Wilder v. Adams County District Court ( 2009 )

FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
February 4, 2009
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
GARY W. WILDER,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 08-1085
(D.C. No. 1:07-cv-02435-ZLW)
ADAMS COUNTY DISTRICT (D. Colo.)
COURT, actually named as District
Court of (Private) Adams County;
VINCENT C. PHELPS; ADAMS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY,
actually named as District Attorneys
Office of (Private) Adams County;
PETER A. STUMPF; ROBERT S.
GRANT; DON QUICK; ALL ASPECT
INVESTIGATIONS; ELIZABETH
LOYA-HANSEN,
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before BALDOCK, BRORBY, and EBEL, Circuit Judges.
*
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is
not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata,
and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value
consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
Gary Wilder, an inmate in the Adams County Detention Facility, filed a
pro se 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint asserting violations of his rights under the
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States
Constitution. The district court held that Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971),
required it to abstain from hearing Mr. Wilder’s case because his Colorado state
criminal proceedings were ongoing. This appeal, in which Mr. Wilder renews his
motion to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis (IFP), followed. 1
Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo the
district court’s decision to abstain pursuant to Younger. Roe No. 2 v. Ogden,
253 F.3d 1225, 1232 (10th Cir. 2001).
Under the Younger abstention doctrine, federal courts should ordinarily
refrain from interfering in ongoing state criminal proceedings. 401 U.S. at 45.
To justify intervention, a plaintiff must “show[] irreparable injury” that “is both
great and immediate.” Id. at 46 (quotation omitted).
In this case, the district court stated:
Mr. Wilder does not allege any facts that indicate he will
suffer great and immediate irreparable injury if this Court fails to
intervene in the ongoing state court criminal proceedings. The fact
that a criminal defendant will be forced to appear in state court on
criminal charges, by itself, is not sufficient to establish great and
1
Although the district court certified the appeal as not taken in good faith
under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), which states that such an appeal “may not be taken
[IFP],” we properly reconsider the matter under Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(5). See
Rolland v. Primesource Staffing, L.L.C., 497 F.3d 1077, 1078-79 (10th Cir. 2007).
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immediate irreparable injury. See Younger, 401 U.S. at 46; Dolack
v. Allenbrand, 548 F.2d 891, 894 (10th Cir. 1977). If Mr. Wilder
ultimately is convicted in state court and he believes that his federal
constitutional rights were violated in obtaining that conviction, he
may pursue his claims in this Court by filing an application for a writ
of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 after he exhausts state
remedies. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that the Prisoner Complaint and the action are
dismissed without prejudice.
R., Doc. 9 at 2-3.
Mindful of Mr. Wilder’s pro se status, see Cummings v. Evans, 161 F.3d
610, 613 (10th Cir. 1998), we have carefully reviewed his appellate arguments in
light of the record on appeal and the governing law. He has not identified any
reversible error in this case, and we therefore AFFIRM the judgment of the
district court for substantially the same reasons stated in its order of dismissal.
Further, we DENY his renewed motion to proceed on appeal IFP. Consequently,
Mr. Wilder must immediately remit the unpaid balance of the appellate filing fee.
Entered for the Court
Wade Brorby
Circuit Judge
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