Thomas J.. Spargo v. New York State Commission On Judicial ConductThomas J.. Spargo v. New York State Commission On Judicial Conduct
CAITLIN J. HALLIGAN, Solicitor General, (Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York, Robert H. Easton, and Edward Lindner, Assistant Solicitors General, of counsel), New York, NY, for Defendants-Appellants-Cross-Appellees.
Peter Vollmer, Vollmer & Tanck, LLP, Jericho, NY, for Amicus Curiae The Constitution Project‘s Courts Initiative.
Deborah Goldberg and J.J. Gass, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, New York, NY, (Victor A. Kovner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, of counsel), for Amicus Curiae Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
Alfred P. Carlton, American Bar Association, Chicago, IL, (K. Jane Fankhanel, W. Wendell Hall, and Warren S. Huang, of counsel), for Amicus Curiae American Bar Association.
Steven C. Krane, Proskauer Rose LLP, New York, NY, for Amici Curiae New York State Bar Association, Suffolk County Bar Association, and Asian American Bar Association.
Daniel Murdock and Joan Salzmann, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, New York, NY, (Scott A. Rosenberg, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, and Robert Newman, of counsel), for Amicus Curiae The Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
Plaintiffs, Thomas J. Spargo (“Spargo“), an elected New York state judge, and two of his political supporters, Jane McNally (“McNally“) and Peter Kermani (“Kermani“), bring First Amendment and Equal Protection challenges to three specific New York rules of judicial conduct:1 (1)
After the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct (“Commission“), the official agency responsible for enforcing New York‘s judicial conduct rules,2 see
On appeal, defendants and amici curiae urge us to reverse the District Court on the merits, arguing that the challenged judicial conduct rules are narrowly tailored to serve the compelling state interest in preserving the reality as well as the appearance of judicial independence and impartiality. However, because state disciplinary proceedings were pending against Spargo at the time the federal suit was filed, this case raises the threshold question of whether the District Court should have abstained from exercising jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ suit in deference to the ongoing disciplinary proceeding. See generally Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 44-45, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971) (cautioning that federal courts should generally refrain from enjoining pending state court proceedings). Defendants accordingly focus their arguments on the question of who should have the first opportunity to decide the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims, arguing that the pending state disciplinary proceeding provides Spargo with a fully adequate forum to raise his constitutional challenges and that principles of federalism and comity mandate that the District Court abstain from deciding Spargo‘s claims and the interrelated claims of co-plaintiffs McNally and Kermani.
Citing concerns as to whether Spargo could seek mandatory review of the Commission‘s decision before the New York Court of Appeals, the District Court declined to abstain from exercising jurisdiction over Spargo‘s claims under Younger. See Spargo, 244 F.Supp.2d at 83-85. The District Court further found no basis to abstain from hearing the claims of McNally and Kermani, as neither was a party to the pending disciplinary proceeding against Spargo. See id. at 82. As we explain more fully below, because the New York Court of Appeals has subsequently confirmed that its review of the Commission‘s disciplinary decisions is mandatory, see In re Raab, 100 N.Y.2d 305, 763 N.Y.S.2d 213, 215, 793 N.E.2d 1287 (2003) (per curiam); In re Watson, 100 N.Y.2d 290, 763 N.Y.S.2d 219, 223, 794 N.E.2d 1 (2003) (per curiam), erasing any doubt as to Spargo‘s ability to seek judicial review of his constitutional claims, and because the claims of all three plaintiffs are inextricably intertwined, we hold that proper deference to New York‘s paramount interest in regulating its own judicial system mandates the exercise of Younger abstention over plaintiffs’ claims. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment and injunction of the District Court and remand with instruction to the District Court to abstain from exercising jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ action.
