David Otis Smith v. Martha Coleen Johnson, Richard Lee Johnson

974 F.2d 1343 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. David Otis SMITH, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Martha Coleen JOHNSON, Richard Lee Johnson, Defendants-Appellees. No. 90-15548. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted Aug. 24, 1992. * Decided Sept. 2, 1992. Before BRUNETTI, RYMER and KLEINFELD, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM ** 2 David O. Smith appeals pro se the district court's dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 action alleging that Martha Johnson, the mother of his son, and two other individuals conspired to deprive him of the custody of and relationship with his son. The district court found that abstention principles required dismissal of the action because Smith's civil rights claims would require the court to review a state court child custody decision. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm. 3 We review the district court's abstention decision for abuse of discretion. Coats v. Woods, 819 F.2d 236,…