Furr-Barry v. Underwood
Furr-Barry v. Underwood
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
Mary Susan Furr-Barry, proceeding pro se, appeals a district court order dismissing her civil action purportedly filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331. This case has been referred to a panel of the court pursuant to Rule 34(j)(l), Rules of the Sixth Circuit. Upon examination, this panel unanimously agrees that oral argument is not needed. Fed. R.App. P. 34(a).
On July 2, 2002, Furr-Barry filed a complaint against Shirley Underwood, a Johnson City, Tennessee, judge; the Tennessee Department of Human Services; and the following individuals who are employed by or associated with the Tennessee Department of Human Services: Robert Stewart, Nancy Greer, Shirley Odum, Judy Cole,
The district court granted Furr-Barry’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis and dismissed the action, concluding that it must abstain from adjudicating the matter in deference to the ongoing state civil proceedings pursuant to the doctrine enunciated in Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971). FurrBarry’s motion for reconsideration was subsequently denied. Furr-Barry has filed a timely appeal. She has also filed a motion to amend the caption of her case “to incorporate the names of Scotty Perrin and Shannon Clark to the original ease.... ”
We review de novo a district court’s decision to abstain from adjudicating a claim pursuant to the Younger doctrine. Cooper v. Parrish, 203 F.3d 937, 954 (6th Cir. 2000); Hayse v. Wethington, 110 F.3d 18, 20 (6th Cir. 1997). Under the Younger abstention doctrine, a federal court must decline to interfere with pending state proceedings involving important state interests unless extraordinary circumstances are present. Younger, 401 U.S. at 44-45. “Younger abstention applies when the state proceeding (1) is currently pending, (2) involves an important state interest, and (3) affords the plaintiff an adequate opportunity to raise constitutional claims.” Carroll v. City of Mount Clemens, 139 F.3d 1072, 1074 (6th Cir. 1998); see also Middlesex County Ethics Comm. v. Garden State Bar Ass’n, 457 U.S. 423, 432, 102 S.Ct. 2515, 73 L.Ed.2d 116 (1982); Hayse, 110 F.3d at 20. Abstention is mandated whether the state court proceeding is criminal, quasi-criminal, or civil in nature as long as federal court intervention “unduly interfere(s) with the legitimate activities of the Stat(e).” Juidice v. Vail, 430 U.S. 327, 335-36, 97 S.Ct. 1211, 51 L.Ed.2d 376 (1977) (quoting Younger, 401 U.S. at 44).
Upon review, we conclude that the district court properly concluded that abstention was required in this case, as all three factors that support abstention under Younger were present. First, Furr-Barry’s juvenile court case was currently pending in a Tennessee state court. Second, the juvenile court case implicated important state interests. See Ankenbrandt v. Richards, 504 U.S. 689, 703-04, 112 S.Ct. 2206, 119 L.Ed.2d 468 (1992); Kelm v. Hyatt, 44 F.3d 415, 420 (6th Cir. 1995). Third, there was no evidence that the state court proceedings did not provide an opportunity for Furr-Barry to raise her constitutional claims.
Accordingly, the motion to amend the case caption is denied and the district
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mary Susan FURR-BARRY v. Shirley UNDERWOOD, Judge Robert Stewart Nancy Greer Shirley Odum Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Human Services Judy Cole Beau Irvin
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published