This case arises from an investigation involving plaintiff Thomas J. Spargo‘s potential violation of several judicial conduct rules. The Commission initiated the investigation into Spargo‘s campaign conduct and political activity in December 2000 while Spargo was serving as an elected Town Justice for the Town of Berne in Albany County, New York. While the investigation was pending, Spargo ran successfully for the position of Justice of the Supreme Court in the Third Judicial District of New York, the position which he currently holds. Eventually the Commission‘s investigation expanded to include allegations that Spargo authorized inappropriate payments of $5,000 to two political supporters.3
On January 25, 2002, the Commission served Spargo with a formal written complaint, charging Spargo with four counts of judicial misconduct. Charge I alleges that Spargo “failed to observe high standards of conduct ... failed to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary... [and] failed to maintain the dignity appropriate to judicial office,” in violation of
Charges III and IV allege that Spargo violated
On May 12, 2002, Spargo was served with a supplemental complaint charging him with additional violations of
In his answers to the Commission‘s complaints, Spargo asserted as an affirmative defense that his campaign activities were constitutionally protected and that the judicial conduct rules that he was charged with violating were overly broad and unduly vague in violation of the First Amendment as well as the Constitution of the State of New York. On July 12, 2002, the Commission designated a referee to conduct a hearing and prepare a report on the misconduct charges.4 See
On October 17, 2002, immediately following the denial of the adjournment and only four days before the disciplinary hearing was scheduled to begin, plaintiffs filed suit in federal court bringing facial and as-applied constitutional challenges to
In support of their independent First Amendment claims, McNally and Kermani both allege that they have been adversely affected by the defendants’ actions in pursuing judicial misconduct charges against Spargo. McNally alleges that “the threat of sanctions against Spargo” and other judicial candidates whom McNally may support in the future “impedes her freedom of speech, including her ability and desire to nominate and show support for particular candidates as a delegate to future Democratic Judicial Nominating Conventions.” Similarly, Kermani contends that he is “adversely affected because, as a member and chairman of the Republican Party, he is restrained from associating with Spargo out of concern that [the] association would adversely impact Spargo.” Kermani also alleges that he “has declined to invite Spargo to address [the Republican Party], despite a desire to do so, out of concern that such activity would result in [additional] charges being brought against Spargo.”
In reaching its decision, the District Court acknowledged that “[t]here is `a strong federal policy against federal-court interference with pending state judicial proceedings absent extraordinary circumstances.‘” Id. at 82 (quoting Middlesex County Ethics Comm. v. Garden State Bar Ass‘n, 457 U.S. 423, 431, 102 S.Ct. 2515, 73 L.Ed.2d 116 (1982)). However, the District Court determined that Younger abstention did not extend to McNally‘s and Kermani‘s constitutional claims as neither was a party to the pending disciplinary proceeding against Spargo, or otherwise subject to the Commission‘s authority, and McNally and Kermani would therefore have no opportunity to raise their claims in Spargo‘s disciplinary proceeding. See id. at 82-83. As for Spargo himself, the District Court determined that while the other prerequisites for Younger abstention were present, Younger did not apply because the pending disciplinary proceedings failed to provide Spargo with an adequate opportunity to raise his constitutional challenges. See id. at 85.
First, the District Court expressed concern that Spargo‘s constitutional claims would go unheard if the pending misconduct charges were found to be unsubstantiated or if the Commission declined to pursue the charges for other reasons. See id. at 83. Second, the District Court noted that it was unclear under state law, see
As for
The parties now appeal. Defendants argue that: (1) the District Court should have abstained from hearing plaintiffs’ suit in deference to the pending disciplinary proceeding against Spargo, (2) plaintiffs McNally and Kermani lack Article III standing to bring independent constitutional claims because their allegations of injury are too conclusory, and (3) the District Court erred in analyzing the merits of plaintiffs’ First Amendment challenge. Plaintiffs have filed a cross-appeal on the denial of their equal protection claim.
We conclude that in declining to abstain under Younger the District Court placed too much weight on the uncertainty of state procedures for raising constitutional claims in disciplinary proceedings. In addition, we recognize that the Court of Appeals has subsequently clarified the scope of available review of constitutional challenges to the judicial conduct rules. While the opinions in Raab and Watson were not available at the time the District Court issued its decision, they now make explicit that plaintiffs have a sufficient opportunity to raise their constitutional claims during the course of state proceedings, and this precludes the District Court from exercising jurisdiction over a parallel action that seeks to disrupt the state proceeding. Finally, we find that abstention applies to the derivative claims of plaintiffs McNally and Kermani, as their First Amendment interests are inextricably intertwined with the First Amendment interests asserted by Spargo.
