Worldwide Church of God v. McNair

• Decision Date: 05 December 1986
• Docket Number: No. 85-5979,85-5979
• Parties: WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD, a California nonprofit corporation; Raymond McNair, and Roderick G. Meredith, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Leona McNAIR, and Superior Court of the State of California, Defendants- Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 888

805 F.2d 888

WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD, a California nonprofit corporation Raymond McNair, and Roderick G. Meredith Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Leona McNAIR, and Superior Court of the State of California Defendants- Appellees.

No. 85-5979.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted April 9, 1986.

Decided Dec. 5, 1986.

Ralph K. Helge, Ralph K. Helge & Assoc., Pasadena, Cal., Allan Browne, Browne & Woods, Beverly Hills, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellants.

Antony Stuart, DeWitt Clinton, Cty. Counsel, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendants-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Before SCHROEDER and FLETCHER, Circuit Judges, and VOORHEES, ^* District Judge.

FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

The Worldwide Church of God, Raymond McNair, and Roderick Meredith (the plaintiffs) bring this action under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 against Leona McNair and the Superior Court of the State of California, contending that a state court jury verdict against them for defamation, infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy is unconstitutional. The plaintiffs assert that the allegedly defamatory statements constitute expressions of religious belief made in the context of an ecclesiastical debate and therefore that the statements are protected under the first amendment. We conclude that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the action, and that it should have dismissed on that basis.

I. BACKGROUND

Raymond McNair is an Evangelist in the ministry of the Worldwide Church of God (the Church). According to the plaintiffs, Raymond and his former wife Leona McNair began having marital difficulties in 1973. Raymond sought the Church's counsel, but the marriage did not improve. Raymond obtained an "ecclesiastical determination" that the marriage was no longer "Scripturally bound," thus enabling him to proceed with a Church-sanctioned divorce in 1976 and remarriage in 1977. Raymond was the first high-ranking Church minister who had been permitted to do so. The plaintiffs state that the Church condemns divorce, except in limited, scripturally-defined circumstances, when one spouse has failed to fulfill basic marital responsibilities and has left the Church, or habitually has violated Church doctrine.

The plaintiffs contend that many Church officials felt that Raymond had received special treatment, because of his status in the Church hierarchy and his close friendship with Church leaders. Thus, the McNair divorce and remarriage sparked controversy among the Church ministers, requiring further clarification and explanation. The plaintiffs assert that full explanation was critical, in view of existing serious internal disputes over fundamental Church doctrines at the time.

At a Ministerial Conference in January 1979, and later in a Church publication titled the Pastor's Report, Roderick Meredith, the Church's Director of Pastoral Administration and Raymond McNair's close friend and relative, made statements concerning the McNair divorce. In an address given at the conference, Meredith justified the divorce on the basis of Leona's conduct. He said that she "was literally cursing him [Raymond] and cursing Mr. Armstrong [the Church's leader] ... spitting in people's faces and as hateful as a human being could be;" that she was "one of the major enemies of God's Church in Southern California;" that Raymond lived "without a wife in a virtual hell on earth" and Leona "just wanted to keep him on a string and get a free ride."

In the Pastor's Report, Meredith stated in part that Leona had "turn[ed] his children against him," "refused to be a wife to him for over two years--to sleep with him, to cook for him, or even civilly communicate with him in a decent manner ... she had deserted him." (emphasis in original).

Leona McNair sued the Church, Meredith, Raymond McNair, and other Church officials and entities in the California Superior Court. In August, 1984 the jury returned a verdict in Leona's favor against Raymond McNair, Meredith, and the Church for libel, slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy. The jury awarded $260,000 in compensatory damages, and $1,000,000 in punitive damages. The plaintiffs' appeal from that judgment currently is pending in the California Court of Appeal. Enforcement of the judgment has been stayed by posting a bond.

In March 1985, the plaintiffs sued Leona McNair and the California Superior Court in federal district court under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. The plaintiffs contend that the allegedly defamatory statements were made to summarize the factual basis for the Church's ecclesiastical determination regarding the McNair divorce, and that the statements were part of a doctrinal pronouncement to ministers made in a private ecclesiastical forum. As such, the statements constitutionally are protected, because they constitute expressions of religious belief, the truth of which cannot be questioned in a defamation suit. Alternatively, the plaintiffs argue that the state trial court should have required the jury to find actual malice, based on the New York Times v. Sullivan standard.

