Anna Gristina v. Juan Merchan, former New York State Judge, et al.
DueProcess
Whether the Younger abstention doctrine requires federal court abstention from state court civil proceedings seeking criminal case transcripts, and whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine bars constitutional claims when state court appeals are pending
I. Whether the Younge r abstention doctrine requires a federal court to abstain from a state court civil proceeding (where a party seeks to pay for, and obtain, transcripts from their closed criminal case), on the grounds that any such state court civil proceedings, is “uniquely in furtherance of the state courts’ ability to perform their judicial functions.” II. Whether the Younge r abstention doctrine applies when state court proceedings are no longer pending. III.A. Whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred the District Court from hearing Petitioner Gristina’s constitutional claims – involving access to the transcripts in her closed criminal case – when a state court appeal was still pending involving Judge Merchan’s Order. III.B. Whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred the District Court from hearing Petitioner Gristina’s constitutional claims – involving access to the transcripts in her closed criminal case – when Judge Merchan’s Order was not the cause of the Petitioner’s injury. ii LIST OF ALL PARTIES All parties do not appear in the caption of the case of the cover page. A list of all