In deciding this case on abstention grounds, we are sensitive to the importance of the free speech issues raised on appeal and emphasize that our decision should not be read as revealing any view on the merits of plaintiffs’ claims. As amici curiae point out, all fifty states have adopted codes of judicial conduct, containing provisions identical, or substantially similar, to the judicial conduct rules challenged in this case. Moreover, like New York, see
As a threshold matter, because defendants raise both standing and abstention concerns, and because we have an independent obligation to ensure that standing exists, see N.Y. Pub. Interest Research Group v. Whitman, 321 F.3d 316, 324-25 (2d Cir.2003), we must determine whether we may decide the case on Younger grounds without confirming the existence of constitutional standing. Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 523 U.S. 83, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998), directs federal courts to resolve questions of Article III jurisdiction before reaching the merits of a plaintiff‘s claim. While dismissal or a stay of claims is mandatory when the requirements for Younger abstention are satisfied, see Diamond “D” Constr. Corp. v. McGowan, 282 F.3d 191, 197 (2d Cir.2002), Younger is not a jurisdictional bar based on Article III requirements, but instead a prudential limitation on the court‘s exercise of jurisdiction grounded in equitable considerations of comity. See, e.g., Benavidez v. Eu, 34 F.3d 825, 829 (9th Cir.1994) (”Younger abstention is not jurisdictional, but reflects a court‘s prudential decision not to exercise jurisdiction which it in fact possesses.“) (emphasis in original); Schachter v. Whalen, 581 F.2d 35, 36 n. 1 (2d Cir.1978) (per curiam) (”Younger abstention goes to the exercise of equity jurisdiction, not to the jurisdiction of the federal district court as such to hear the case.“).
Despite the prudential nature of the abstention inquiry, we may still proceed to decide a case under Younger without addressing the plaintiffs’ constitutional standing to bring suit. As the Supreme Court clarified in Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 584-85, 119 S.Ct. 1563, 143 L.Ed.2d 760 (1999), Steel Co. does not mandate a strict “sequencing of jurisdictional issues,” as it does not violate separation of powers principles to dismiss an action on a non-merits ground before finding subject-matter jurisdiction. Thus, while Steel Co. may bar the exercise of hypothetical jurisdiction to dismiss on the merits of a claim,10 Ruhrgas reaffirms the inherent flexibility that federal courts exercise “to choose among threshold grounds” for disposing of a case without reaching the merits. Id. at 585, 119 S.Ct. 1563. Accordingly, we may decide that abstention is proper under Younger without deciding whether plaintiffs have demonstrated Article III injury-in-fact. See id. (citing Ellis v. Dyson, 421 U.S. 426, 433-34, 95 S.Ct. 1691, 44 L.Ed.2d 274 (1975)).
A. Younger Abstention
We review the District Court‘s Younger analysis de novo, see Diamond “D” Constr., 282 F.3d at 197, and begin by analyzing the underlying principles and policies that dictate deference towards pending state proceedings. As the Supreme Court emphasized in Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 43-45, 91 S.Ct. 746 (1971), federal courts should generally refrain from enjoining or otherwise interfering in ongoing state proceedings. This principle of abstention is grounded in interrelated principles of comity and federalism. See Schlagler v. Phillips, 166 F.3d 439, 442 (2d Cir.1999). Both considerations require federal courts to be “cognizant that `the National Government will fare best if the States and their institutions are left free to perform their separate functions in their separate ways.‘” Younger, 401 U.S. at 44. “Our Federalism” in its ideal form, as the Supreme Court explained in Younger, strives towards “a system in which there is sensitivity to the legitimate interests of both State and National Governments, and in which the National Government, anxious though it may be to vindicate and protect federal rights and federal interests, always endeavors to do so in ways that will not unduly interfere with the legitimate activities of the States.” Id. In recognition of this balance of interests, Younger generally prohibits courts from “taking jurisdiction over federal constitutional claims that involve or call into question ongoing state proceedings” so as to avoid unnecessary friction. Diamond “D” Constr., 282 F.3d at 198. Giving states “the first opportunity... to correct their own mistakes” when there is an ongoing state proceeding serves the vital purpose of “reaffirm[ing] the competence of the state courts,” and acknowledging the dignity of states as co-equal sovereigns in our federal system. Id. at 200.
In this case, there is no dispute that the first two requirements for Younger abstention are satisfied. Plaintiffs filed suit after the Commission initiated a disciplinary proceeding against Spargo, a proceeding that undeniably implicates a vital state interest. Indeed, few interests can be considered more central than a state‘s interest in regulating its own judicial system. See Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia, 435 U.S. 829, 848, 98 S.Ct. 1535, 56 L.Ed.2d 1 (1978) (Stewart, J., concurring in the judgment) (emphasizing that “[t]here could hardly be a higher governmental interest than a State‘s interest in the quality of its judiciary“); cf. Pincham v. Ill. Judicial Inquiry Bd., 872 F.2d 1341, 1347 (7th Cir.) (recognizing that the state has a vital interest in “preserving a fair and impartial judiciary“), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 975, 110 S.Ct. 497, 107 L.Ed.2d 501 (1989); Anonymous v. Ass‘n of the Bar of the City of New York, 515 F.2d 427, 430 (2d Cir.) (noting that “[i]t would appear axiomatic that the effective functioning of any court depends upon its ability to command respect not only from those licensed to practice before it but also from the public at large“), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 863, 96 S.Ct. 122, 46 L.Ed.2d 92 (1975).
Plaintiffs primarily argue that abstention is inappropriate, because there is no opportunity for Spargo to meaningfully pursue his constitutional claims in the pending disciplinary proceeding, and because McNally and Kermani are not party to any pending Commission proceeding or other state action. In analyzing plaintiffs’ arguments against abstention, we note that the underlying facts and claims in this case are strikingly similar to the facts and issues raised in Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Ass‘n, 457 U.S. 423, 102 S.Ct. 2515, 73 L.Ed.2d 116 (1982), the seminal Supreme Court case that first clearly extended Younger to state administrative proceedings. In Middlesex, plaintiffs brought a federal action, alleging that several attorney disciplinary rules promulgated by the New Jersey Supreme Court violated the First Amendment. Prior to the initiation of the federal action, one of the plaintiffs, Lennox Hinds (“Hinds“), a practicing New Jersey attorney, was formally charged with violating the disciplinary rules by a county ethics committee after he allegedly made statements disparaging the judicial system during the course of a criminal trial. See id. at 427-28, 102 S.Ct. 2515. Instead of answering the charges, Hinds filed suit in federal court along with other plaintiff legal organizations, claiming that the New Jersey disciplinary rules violated the First Amendment and were facially overbroad and vague. See id. at 429, 102 S.Ct. 2515. The district court dismissed the suit under Younger, but a divided panel of the Third Circuit reversed, concluding that abstention was improper because the state disciplinary proceedings did not provide plaintiffs with a meaningful opportunity to adjudicate their constitutional claims. See Garden State Bar Ass‘n, 643 F.2d at 121.
rules [made] no provision for the filing of an opinion by the District Ethics Committee or the Disciplinary Review Board [and hence] ... [t]he very privacy of the proceeding militate[d] against a meaningful constitutional adjudication, since the determination [would] not provide any remedy against the chill which the rules and the filing of charges allegedly created in the minds of other members of the New Jersey bar.
Id. “On petition for rehearing petitioner attached an affidavit from the Clerk of the New Jersey Supreme Court which stated that the New Jersey Supreme Court would directly consider Hinds’ constitutional challenges and that the court would [also] consider whether such a procedure should be made explicit in the Supreme Court rules.” Middlesex County Ethics Comm., 457 U.S. at 430, 102 S.Ct. 2515. However, the Third Circuit panel declined to alter its original decision, reasoning that it was not established that Hinds could have obtained such judicial review when the federal complaint was filed, and that, in any event, such discretionary action by the New Jersey Supreme Court was not sufficient to trigger mandatory abstention. See Garden State Bar Ass‘n v. Middlesex County Ethics Comm., 651 F.2d 154, 156-57 (3d Cir.1981).
The Supreme Court reversed, noting that the importance of the state interest in “maintaining and assuring the professional conduct of the attorneys it licenses ... calls Younger abstention into play,” and concluding that “[s]o long as the constitutional claims of [plaintiffs] can be determined in the state proceedings ... the federal courts should abstain.” Middlesex County Ethics Comm., 457 U.S. at 434-35, 102 S.Ct. 2515. The Supreme Court‘s decision further emphasized that in conducting the Younger inquiry, considerations of comity “preclude[] any presumption that the state courts will not safeguard federal constitutional rights.” See id. at 431, 102 S.Ct. 2515. Noting that abstention is based on the fundamental principle that parties should assert any available constitutional defenses in state proceedings unless it is plainly apparent that they are barred from raising such constitutional claims, the Supreme Court placed the burden of establishing the inadequacy of state proceedings squarely on the party seeking to avoid abstention. See id. at 435-36, 102 S.Ct. 2515.
In addition, while the Supreme Court in Middlesex acknowledged that whether Hinds could seek judicial review of his constitutional claims during the course of state proceedings was initially unclear, the Court also recognized that the New Jersey Supreme Court had subsequently considered Hinds‘s claims sua sponte and formally amended its rules to permit interlocutory review of constitutional challenges to attorney disciplinary proceedings. See id. at 427, 436, 102 S.Ct. 2515. Concluding that “[t]here [was] no reason for the federal courts to ignore ... subsequent development[s]” demonstrating that Hinds had had an opportunity to raise his constitutional claims during the course of state proceedings, the Supreme Court held that the mandatory abstention applied to Hinds‘s First Amendment claims. See id. at 436-37, 102 S.Ct. 2515.
Here, as in Middlesex, abstention largely turns on the question of whether Spargo has an adequate opportunity to raise his constitutional claims in the pending state proceeding. On appeal, despite the intervening decisions by the New York Court of Appeals, plaintiffs still contend that state law does not clearly grant the Commission jurisdiction to consider constitutional arguments or provide for mandatory review of the Commission‘s disciplinary decisions by the Court of Appeals. Plaintiffs also argue that abstention would still be unwarranted, even if the Commission were willing to consider Spargo‘s constitutional claims, because: (1) the misconduct charges against Spargo could be dismissed on alternate grounds, leaving the constitutionality of the challenged judicial conduct rules still in question, (2) the Commission may choose to summarily reject Spargo‘s constitutional claims, effectively limiting Spargo‘s ability to seek meaningful review before the Court of Appeals, and (3) the Commission‘s decision will remain confidential, and thus have limited precedential value even if Spargo prevails on his constitutional challenges.
None of these arguments have any merit given Middlesex‘s unequivocal statement that abstention is appropriate where the plaintiff has an “opportunity to raise and have timely decided by a competent state tribunal” the constitutional claims at issue in the federal suit. Middlesex County Ethics Comm., 457 U.S. at 437, 102 S.Ct. 2515 (quoting Gibson v. Berryhill, 411 U.S. 564, 577, 93 S.Ct. 1689, 36 L.Ed.2d 488 (1973)); see also Juidice v. Vail, 430 U.S. 327, 337, 97 S.Ct. 1211, 51 L.Ed.2d 376 (1977) (reasoning that where it is “abundantly clear that appellees had an opportunity to present their federal claims in the state proceedings ... [n]o more is required to invoke Younger abstention“). More importantly, under Younger, any uncertainties as to the scope of state proceedings or the availability of state remedies are generally resolved in favor of abstention. See Butler v. Ala. Judicial Inquiry Comm‘n, 261 F.3d 1154, 1159 (11th Cir.2001) (concluding that abstention was required even without authoritative guidance as to whether plaintiff could raise his First Amendment claims in the pending state judicial discipline proceeding).
Accordingly, to avoid abstention, plaintiffs must demonstrate that state law bars the effective consideration of their constitutional claims. See Middlesex County Ethics Comm., 457 U.S. at 432, 102 S.Ct. 2515 (where pending administrative proceedings implicate important state interests, “a federal court should abstain `unless state law clearly bars the interposition of the constitutional claims‘“) (quoting Moore v. Sims, 442 U.S. 415, 426, 99 S.Ct. 2371, 60 L.Ed.2d 994 (1979)); Ohio Civil Rights Comm‘n, 477 U.S. at 629, 106 S.Ct. 2718 (holding that abstention was mandatory where plaintiff could cite no state authority preventing judicial review of his constitutional claims); Kirschner v. Klemons, 225 F.3d 227, 235 (2d Cir.2000) (to establish the inadequacy of state remedies, the plaintiff must “show[] that the State‘s laws, procedures, or practices would prevent his effective interposition of his federal contentions“). In this case, the District Court declined to abstain, noting that defendants had failed to cite any cases in which the Commission or the Court of Appeals had ever addressed a constitutional challenge to the judicial conduct rules. See Spargo, 244 F.Supp.2d at 85. However, under Younger, it is the plaintiff‘s burden to demonstrate that state remedies are inadequate, and defendants need not establish that state law definitively permits the interposition of constitutional claims.
