Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/401/37/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 22:12:42+00:00

Document:
Only if the defendant will face irreparable harm should a federal court intervene in proceedings that are already underway in state court.
After being indicted in a state court for violating the California Criminal Syndicalism Act, Harris sought an injunction from a federal court against District Attorney Younger that would prevent him from continuing to pursue the case. The action in federal court was based on alleged violations of First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by the prosecution and the existence of the Act. Harris succeeded in persuading the federal court that the Act was overly broad and vague, which meant that it was unconstitutional under the First Amendment. He received the injunction, but Younger argued on appeal that policy reasons prevent federal courts from enjoining pending state court proceedings.
The defendant could have raised these constitutional issues in the state court proceeding that already was underway. There was no allegation that the prosecutor had brought the proceedings in bad faith or was maliciously seeking to harass the defendant. A potential chilling effect on First Amendment rights does not justify interfering with proceedings in state courts, especially since an injunction by a federal court does not necessarily forestall the chilling effect. A statute that has only an incidental rather than a direct impact on free speech may survive if the effect is relatively minor in proportion to the importance of controlling the conduct. Preventing a good-faith attempt to enforce a law that has a small possibility of being unconstitutional on its face does not justify an injunction. The defendant cannot show that he would suffer the type of harm that would merit an equitable remedy, since there is no evidence of bad faith, harassment, or similarly extreme circumstances.
The state criminal proceedings arising from the defendant's indictment began before he brought the action in federal court. His constitutional concerns can be adequately resolved in state court.
A federal court that is contemplating intervening in a civil proceeding in a state court might consider different factors. This decision applies only to criminal prosecutions in state court.
While federal courts generally should not intervene in state criminal proceedings, the exception created by Dombrowski v. Pfister (1965) applies. It arises when criminal statutes are overly broad, such as is the case here. The state law defined criminal syndicalism so broadly that it might criminalize teaching that socialism is better than a free market. Since the defendant already tried and failed to have the indictment dismissed in the state courts, he was justified in approaching the federal court to seek the dismissal of an unconstitutional prosecution.
This type of intervention may be available in cases that affect the freedom of expression or other First Amendment rights, often involving political demonstrations.
Appellee Harris, who had been indicted for violating the California Criminal Syndicalism Act, sued in the Federal District Court to enjoin appellant, the county District Attorney, from prosecuting him, contending that the Act is unconstitutional on its face and inhibits him in exercising his free speech rights. Appellees Dan and Hirsch, claiming that the prosecution of Harris would "inhibit" them from peacefully advocating the program of the political party to which they belonged, and appellee Broslawsky, a college professor, claiming that the prosecution made him "uncertain" as to whether his teaching and reading practices would subject him to prosecution, intervened as plaintiffs. All asserted that they would suffer irreparable injury unless a federal injunction was issued. A three-judge court, relying on Dombrowski v. Pfister, 380 U. S. 479, held the Act void for vagueness and overbreadth, and enjoined Harris' prosecution.
1. There is no basis for equitable jurisdiction based on the allegations of appellees other than Harris, who have not been indicted, arrested, or threatened with prosecution, and the normal course of a state criminal prosecution cannot be blocked on the basis of fears of prosecution that are merely speculative. Pp. 401 U. S. 41-42.
2. Federal courts will not enjoin pending state criminal prosecutions except under extraordinary circumstances where the danger of irreparable loss is both great and immediate in that (unlike the situation affecting Harris) there is a threat to the plaintiff's federally protected rights that cannot be eliminated by his defense against a single prosecution. The decision in Dombrowski, supra, which involved alleged bad faith harassment and is factually distinguishable from this case, does not substantially broaden the availability of injunctions against state criminal prosecutions. Pp. 401 U. S. 43-54.
