The following excerpt is from McQuery v. City of San Diego, Case No. 16-cv-170-BAS(BGS) (S.D. Cal. 2017):
District courts may request that an attorney represent an indigent civil litigant upon a showing of "exceptional circumstances." See Agyeman v. Corr. Corp. of Am., 390 F.3d 1101, 1103 (9th Cir. 2004). "A finding of exceptional circumstances . . . requires at least an evaluation of the likelihood of the plaintiff's success on the merits and an evaluation of the plaintiff's ability to articulate his claims 'in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.'" Id. (quoting Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789
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F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986)).
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