Jo Ann Lyons v. Wilbur R. Johnson, Jo Ann Lyons v. F. J. Delarios, Jo Ann Lyons v. F. J. Delarios

Two of these three appeals are from dismissals of civil rights damage actions under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 against different defendants. The third appeal is from an earlier order in one of the suits denying appellant’s request for an injunction.

One of the suits was against a California deputy district attorney, some police officers and other persons. The other suit was against a magistrate of a municipal court and an attorney appointed to represent or assist appellant in some misdemeanor charges on which proceedings had been suspended for a time under § 1368 of the California Penal Code (“a doubt * * * as to the sanity of the defendant”). From the implications of the complaints, appellant was after hospital examination apparently deemed not to lack capacity to stand trial. Both complaints sought damages for conspiracy and acts, alleged to have been engaged in against appellant, which were recognized by her as having been separate but apparently regarded as having had similar aims— getting her put (she believed) into a state mental institution.

Dismissal of the suits was made because of appellant’s continued and unyielding refusal to submit herself to any depositional…