BLACK, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and HARLAN, STEWART, and BLACKMUN, JJ., joined. STEWART, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which HARLAN, J., joined, post, p. 401 U. S. 54. BRENNAN, J., filed an opinion concurring in the result, in which WHITE and MARSHALL JJ., joined, post, p. 401 U. S. 56. DOUGLAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, post, p. 401 U. S. 58.
raised about Whitney v. California, supra, since overruled by Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U. S. 444 (1969), or the constitutionality of the state law, we have concluded that the judgment of the District Court, enjoining appellant Younger from prosecuting under these California statutes, must be reversed as a violation of the national policy forbidding federal courts to stay or enjoin pending state court proceedings except under special circumstances. [Footnote 2] We express no view about the circumstances under which federal courts may act when there is no prosecution pending in state courts at the time the federal proceeding is begun.
"Ex parte Young, 209 U. S. 123, and following cases have established the doctrine that, when absolutely necessary for protection of constitutional rights, courts of the United States have power to enjoin state officers from instituting criminal actions. But this may not be done except under extraordinary circumstances where the danger of irreparable loss is both great and immediate. Ordinarily, there should be no interference with such officers; primarily, they are charged with the duty of prosecuting offenders against the laws of the State and must decide when and how this is to be done. The accused should first set up and rely upon his defense in the state courts, even though this involves a challenge of the validity of some statute, unless it plainly appears that this course would not afford adequate protection."
Id. at 271 U. S. 243-244. These principles, made clear in the Fenner case, have been repeatedly followed and reaffirmed in other cases involving threatened prosecutions. See, e.g., 295 U. S. S. 46Á Sales Co. v. Dodge, 295 U. S. 89 (1935); Beall v. Missouri Pac. R. Co., 312 U. S. 45 (1941); Watson v. Buck, 313 U. S. 387 (1941); Williams v. Miller, 317 U.S. 599 (1942); Douglas v. City of Jeannette,@ 319 U. S. 157 (1943).
"Beal v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Corp., 312 U. S. 45, 312 U. S. 49. "
319 U.S. at 319 U. S. 164.
380 U.S. at 380 U. S. 485-486. And the Court made clear that, even under these circumstances, the District Court issuing the injunction would have continuing power to lift it at any time and remit the plaintiffs to the state courts if circumstances warranted. 380 U.S. at 380 U. S. 491, 380 U. S. 402. Similarly, in Cameron v. Johnson, 390 U. S. 611 (1968), a divided Court denied an injunction after finding that the record did not establish the necessary bad faith and harassment; the dissenting Justices themselves stressed the very limited role to be allowed for federal injunctions against state criminal prosecutions and differed with the Court only on the question whether the particular facts of that case were sufficient to show that the prosecution was brought in bad faith.
Beyond all this is another, more basic consideration. Procedures for testing the constitutionality of a statute "on its face" in the manner apparently contemplated by Dombrowski, and for then enjoining all action to enforce the statute until the State can obtain court approval for a modified version, are fundamentally at odds with the function of the federal courts in our constitutional plan. The power and duty of the judiciary to declare laws unconstitutional is, in the final analysis, derived from its responsibility for resolving concrete disputes brought before the courts for decision; a statute apparently governing a dispute cannot be applied by judges, consistently with their obligations under the Supremacy Clause, when such an application of the statute would conflict with the Constitution. Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137 (1803). But this vital responsibility, broad as it is, does not amount to an unlimited power to survey the statute books and pass judgment on laws before the courts are called upon to enforce them. Ever since the Constitutional Convention rejected a proposal for having members of the Supreme Court render advice concerning pending legislation, [Footnote 5] it has been clear that, even when suits of this kind involve a "case or controversy" sufficient to satisfy the requirements of Article III of the Constitution, the task of analyzing a proposed statute, pinpointing its deficiencies, and requiring correction of these deficiencies before the statute is put into effect is rarely, if ever, an appropriate task for the judiciary.
The combination of the relative remoteness of the controversy, the impact on the legislative process of the relief sought, and, above all, the speculative and amorphous nature of the required line-by-line analysis of detailed statutes, see, e.g., Landry v. Daley, 280 F.Supp. 938 (ND Ill.1968), rev'd sub nom. Boyle v. Landry, post, p. 401 U. S. 77, ordinarily results in a kind of case that is wholly unsatisfactory for deciding constitutional questions, whichever way they might be decided. In light of this fundamental conception of the Framers as to the proper place of the federal courts in the governmental processes of passing and enforcing laws, it can seldom be appropriate for these courts to exercise any such power of prior approval or veto over the legislative process.
