Opinion
4:17-cr-00100-BLW
08-10-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. CHANEL LYNN BISTODEAU, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER
B. LYNN WINMILL U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
INTRODUCTION
Before the Court is Defendant's Motion for Sentence Reduction Under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Dkt. 112. The Government filed its Response (Dkt. 115) on April 25, 2022, before the Court acted on Defendant's request for appointment of counsel made on the last page of her Motion. She now requests an opportunity to reply if the Court denies the request for counsel. See Letter, Dkt. 116.
ANALYSIS
There is no constitutional right to appointed counsel in post-conviction proceedings. Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 555 (1987) (“The right to appointed counsel extends to the first appeal of right, and no further.”). More germane to this case, there is no constitutional right to appointed counsel in proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c). See United States v. Townsend, 98 F.3d 510, 512-513 (9th Cir. 1996); United States v. Meyers, No.12-cr-00248-PJH-3, 2022 WL 602518, at *1 (N.D.Cal. Mar. 1, 2022) (applying Townsend specifically to proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). Instead, the decision whether to appoint counsel in post-conviction proceedings rests with the discretion of the district court. United States v. Harrington, 410 F.3d 598, 600 (9th Cir. 2005).
The Court is sympathetic to the fact that incarcerated persons face certain added difficulties when representing themselves pro se. However, Defendant here has not asserted or provided the sort of exceptional circumstances that must be present before the Court will exercise its discretion to appoint counsel. To the contrary, she has adequately presented her Motion and supporting documentation. Accordingly, the Court denies the request for counsel.
ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. Defendant's Request for Appointment of Counsel is DENIED.
2. Defendant shall file her Reply, if any, to the Government's Response on or before September 9, 2022.
3. Defendant's Motion for Sentence Reduction (Dkt. 112) will be decided after the Court has considered the Reply.