{"ID":55358,"name":"Lance v. Dennis","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/2005\/05-555","view_count":0,"docket_number":"05-555","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Appeal","first_party":"Keith Lance, et al.","second_party":"Gigi Dennis, Colorado Secretary of State","timeline":[{"event":"Decided","dates":[1140501600],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/39611"}],"lower_court":{"ID":146,"name":"Federal district court","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/courts\/federal_district_court"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen the Colorado legislature failed to pass a redistricting plan in 2000, the state courts created one at the request of a group of voters. The legislature succeeded in passing a redistricting plan in 2003. The state attorney general brought suit in the Colorado State Supreme Court to require the secretary of state to use the court-ordered plan, and the Colorado General Assembly defended its own plan. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the legislature\u0027s plan violated Article V of the State Constitution. A group of citizens including Keith Lance brought another suit in federal court alleging that Article V of the Colorado Constitution, as interpreted by the Colorado Supreme Court, violated the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Under the Supreme Court\u0027s \u003Cem\u003ERooker-Feldman\u003C\/em\u003E doctrine, no federal court except the Supreme Court may hear appeals from state courts. The District Court held that since Lance was in privity with the General Assembly - that is, their claims were similar enough to constitute a mutual interest - Lance\u0027s suit was in effect an appeal of the General Assembly\u0027s loss in state court. Therefore, the District Court ruled that it had no jurisdiction under the \u003Cem\u003ERooker-Feldman\u003C\/em\u003E doctrine and declined to hear the case.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EDoes the \u003Cem\u003ERooker-Feldman\u003C\/em\u003E doctrine preclude plaintiffs from bringing suit in federal court when they are in privity with a party that lost in state court?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003ENo. In an anonymous 8-1 decision, the Court reversed the District Court. The Court held that \u0022The \u003Cem\u003ERooker-Feldman\u003C\/em\u003E doctrine does not bar actions by nonparties to the earlier state-court judgment simply because [...] they could be considered in privity with a party to the judgment.\u0022 Since Lance was not a party to the state-court suit, and was in no position to appeal the Colorado Supreme Court\u0027s decision, the District Court had jurisdiction to hear the case. 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