In addition, as in Middlesex, any doubts about the Commission‘s willingness to consider constitutional challenges or the availability of judicial review have been resolved pending appeal, and there is no reason for this Court to ignore the New York Court of Appeals’ subsequent decisions in In re Raab, 100 N.Y.2d 305, 763 N.Y.S.2d 213, 793 N.E.2d 1287 (2003) (per curiam) and In re Watson, 100 N.Y.2d 290, 763 N.Y.S.2d 219, 794 N.E.2d 1 (2003) (per curiam), both of which unambiguously affirm that the Commission will consider First Amendment arguments and, further, establish that sanctioned judges may seek mandatory review of the Commission‘s decision before the Court of Appeals.13 Such ability to raise constitutional claims in subsequent “state-court judicial review of [an underlying] administrative proceeding” is sufficient to provide plaintiffs with a meaningful opportunity to seek effective relief through state proceedings and bar federal courts from taking jurisdiction over the same claims while the state proceeding is pending.14 See Ohio Civil Rights Comm‘n, 477 U.S. at 629, 106 S.Ct. 2718; Cullen v. Fliegner, 18 F.3d 96, 103 (2d Cir.1994).
Significantly, this conclusion is not altered by the fact that Spargo‘s disciplinary charges may be dismissed on other grounds, such as for lack of substantial evidence, or by the fact that the Court of Appeals may choose to narrowly construe the judicial conduct rules to avoid a potential constitutional confrontation, as the plaintiffs suggest. The relevant question under Younger is “whether the state‘s procedural remedies could provide the relief sought [not] ... whether the state will provide” the constitutional ruling which the plaintiff seeks. Kirschner, 225 F.3d at 234-35 (emphasis added) (noting that “it [was] irrelevant to the application of Younger that [plaintiff‘s] constitutional claims... [had] not [been] addressed by the Appellate Division” where the Appellate Division found for plaintiff on alternate grounds). Indeed, insisting on the priority of federal constitutional claims would undermine the considerations of comity and deference that underlie Younger. As the Supreme Court has explained, an “important reason for [Younger] abstention is to avoid unwarranted determination of federal constitutional questions” where it is possible that state courts may resolve the case on state law grounds “without reaching the federal constitutional questions.” Pennzoil, 481 U.S. at 11-12, 107 S.Ct. 1519. ”Younger abstention in situations like this `offers the opportunity for narrowing constructions that might obviate the constitutional problem and intelligently mediate federal constitutional concerns and state interests.‘” Id. at 12, 107 S.Ct. 1519 (quoting Moore v. Sims, 442 U.S. at 429-30, 99 S.Ct. 2371); see also Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., v. Stroud, 179 F.3d 598, 603 (8th Cir.1999) (noting that “[c]omity favors permitting the [state] court system to decide issues of state statutory law, and abstention is called for when it is possible that the state court might interpret the underlying law in such a way as to foreclose the need to review at least some of the plaintiff‘s federal claims,” and indicating that “[t]his rationale applies with even more force when abstention might allow the federal court to avoid unnecessary constitutional questions“).15 Thus, the argument that Spargo‘s disciplinary proceeding could be resolved on alternative grounds, without deciding the constitutional issues raised in the federal suit, actually weighs in favor of, and not against, the exercise of abstention.16
We emphasize that Younger merely “presupposes that the plaintiff be able to interpose his federal defense ... in the state court; it does not [additionally] require all procedures for the interposition of the federal defense to be as advantageous in the state court as in the federal action.” Kirschner, 225 F.3d at 235; see also Brooks v. New Hampshire Supreme Court, 80 F.3d 633, 639 (1st Cir.1996) (rejecting plaintiff‘s argument that a state attorney discipline proceeding “is less than adequate because of its confidential character,” and noting that “the Supreme Court has never suggested that having an adequate opportunity to present a federal claim requires [that] the parallel state proceeding be open to the public.“). In sum, while Spargo may prefer a federal forum, he may pursue his constitutional claims in state proceedings, and therefore, the District Court should have abstained. See 31 Foster Children v. Bush, 329 F.3d 1255, 1279 (11th Cir.) (concluding that “[i]n determining whether the state remedies are adequate ... the relevant question is not whether the state courts can do all that Plaintiffs wish” but rather whether plaintiffs may pursue their federal claims in state proceedings) (internal quotation marks omitted), cert. denied sub nom. Reggie B. v. Bush, ___ U.S. ___, 124 S.Ct. 483, ___ L.Ed.2d ___ (2003).
