
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25 the plaintiff’s success on the merits and . . . the plaintiff’s ability to articulate [her] claims in light
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1 of the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Agyeman v. Corrections Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d
2 1101, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
3 Here, the Court is satisfied that Plaintiff is capable of pursuing her employment
4 discrimination claims without the assistance of counsel, regardless of the likelihood of her success
5 on the merits. Plaintiff recently represented herself in an employment discrimination claim in this
District against the same defendant and submitted a thorough memorandum and 23 exhibits and 7
witness declarations in opposition to the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. (See
9 generally Dkt. Nos. 109-117 (Brown v. Brennan, 3:16-cv-06972-EDL).) Thus, Plaintiff can
10 || articulate her claims and understands the legal issues involved. For the same reasons, Plaintiffs
11 conclusory assertion that she “suffer[s] from a medical condition that would prevent [her]” from
12 properly pleading her case is unpersuasive. (See Dkt. No. 10 at 2.) Although the Court is
= 1S sympathetic to Plaintiff's condition, her complaint contains detailed factual allegations in support
of her employment discrimination claims and there is no indication that Plaintiff is unable to
Z effectively prosecute her case.
5 7 Accordingly, the Court denies Plaintiff's motion because Plaintiff fails to demonstrate the
18 exceptional circumstances necessary to warrant appointment of counsel.
19 This Order disposes of Docket No. 10.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: December 2, 2019
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23 IE SCOTT CORLEY
A United States Magistrate Judge
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4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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MISTY DANIELLE BROWN,
7 Case No. 19-cv-05797-JSC
Plaintiff,
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9 Vv. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
10 MEGAN BRENNAN,
Defendant.
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12 . .
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S.
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= District Court, Northern District of California.
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That on December 2, 2019, ISERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by
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placing said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by
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depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery
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receptacle located in the Clerk's office.
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19 Misty Danielle Brown
51 Fairway Drive
20 South San Francisco, CA 94080
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Dated: December 2, 2019
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24 Susan Y. Soong
Clerk, United States District Court
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27 By:
28 Ada y Wlerk to the
Honorable JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY