UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

: HEIDI L. RUSSIS, : : Plaintiff, : : v. : Case No. 3:19-cv-01089 (AWT) : SAMANTHA DOLEGA, : MICHELLE KACZMAREK, : TRISHA BARTONE, and : VANNESSA L. DORANTES, : : Defendants. : :

ORDER Plaintiff seeks an emergency order requiring the named defendants, employees of the Department of Children and Families, to withdraw a neglect petition regarding plaintiff’s children, which is pending in the Superior Court for Juvenile Matters. Plaintiff alleges that the neglect petition contains false statements and was filed in retaliation for a complaint she made to the police about one of the defendants. For reasons that follow, plaintiff’s request for an emergency injunction is denied. Assuming for purposes of this ruling that plaintiff can prove her allegations regarding the neglect petition, she must undertake to do so in the Superior Court, where the petition is pending. There is a strong policy against federal court interference with state court proceedings that involve an important state interest, such as family relations. Moore v. Sims,

(1979). Consistent with this strong policy, a federal district court must avoid interfering with a

state court proceeding like the one pending in Superior Court. Plaintiff does not allege, and there is no reason to assume, that she cannot get a fair hearing in Superior Court. Plaintiff also appears to seek an emergency order generally preventing defendants from violating her rights. Such an order may be issued only when the plaintiff shows an ongoing violation of federal rights that must be addressed without delay in order to avoid irreparable harm.

. See also Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b)(1)(A). Plaintiff’s allegations fall short of making this showing. Accordingly, the motion for an emergency restraining order is hereby denied.

So ordered this 1st day of August, 2019.

/s/ RNC Robert N. Chatigny United States District Judge