Steve Perdue, Tom Perdue and Mark Shoens v. The Supreme Court of the United States of America

Good Law
439 F.2d 806·1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 11234
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitMarch 22, 197124240California237 words

Opinion

Opinion

In this action the appellants filed a complaint ostensibly seeking a declaratory judgment in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The named defendants were the Supreme Court of the United States and the individuals who at that time were the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of that Court. The relief sought was that:

The district judge directed that the complaint be stricken and that the action be dismissed in its entirety. He found that the complaint was a sham, failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, that the court lacked jurisdiction over the complaint and over the persons of the defendants, that no case of controversy existed and that the plaintiffs have no standing to sue. We agree.

Neither the district court nor this court has authority to enlarge the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as defined by Congress, 28 U.S.C. § 1251 , and by the Constitution, Article III, § 2, to include cases between private citizens and the Court or the Justices of the Court.

The Supreme Court has denied leave to file an original complaint in an action involving similar subject matter. Massachusetts v. Laird, 400 U.S. 886 , 91 S.Ct.…

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