The plaintiffs requested the district court to declare the state trial court verdict unconstitutional and to enjoin state court enforcement of the judgment. The district court granted Leona McNair's motion to dismiss, on Younger abstention grounds. The district court reasoned that the state appellate court would consider the federal constitutional issues on appeal, and that the state had a vital interest in fashioning a law of defamation. The plaintiffs timely appeal.

II. DISCUSSION

As a preliminary matter, we must address the federal court's jurisdiction. See Solano v. Beilby, 761 F.2d 1369, 1370 (9th Cir.1985) (the court of appeals must raise jurisdictional issues sua sponte). The United States District Court, as a court of original jurisdiction, has no authority to review the final determinations of a state court in judicial proceedings. 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1257 provides that the proper court in which to obtain such review is the United States Supreme Court. District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 476, 103 S.Ct. 1303, 1311, 75 L.Ed.2d 206 (1983). See Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Locomotive Engineers, 398 U.S. 281, 296, 90 S.Ct. 1739, 1747, 26 L.Ed.2d 234 (1970) (lower federal courts may not sit in review of state courts' decisions); Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U. S. 413, 415-16, 44 S.Ct. 149, 150, 68 L.Ed. 362 (1923) (district courts may not exercise appellate jurisdiction over state courts); Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 753 F.2d 1468, 1471-72 (9th Cir.1985) (federal court has no jurisdiction over federal constitutional issues if consideration would require a review of the allegations underlying the state judicial decision), vacated on other grounds, --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct. 3269, 91 L.Ed.2d 560 (1986); Texaco v. Pennzoil Co., 784 F.2d 1133, 1141-42 (2d Cir.) (inferior federal courts may not act as appellate tribunals over state courts) prob. juris. noted, --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct. 3270, 91 L.Ed.2d 561 (1986).

This doctrine applies even when the challenge to the state court decision involves federal constitutional issues. Feldman, 460 U.S. at 484-86, 103 S.Ct. at 1316 (quoting Doe v. Pringle, 550 F.2d 596, 599 (10th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 916, 97 S.Ct. 2179, 53 L.Ed.2d 227 (1977), for the proposition that "[t]his rule applies even though, as here, the challenge is anchored to alleged deprivations of federally protected due process and equal protection rights"); Robinson, 753 F.2d at 1472. The rationale for this rule is that state courts are as competent as federal courts to decide federal constitutional issues. Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90, 105, 101 S.Ct. 411, 420, 66 L.Ed.2d 308 (1980) (stating that nothing in the legislative history to Sec. 1983 supports the argument that a person claiming a federal right should have an unrestricted opportunity to relitigate in federal court issues already decided in state court; state courts have an obligation and the ability to uphold federal law); Huffman v. Pursue, Ltd., 420 U.S. 592, 611, 95 S.Ct. 1200, 1211, 43 L.Ed.2d 482 (1975) (rejecting the argument that "state judges will not be faithful to their constitutional responsibilities"). In addition, any other rule would result in a waste of judicial resources and unnecessary friction between state and federal courts. See Atlantic Coastline, 398 U.S. at 286, 90 S.Ct. at 1742; Pennzoil, 784 F.2d at 1142.

Although the federal district court may not exercise appellate jurisdiction over the judgment of a state court, a district court does have jurisdiction over a "general" constitutional challenge that does not require review of a final state court decision in a particular case. See Feldman, 460 U.S. at 482-86 & n. 16, 103 S.Ct. at 1314-17 & n. 16; Tofano v. Supreme Court of Nevada, 718 F.2d 313, 314 (9th Cir.1983). This distinction between a permissible general constitutional challenge and an impermissible appeal of a state court determination may be subtle, and difficult to make. See Feldman, 460 U.S. at 485, 103 S.Ct. at 1316 (quoting Doe v. Pringle, 550 F.2d at 597); Razatos v. Colorado Supreme Court, 746 F.2d 1429, 1433 (10th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1016, 105 S.Ct. 2019, 85 L.Ed.2d 301 (1985).

In Feldman, 460 U.S. at 486, 103 S.Ct. at 1316, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals had refused to admit Feldman to the District of Columbia bar, because he had not graduated from law school, a prerequisite to admission under the District's bar rules. Feldman filed a complaint in federal district court, claiming that the highest court in the district's refusal to admit him to the bar violated his constitutional rights.

The United States Supreme Court held that the federal district court had jurisdiction to determine the constitutionality of the district's bar rule, because such a...