313 U.S. at 313 U. S. 402. Other unusual situations calling for federal intervention might also arise, but there is no point in our attempting now to specify what they might be. It is sufficient for purposes of the present case to hold, as we do, that the possible unconstitutionality of a statute "on its face" does not, in itself, justify an injunction against good faith attempts to enforce it, and that appellee Harris has failed to make any showing of bad faith, harassment, or any other unusual circumstance that would call for equitable relief. Because our holding rests on the absence of the factors necessary under equitable principles to justify federal intervention, we have no occasion to consider whether 28 U.S.C. § 2283, which prohibits an injunction against state court proceedings "except as expressly authorized by Act of Congress" would, in and of itself, be controlling under the circumstances of this case.
Appellees did not explicitly ask for a declaratory judgment in their complaint. They did, however, ask the District Court to grant "such other and further relief as to the Court may seem just and proper," and the District Court, in fact, granted a declaratory judgment. For the reasons stated in our opinion today in Samuels v. Mackell, post, p. 401 U. S. 66, we hold that declaratory relief is also improper when a prosecution involving the challenged statute is pending in state court at the time the federal suit is initiated.
In basing its decisions on policy grounds, the Court does not reach any questions concerning the independent force of the federal anti-injunction statute, 28 U.S.C. § 2283. Thus, we do not decide whether the word "injunction" in § 2283 should be interpreted to include a declaratory judgment, or whether an injunction to stay proceedings in a state court is "expressly authorized" by § 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, now 42 U.S.C. § 1983. [Footnote 2/1] And since all these cases involve state criminal prosecutions, we do not deal with the considerations that should govern a federal court when it is asked to intervene in state civil proceedings, where, for various reasons, the balance might be struck differently. [Footnote 2/2] Finally, the Court today does not resolve the problems involved when a federal court is asked to give injunctive or declaratory relief from future state criminal prosecutions.
The Court confines itself to deciding the policy considerations that, in our federal system, must prevail when federal courts are asked to interfere with pending state prosecutions. Within this area, we hold that a federal court must not, save in exceptional and extremely limited circumstances, intervene by way of either injunction or declaration in an existing state criminal prosecution. [Footnote 2/3] Such circumstances exist only when there is a threat of irreparable injury "both great and immediate." A threat of this nature might be shown if the state criminal statute in question were patently and flagrantly unconstitutional on its face, ante at 401 U. S. 53-54; cf. Evers v. Dwyer, 358 U. S. 202, or if there has been bad faith and harassment -- official lawlessness -- in a statute's enforcement, ante at 401 U. S. 47-49. In such circumstances, the reasons of policy for deferring to state adjudication are outweighed by the injury flowing from the very bringing of the state proceedings, by the perversion of the very process that is supposed to provide vindication, and by the need for speedy and effective action to protect federal rights. Cf. Georgia v. Rachel, 384 U. S. 780.
See also Cameron v. Johnson, 390 U. S. 611, 390 U. S. 613-614, n. 3; Dombrowski v. Pfister, 380 U. S. 479, 380 U. S. 484 n. 2.
Courts of equity have traditionally shown greater reluctance to intervene in criminal prosecutions than in civil cases. See ante at 401 U. S. 43-44; Douglas v. City of Jeannette, 319 U. S. 157, 319 U. S. 163-164. The offense to state interests is likely to be less in a civil proceeding. A State's decision to classify conduct as criminal provides some indication of the importance it has ascribed to prompt and unencumbered enforcement of its law. By contrast, the State might not even be a party in a proceeding under a civil statute.
Cf.Law Students Civil Rights Research Council v. Wadmond, post, p. 401 U. S. 154; Wisconsin v. Constantineau, 400 U. S. 433; Rosado v. Wyman, 397 U. S. 397.
