Opinion
C23-5613-TSZ-SKV
12-14-2023
SEUNG HAN, Plaintiff, v. PIERCE COUNTY, et al., Defendants.
ORDER TAKING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL UNDER ADVISEMENT
S. KATE VAUGHAN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
This is a civil rights action proceeding under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff Seung Han is currently in Washington Department of Corrections custody and is confined at the Washington Corrections Center. See Dkt. 12. At the time Plaintiff filed this action, he was confined at the Pierce County Jail. See Dkt. 7 at 2. Plaintiff has submitted to the Court for consideration a motion for appointment of counsel. Dkt. 17. Defendants, who have appeared in this action, have not responded in any fashion to the motion. The Court, having reviewed Plaintiff's motion and the balance of the record, hereby ORDERS as follows:
(1) Plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel (Dkt. 17) is taken under advisement and is STRICKEN from the Court's calendar at this time. Plaintiff seeks an Order directing that counsel be appointed in this matter, asserting in support of his motion only that he “will face increasing challenges litigating and articulating his claims pro se.” Id.
The instant action is one of a number of cases filed in recent months by Pierce County Jail inmates asserting claims concerning the plumbing and sewage system at the Jail. The Court has appointed counsel in one such case, Wolfclan v. Washington State DSHS, C23-5399-TSZ-SKV. The Wolfclan case was filed by another Pierce County Jail inmate, Echota C. Wolfclan, as a proposed class action. Mr. Han previously sought leave to be added as a Plaintiff in that action. See Wolfclan, C23-5399-TSZ-SKV, Dkt. 34. While it is unknown at this juncture whether Mr. Han will end up as a participant in the Wolfclan case, the Court deems it appropriate to defer it's ruling on Mr. Han's motion for appointment of counsel in the instant action until there is greater clarity surrounding the Wolfclan case and how it is likely to proceed.
(2) The Clerk is directed to send copies of this Order to Plaintiff, to counsel for Defendants, and to the Honorable Thomas S. Zilly.