In so holding, we do not ignore the importance of the First Amendment interests at stake or disregard the costs of delay in postponing a decision on the merits. However, Younger itself warns that “the existence of a `chilling effect,’ even in the area of First Amendment rights,” is not “a sufficient basis, in and of itself, for prohibiting state action.” Younger, 401 U.S. at 51, 91 S.Ct. 746. Accordingly, while we recognize that abstention may impose significant costs, the “costs of duplication and delay caused by Younger,” For Your Eyes Alone, Inc. v. City of Columbus, 281 F.3d 1209, 1219-20 (11th Cir. 2002), must be balanced against the risk of undue interference and unnecessary conflict with state proceedings. Cf. Younger, 401 U.S. at 44, 91 S.Ct. 746 (rejecting notion that federalism contemplates the “centralization of control over every important issue” in the federal courts). Consequently, while the significance of the First Amendment interests at stake may play a role in Younger analysis, in this case, where the requirements for abstention are clearly satisfied, and Spargo can seek timely review before the New York Court of Appeals, the First Amendment concerns raised by the plaintiffs do not justify any exception to ordinary Younger principles.17
C. Abstention Over the Related Claims of Third-Parties
In support of the District Court‘s decision, plaintiffs also argue that Younger does not permissibly extend to the claims of McNally and Kermani as neither was a party to the ongoing disciplinary proceeding against Spargo — a question that the Supreme Court left unresolved in Middlesex. See Middlesex County Ethics Comm., 457 U.S. at 437 n. 17, 102 S.Ct. 2515 (noting that “[i]t is not clear whether the Court of Appeals decided whether abstention would be proper as to the [plaintiff] organizations who are not parties to the state disciplinary proceedings,” and “leav[ing] this issue to the Court of Appeals on remand“). As we explain more fully below, we reject plaintiffs’ attempt to apply Younger in a mechanical fashion and find under the circumstances of this case that the legal interests of McNally and Kermani are sufficiently intertwined with those of Spargo to make abstention applicable to all of the plaintiffs’ claims. See generally Doran v. Salem Inn, Inc., 422 U.S. 922, 928, 95 S.Ct. 2561, 45 L.Ed.2d 648 (1975) (warning that while plaintiffs should not “automatically be thrown into the same hopper for Younger purposes,” there may plainly “be some circumstances in which legally distinct parties are so closely related that they should all be subject to the Younger considerations which govern any one of them“).
As the Supreme Court has recognized, in certain circumstances, Younger may apply to the claims of third-parties who are not directly involved in any pending state proceeding. For example, in Hicks v. Miranda, 422 U.S. 332, 348-49, 95 S.Ct. 2281, 45 L.Ed.2d 223 (1975), the Supreme Court held that Younger barred the claims of two theater owners who sought to enjoin enforcement of a state obscenity statute. Although no state proceedings were pending against the theater owners at the time the federal complaint was filed, criminal charges had been filed against two employees of the theater, and authorities had seized four copies of the allegedly obscene film. The Court concluded that Younger could not be avoided under these circumstances, because the interests of the theater owners and the employees “were intertwined[,] and ... the federal action sought to interfere with the pending state prosecution.” Id.
This principle was reaffirmed in Doran v. Salem Inn, Inc., 422 U.S. 922, 928, 95 S.Ct. 2561, 45 L.Ed.2d 648 (1975), where the Supreme Court reiterated that there may be some circumstances where plaintiffs “are so closely related” that abstention will be warranted although not all plaintiffs are subject to the pending state proceeding. Doran involved a suit by three bar owners who sought to enjoin enforcement of a local ordinance prohibiting topless dancing. See id. at 924, 95 S.Ct. 2561. Although all three bar owners had similar business interests and were represented by the same counsel, only one of the owners had been criminally prosecuted in state court. See id. at 928-30, 95 S.Ct. 2561. Because, the plaintiffs were otherwise “unrelated in terms of ownership, control, and management,” the Court declined to apply Younger to the two bar owners who had not been subject to state prosecution. See id. at 928-29, 95 S.Ct. 2561.
