Tesmer v. Granholm
| Decision Date | 02 July 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 00-1845.,No. 00-1824.,00-1824.,00-1845. |
| Citation | 295 F.3d 536 |
| Parties | John Clifford TESMER; Charles Carter; and Alois Schnell, on behalf of all similarly situated individuals; Arthur M. Fitzgerald; and Michael D. Vogler, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Jennifer GRANHOLM, Attorney General, Defendant, Judge John F. Kowalski; Judge William A. Crane; and Judge Lynda L. Heathscott, in their official capacities, individually and as representatives of a class of similarly situated circuit court judges, Defendants-Appellants, Judge Dennis C. Kolenda, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Thomas R. Wheeker (argued and briefed), Office of the Attorney General, Lansing, MI, Judy E. Bregman (argued and briefed), Bregman & Welch, Grand Haven, MI, for Appellants.
Mark Granzotto (briefed), Detroit, MI, Kary L. Moss (briefed), American Civil Liberties Union, Detroit, MI, for Appellees.
Before NORRIS, SILER, and BATCHELDER, Circuit Judges.
As amended in 1994, the Michigan Constitution provides that individuals who plead guilty to a crime may only appeal by leave of the court. Mich. Const.1963, Art. 1, § 20. The question litigated below centered on whether the federal constitution requires appointment of counsel to assist indigent defendants who wish to apply for leave to appeal. The district court issued a declaratory judgment holding that the denial of appointed counsel under these circumstances violates the United States Constitution. In an effort to enforce its judgment, the court enjoined the Michigan judiciary from following the contested provision of the Michigan Constitution, as well as the statute designed to codify it.
We conclude that the district court should have abstained from hearing the claims of the three criminal-defendant plaintiffs because they could have raised their constitutional claims in their pending state court proceedings, as evidenced by the fact that a nearly identical challenge was wending its way through the courts of Michigan at the time that the litigation before us was commenced. That does not end our inquiry, however, because we agree with the district court that the two attorney plaintiffs had jus tertii standing to challenge the statute codifying the practice of appointing appellate counsel to indigent defendants. Nonetheless, we hold that the statute at issue sufficiently protects an indigent defendant's constitutional rights.
Accordingly, we dissolve the injunction issued by the district court, reverse and vacate its grant of declaratory relief, and remand the matter with instructions to enter judgment in favor of defendants.
The plaintiffs, three criminal defendants and two attorneys who accept appointments to represent criminal defendants in law appeals, filed suit in federal court on March 2, 2000, alleging that the practice of denying appointed appellate counsel to indigent defendants who have pleaded guilty or nolo contendere in Michigan courts violated the federal constitution. Defendants included three circuit court judges who had declined to appoint counsel to plaintiffs after accepting their guilty pleas.1
Although the constitutional violations alleged in the complaint occurred prior to the enactment of the statute that codified the provision of the Michigan Constitution at issue, 1999 P.A. 200; Mich. Comp. Laws § 770.3a (2000) ("the statute"), the attorney plaintiffs sought an order declaring that it, too, ran afoul of the federal constitution. On March 31, 2000, the district court granted declaratory relief, holding that "the practices of the judicial officer Defendants and other similarly situated state circuit court judges, of denying indigents who have pleaded guilty or nolo contendere the right to appointed appellate counsel in preparing applications for leave to appeal, to be in violation of the indigents' equal protection and due process rights guaranteed under the United States Constitution." Tesmer v. Granholm, 114 F.Supp.2d 603, 606 (E.D.Mich.2000). The district court struck down the statute for the same reason. Id.
After this declaratory judgment was entered, plaintiffs sought injunctive relief because certain Michigan judges continued to deny appointed counsel in these situations. The district court enjoined all Michigan judges from taking any action whatsoever to enforce or implement the statute. Tesmer v. Kowalski, 114 F.Supp.2d 622, 629 (E.D.Mich.2000). The three named defendant judges have appealed from this injunction, as has Judge Dennis C. Kolenda, who was not named as an original defendant but who was nonetheless affected by the district court's action.
While this litigation was progressing in federal court, an action involving this same question was making its way through the courts of Michigan. Ultimately the Michigan Supreme Court issued an opinion that contrasted sharply to that of the district court:
We granted leave in this case to determine whether an indigent defendant is entitled to the appointment of appellate counsel at public expense when applying for leave to appeal a plea-based conviction. We hold that neither the state nor the federal constitution requires the appointment of counsel under these circumstances. Under our federalist scheme of government, Michigan remains free to decide the conditions under which appellate counsel will be provided where our state constitution commands that the mechanism of appellate review is discretionary. Const.1963, art. 1, § 20.