281 F.Supp. 507, 516. It is true, as the court below pointed out, that "[w]ell-intentioned prosecutors and judicial safeguards do not neutralize the vice of a vague law," Baggett v. Bullitt, 377 U. S. 360, 377 U. S. 373 (1964), but still there must be a live controversy under Art. III. No threats of prosecution of these appellees are alleged. Although Dan and Hirsch have alleged that they desire to advocate doctrines of the Progressive Labor Party, they have not asserted that their advocacy will be of the same genre as that which brought on the prosecution of Harris. In short, there is no reason to think that California has any ripe controversy with them. See Golden v. Zwickler, 394 U. S. 103 (1969); Perez v. Ledesma, post, p. 401 U. S. 93 (BRENNAN, J., concurring and dissenting).
The fact that we are in a period of history when enormous extrajudicial sanctions are imposed on those who assert their First Amendment rights in unpopular causes emphasizes the wisdom of Dombrowski v. Pfister, 380 U. S. 479. There, we recognized that, in times of repression, when interests with powerful spokesmen generate symbolic pogroms against nonconformists, the federal judiciary, charged by Congress with special vigilance for protection of civil rights, has special responsibilities to prevent an erosion of the individual's constitutional rights.
Id. at 380 U. S. 487. It was in the context of overbroad state statutes that we spoke of the "chilling effect upon the exercise of First Amendment rights" caused by state prosecutions. Ibid.
As respects overbroad statutes, we said at least as early as 1940 that, when dealing with First Amendment rights, we would insist on statutes "narrowly drawn to prevent the supposed evil." Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U. S. 296, 310 U. S. 307.
The "anti-injunction" statute, 28 U.S.C. § 2283, [Footnote 3/2] is not a bar to a federal injunction under these circumstances. That statute was adopted in 1793, § 6, 1 Stat. 335, [Footnote 3/3] and reflected the early view of the proper role of the federal courts within American federalism.
Whatever the balance of the pressures of localism and nationalism prior to the Civil War, they were fundamentally altered by the war. The Civil War Amendments made civil rights a national concern. Those Amendments, especially § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, cemented the change in American federalism brought on by the war. Congress immediately commenced to use its new powers to pass legislation. Just as the first Judiciary Act, 1 Stat. 73, and the "anti-injunction" statute represented the early views of American federalism, the Reconstruction statutes, including the enlargement of federal jurisdiction, [Footnote 3/4] represent a later view of American federalism.
I hold to the view that § 1983 is included in the "expressly authorized" exception to § 2283, [Footnote 3/6] a point not raised or considered in the much-discussed Douglas v. City of Jeannette, 319 U. S. 157. There is no more good reason for allowing a general statute dealing with federalism passed at the end of the 18th century to control another statute also dealing with federalism, passed almost 80 years later, than to conclude that the early concepts of federalism were not changed by the Civil War.
As the standards of certainty in statutes containing criminal sanctions are higher than those in statutes containing civil sanctions, so are the standards of certainty touching on freedom of expression higher than those in other areas. Winters v. New York, 333 U. S. 507, 333 U. S. 515-516.
In Toucey v. New York Life Ins. Co., 314 U. S. 118, 314 U. S. 133-134, in discussing the statutory exceptions to the "anti-injunction" Act, we noted that, while only bankruptcy was the explicit exception, there were others. (1) The "Removal Acts qualify pro tanto the Act of 1793." (2) The Act of 1851 limiting shipowners' liability "[b]eing a "subsequent statute" to the Act of 1793 . . . , operates as an implied legislative amendment to it." We also added (3) the Interpleader Act of 1926 and (4) the Frazier-Lemke Act, 47 Stat. 1473. Toucey limited a line of cases dealing with nonstatutory exceptions to the "anti-injunction" Act. Shortly thereafter, the current language of § 2283 was written into the Judicial Code. The Reviser's Note states: "[T]he revised section restores the basic law as generally understood and interpreted prior to the Toucey decision." Both pre-Toucey and post-Toucey decisions recognize implied legislative exceptions to the "anti-injunction" Act. See Porter v. Dicken, 328 U. S. 252; Leiter Minerals v. United States, 352 U. S. 220.
John Harris, Jr. et al.

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