No. 25-330

Eugene Cory Dingle v. James G. McGee, Judge of Dorchester County Family Court, Individually and in His Official Capacity, et al.

Lower Court: Fourth Circuit
Docketed: 2025-09-19
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Tags: 42-usc-1983 fourteenth-amendment fourth-amendment guardian-ad-litem judicial-immunity subject-matter-jurisdiction
Key Terms:
SocialSecurity DueProcess
Latest Conference: 2025-11-21
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether a state judge who acts in the clear absence of subject-matter jurisdiction may invoke absolute judicial immunity to bar a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit, and whether warrantless jailing for nonpayment of private Guardian ad Litem fees violates the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

1. Whether a state judge who acts in the clear absence of subject-matter jurisdiction may nonetheless invoke absolute judicial immunity to bar a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit—an issue on which the circuits are openly divided and in tension with this Court ’s precedents in Bradley v. Fisher, Stump v. Sparkman, and Mireles v. Waco). 2. Whether the warrantless jailing of a parent for nonpayment of private Guardian ad Litem fees— without meaningful notice, a hearing, or inquiry into ability to pay—violates the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, contrary to this Court ’s decisions in Turner v. Rogers and Bearden v. Georgia.

Docket Entries

2025-11-24
Petition DENIED.
2025-11-05
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/21/2025.
2025-09-17
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 20, 2025)

Attorneys

Eugene Dingle
Eugene Dingle — Petitioner
Eugene Dingle — Petitioner