Bendel

California attorney Randy E. Bendel appeals the denial of his motion to intervene as a plaintiff in a federal action bringing constitutional challenges to California’s state bar statutes and disciplinary proceedings. The district court determined that it was required to abstain from exercising jurisdiction as to Bendel under Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 , 91 S.Ct. 746 , 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971), and denied Bendel’s motion to intervene on that basis alone, without reaching the merits of either intervention as of right or permissive intervention under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2) and (b)(2). We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

In March 2000, California attorney Richard A. Canatella brought the underlying federal action. See generally Canatella v. California, 304 F.3d 843, 848 (9th Cir.2002) (“Canatella ”) (factual and procedural history). Having been subject to disciplinary action before the State Bar of California, Canatella seeks an injunction against further disciplinary action and challenges several state bar statutes and one professional rule on the grounds that they are unconstitutional on their face and as applied. Id. In our Canatella opinion, we held that…