People v. Bulger, 462 Mich. 495, 499, 614 N.W.2d 103, 104-05, cert. denied, 531 U.S. 994, 121 S.Ct. 486, 148 L.Ed.2d 459 (2000). The Michigan Supreme Court did not reach the constitutionality of the statute, however, because it did not apply to defendant. Bulger, 462 Mich. at 506, 614 N.W.2d at 107.
As they did below, defendants argue that the district court should have abstained from taking action because the ongoing criminal proceedings in the courts of Michigan provided plaintiffs who had pleaded guilty with an adequate opportunity to press their constitutional challenges. They also urge us to find that the attorney plaintiffs lacked standing to bring suit. We will address each of these arguments in turn.
In Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746 (1971), the Supreme Court counseled federal courts to abstain from adjudicating a matter otherwise properly before it in deference to pending state criminal proceedings in the interest of "Our Federalism." Id. at 43-45, 91 S.Ct. 746; Huffman v. Pursue, Ltd., 420 U.S. 592, 600-01, 95 S.Ct. 1200, 43 L.Ed.2d 482 (1975) (); see also Zalman v. Armstrong, 802 F.2d 199, 201-02 (6th Cir.1986). In a companion case, the Court held that the rule announced in Younger with respect to injunctive relief applied with equal force to requests for declaratory relief:
[I]n cases where the state criminal prosecution was begun prior to the federal suit, the same equitable principles relevant to the propriety of an injunction must be taken into consideration by federal district courts in determining whether to issue a declaratory judgment, and that where an injunction would be impermissible under these principles, declaratory relief should ordinarily be denied as well.
Samuels v. Mackell, 401 U.S. 66, 73, 91 S.Ct. 764, 27 L.Ed.2d 688 (1971).
This circuit looks to three factors when determining whether Younger abstention is appropriate: (1) whether the underlying proceedings constitute an ongoing state judicial proceeding; (2) whether the proceedings implicate important state interests; and (3) whether there is an adequate opportunity in the state proceedings to raise a constitutional challenge. Tindall v. Wayne County Friend of the Court, 269 F.3d 533, 538 (6th Cir.2001); Cooper v. Parrish, 203 F.3d 937, 954 (6th Cir.2000); Hayse v. Wethington, 110 F.3d 18, 20 (6th Cir.1997); Zalman, 802 F.2d at 202. In a nutshell, Younger instructs a federal court to abstain "when the state's interest is so important that exercising federal jurisdiction would disrupt the comity between federal and state courts." Hayse, 110 F.3d at 20. We review the district court's decision respecting abstention de novo. Tindall, 269 F.3d at 538.
We begin by asking whether the first requirement for Younger abstention has been satisfied: the existence of pending state-court proceedings involving plaintiffs. In answering this question, "the proper time of reference for determining the applicability of Younger abstention is the time that the federal complaint is filed." Zalman, 802 F.2d at 204. A case remains pending until the litigant has exhausted his state appellate remedies. Huffman, 420 U.S. at 609, 95 S.Ct. 1200; see also Foster v. Kassulke, 898 F.2d 1144, 1146 (6th Cir.1990). Moreover, the existence of state habeas corpus relief may keep a claim pending for purposes of abstention analysis. Foster 898 F.2d at 1146.
As mentioned earlier, the complaint includes five plaintiffs: three criminal defendants who pleaded guilty and two attorneys who allege that they have accepted referrals in the past and contemplate doing so in the future. The parties agree that abstention only applies to the criminal-defendant plaintiffs Tesmer, Carter, and Schnell.
According to the complaint, plaintiff Tesmer pleaded guilty to a charge of home invasion in 1999. He then presented a written request to the sentencing court for the appointment of an appellate attorney to prepare an application for leave to appeal. This request was denied on September 7, 1999. The district court concluded that it should abstain from adjudicating Tesmer's claim because he was party to a pending action in state court, he had adequate opportunity to raise his constitutional arguments in the state court proceeding, and no extraordinary circumstances justified interference in these state court proceedings. Tesmer...
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Kowalski v. Tesmer
...any indigent who pleaded guilty. 114 F. Supp. 2d 622 (2000). A panel of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed. Tesmer v. Granholm, 295 F. 3d 536 (2002). The panel held that Younger v. Harris, 401 U. S. 37 (1971), abstention barred the suit by the indigents but that the attorne......
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Manizak v. Talia, Case No. 17-cv-10655
...As to the first factor, "A case remains pending until the litigant has exhausted his state appellate remedies." Tesmer v. Granholm, 295 F.3d 536, 541 (6th Cir. 2002). Here, Manizak does not allege that he has exhausted his appellate remedies in the state-court criminalproceeding—in fact, it......