Skrzypczak v. Kauger, 95-6156

• Citation: 92 F.3d 1050
• Decision Date: 12 August 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-6156,95-6156
• Parties: Monica SKRZYPCZAK, an Oklahoma citizen, Plaintiff--Appellant, v. Yvonne KAUGER, Robert E. Lavender, Robert D. Simms, Hardy Summers, Joseph M. Watt, Ralph B. Hodges, Rudolph Hargrave, Alma Wilson, and Marian P. Opala, in their official capacities as Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, Defendants--Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (10th Circuit)

Page 1050

92 F.3d 1050

Monica SKRZYPCZAK, an Oklahoma citizen, Plaintiff--Appellant, v. Yvonne KAUGER, Robert E. Lavender, Robert D. Simms, Hardy Summers, Joseph M. Watt, Ralph B. Hodges, Rudolph Hargrave Alma Wilson, and Marian P. Opala, in their official capacities as Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Defendants--Appellees.

No. 95-6156.

United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit.

Aug. 12, 1996.

Michael Minnis (David McCullough with him on the briefs), Michael Minnis & Associates, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Appellant.

Scott D. Boughton, Assistant Attorney General (W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General of Oklahoma, with him on the brief), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Appellees.

Before SEYMOUR, Chief Judge, PORFILIO and TACHA, Circuit Judges.

TACHA, Circuit Judge.

In 1993, the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that a proposed initiative restricting abortion, State Question 642 ("SQ 642"), could not be placed on the ballot because it was unconstitutional. In re Initiative Petition No. 349, 838 P.2d 1, 7-8 (Okla.1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1071, 113 S.Ct. 1028, 122 L.Ed.2d 173 (1993). Monica Skrzypczak, who was not a party to that action, filed this suit against the justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court alleging that the court's refusal to place SQ 642 on the ballot constituted a prior restraint on speech. The district court granted the Oklahoma Supreme Court's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the ground that a federal district court does not have the authority to review final decisions of state supreme courts. Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm the decision of the district court, but on a different ground. We hold that Skrzypczak lacks standing to bring this suit because she failed to allege injury in fact.

BACKGROUND

The Oklahoma Coalition to Restrict Abortion, Inc., and Fred W. Sellers, Jr. ("the On July 14, 1992, the Oklahoma Supreme Court sua sponte ordered the proponents, as well as Feldman and Little, to brief the impact of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 112 S.Ct. 2791, 120 L.Ed.2d 674 (1992), on the constitutionality of SQ 642. The proponents conceded in their brief that SQ 642 was unconstitutional, but argued that the Oklahoma Supreme Court should allow the initiative to go forward as an exercise in political advocacy. The Oklahoma Supreme Court held that SQ 642 was unconstitutional and thus could not be placed on the ballot. In Re Initiative Petition No. 349, 838 P.2d at 7-8. The Oklahoma Supreme Court further held that pre-submission review of the constitutionality of initiative petitions is appropriate, and rejected the proponents' argument that pre-submission review violates their free speech rights. Id. at 8-10. The proponents petitioned for certiorari, arguing that pre-submission review of the initiative petition constitutes a prior restraint on speech. The United States Supreme Court declined to review the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision. Oklahoma Coalition to Restrict Abortion, Inc. v. Feldman, 506 U.S. 1071, 113 S.Ct. 1028, 122 L.Ed.2d 173 (1993).

proponents") filed initiative petition pamphlets with the Oklahoma Secretary of State on June 29, 1990. The proposed initiative, SQ 642, criminalized abortion, allowing it only in four circumstances: (1) where continuing the pregnancy would cause grave impairment of the woman's physical or mental health; (2) in cases of rape, as defined by Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1111 (West 1988); (3) in cases of incest, as defined in Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 885 (West 1988); and (4) in cases of grave physical or mental defect of the fetus. Two individuals, Nancy Feldman and Kim Little, filed a protest challenging the constitutionality of SQ 642. They later withdrew their claim.

On August 3, 1994, Skrzypczak filed this suit against the justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. She alleged that she was neither a party nor the agent of any party involved in In re Initiative Petition No. 349, but that she would advocate the passage or defeat of SQ 642 if it were placed on the ballot. She sought both a declaration that pre-submission content review of initiative petitions constitutes a prior restraint on core political speech and an injunction compelling the Oklahoma Supreme Court to complete the initiative petition process for SQ 642 and refrain from performing pre-submission reviews in the future. The Oklahoma Supreme Court moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The district court granted the motion, noting that Skrzypczak advanced the same arguments that had been submitted to the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. The court further stated that Skrzypczak's complaint, in effect, asked the court to overrule the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision in In re Initiative Petition No. 349. The court reasoned that because a federal district court does not have authority to directly review final judgments of a state court in judicial proceedings, District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 103 S.Ct. 1303, 75 L.Ed.2d 206 (1983), it consequently lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the case.

DISCUSSION

Although neither side raises the issue, we must determine whether Skrzypczak has standing to raise her claims. We are obliged to address standing sua sponte because it involves a constitutional limitation on a federal court's jurisdiction, Bangerter v. Orem City Corp., 46 F.3d 1491, 1497 (10th Cir.1995), and "federal courts are under an independent obligation to examine their own jurisdiction," FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas, 493 U.S. 215, 231, 110 S.Ct. 596, 607, 107 L.Ed.2d 603 (1990). The Constitution limits the jurisdiction of federal courts to cases and controversies. U.S. Const. art. III, § 2, cl. 1; Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U.S. 464, 471, 102 S.Ct. 752, 757-58, 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982). The case-or-controversy limitation requires, among other things, that a plaintiff have standing. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 559-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 2136, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). A party has standing when (1) she has suffered an injury in fact, (2) there is a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of, and (3) it is likely that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision. Id. A plaintiff must support the elements of standing "with the manner and degree of evidence required at the successive stages of the litigation." Id. "At the pleading stage, general factual allegations of injury resulting from the defendant's conduct may suffice, for on a motion to dismiss we 'presum[e]...