Burke Justice, Jr. v. Superior Court of the District of Columbia

732 F.2d 949, 235 U.S. App. D.C. 347, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 23341

• Court: Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Decided: April 20, 1984
• Docket: 80-2580
• Status: Published

Opinions

MacKINNON, Senior Circuit Judge:

Appellants brought this action in federal district court against the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and two of its judges. Appellants allege that the conservatorship statute of the District of Columbia is unconstitutional on its face and as applied. The district court dismissed their complaint.

While appellants have been before the Superior Courts for the District of Columbia for a number of years, they have not pursued an appeal to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which thus has never had an opportunity to rule upon appellants’ claims. In my opinion, those claims must be presented to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals before a federal district court can process this cause of action.

This case falls squarely within the scope of the Pullman abstention doctrine. See Railroad Commission v. Pullman Co., 312 U.S. 496, 61 S.Ct. 643, 85 L.Ed. 971 (1941). So long as the as-yet-unconstrued conservatorship statute is susceptible of a saving construction, the district court should abstain from entertaining appellants’ constitutional claims. See Boehning v. Indiana Employees Association, 423 U.S. 6, 96 S.Ct. 168, 46 L.Ed.2d 148 (1975) (per curiam); Kasap v. Moritz, 613 F.2d 138 (6th Cir.1980). Accordingly, the decision of the district court is reversed and the court is instructed on remand to hold the matter in abeyance pending its resolution by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Railroad Commission v. Pullman Co., supra, 312 U.S. at 498, 61 S.Ct. at 644.

Judgment accordingly.