While both Hicks and Doran arguably focus on the fact of joint ownership and control, neither decision limits the application of Younger to cases where the parties are financially related or linked by mutual management. Courts have consistently recognized that while “[c]ongruence of interests is not enough,” by itself, to warrant abstention, where the plaintiffs’ interests are so inextricably intertwined that “direct interference with the state court proceeding is inevitable,” Younger may extend to bar the claims of plaintiffs who are not party to the pending state proceeding. See, e.g., Green v. City of Tucson, 255 F.3d 1086, 1100 (9th Cir.2001) (en banc); see also Cedar Rapids Cellular Tel., L.P., v. Miller, 280 F.3d 874, 881-82 (8th Cir.2002) (noting that for Younger purposes, “the parties in federal and state court need not be identical where the interests of the parties seeking relief in federal court are closely related to those of [the] parties in pending state proceedings and where the federal action seeks to interfere with pending state proceedings“) (internal quotation marks omitted).
In applying Younger to third-parties, courts should be sensitive to the fact that, “abstention from the exercise of federal jurisdiction is the narrow exception, not the rule,” Cecos Int‘l, Inc. v. Jorling, 895 F.2d 66, 70 (2d Cir.1990), and that there is “no doctrine requiring abstention merely because resolution of a federal question may result in the overturning of a state policy.” Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374, 380 n. 5, 98 S.Ct. 673, 54 L.Ed.2d 618 (1978); see also Green, 255 F.3d at 1099 (warning that Younger abstention “is not intended to cut a broad swath through the fabric of federal jurisdiction, relegating parties to state court whenever state court litigation could resolve a federal question“); cf. Robinson v. Stovall, 646 F.2d 1087, 1090 (5th Cir. Unit A 1981) (noting that “[e]xcept in extraordinary circumstances, a civil rights plaintiff‘s ability to sue to vindicate his rights in federal court is not affected by the simultaneous pendency of a state prosecution against someone else” unless the federal plaintiff seeks to directly enjoin the pending state prosecution).
Although plaintiffs may seek the same relief, parallel challenges to the constitutionality of a state statute or policy are typically not barred by Younger absent other factors indicating that the plaintiffs’ interests are legally interwoven or interconnected. See generally Steffel v. Thompson, 415 U.S. 452, 94 S.Ct. 1209, 39 L.Ed.2d 505 (1974) (plaintiff was not barred from seeking federal declaratory relief, where only his companion had been arrested for distributing handbills, and no state criminal proceeding was pending against plaintiff at the time the federal complaint was filed); Casa Marie, 988 F.2d at 267-68 (noting that “unrelated, legally distinct parties” may “mount separate but simultaneous legal challenges to the constitutionality of a state statute“).18 In this case, however, McNally and Kermani do not assert independent First Amendment rights, nor do they bring truly separate challenges to the judicial conduct rules.
Because the judicial conduct rules apply only to judges and judicial candidates, McNally and Kermani are not directly regulated by the challenged rules. Instead, McNally and Kermani claim standing to bring suit based on their interest in receiving political speech from judges and judicial candidates and in associating politically with elected judges without the restrictions imposed by the conduct rules. While it is well-established that the First Amendment protects not only the right to engage in protected speech, but also the right to receive such speech, see Va. State Bd. of Pharmacy v. Va. Citizens Consumer Council, 425 U.S. 748, 756, 96 S.Ct. 1817, 48 L.Ed.2d 346 (1976) (noting that where a willing speaker exists, First Amendment protection extends to both the source as well as the recipient of the protected communication), — it remains true that the rights of the recipients of speech (such as McNally and Kermani) derive in the first instance from the primary rights of the speaker. See In re App. of Dow Jones & Co., 842 F.2d 603, 608 (2d Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Dow Jones & Co. v. Simon, 488 U.S. 946, 109 S.Ct. 377, 102 L.Ed.2d 365 (1988); N.A.A.C.P., Los Angeles Branch v. Jones, 131 F.3d 1317, 1322 & n. 5 (9th Cir.1997), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 813, 119 S.Ct. 48, 142 L.Ed.2d 37 (1998).
As a result, McNally and Kermani may claim no greater First Amendment protection than Spargo, and their “[s]uccess on the merits ... is entirely derivative” of whatever rights that Spargo may have to engage in the prohibited speech and political activity.19 See In re App. of Dow Jones & Co., 842 F.2d at 608 (explaining that plaintiff news agencies’ “right to receive speech does not enlarge the rights of those directly subject to the [challenged] restraining order“); Jones, 131 F.3d at 1322-23 (concluding that “voter plaintiffs, as recipients of campaign speech, have no greater rights than the candidates to have candidates publish statements,” and “plaintiffs’ status as voters in an election does not extend their First Amendment rights to include a more general right to receive publicly funded campaign speech“). