Lopez v. Martinez

Background

Jesus Andres Lopez, a state prisoner incarcerated at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, filed a motion asking the court to appoint counsel and a request for an extension of time to oppose defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

Appointment of Counsel

The court explained that civil litigants do not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, the court may request that a lawyer represent an indigent litigant only in exceptional circumstances. The court considers both the likelihood of success on the merits and the litigant’s ability to present the claims in light of the legal issues’ complexity.

The court found that Lopez had presented his claims effectively and that the issues in defendants’ pending dispositive motion were straightforward. It therefore denied without prejudice Lopez’s motion for appointment of counsel.

Extension of Time and Case Deadlines

The court granted Lopez’s request for an extension of time to oppose defendants’ dispositive motion. Lopez must file his opposition and serve it on defendants’ counsel no later than 30 days from the date of the order. Defendants must file a reply no later than 14 days after Lopez files his opposition. The motion will be considered submitted when the reply is due unless the court later orders a hearing.

The order also advised Lopez about the evidence generally required to oppose summary judgment, his responsibility to follow court orders and keep the court and parties informed of address changes, and the parties’ ability to conduct discovery under the federal rules. The court did not rule on the pending summary-judgment motion itself.