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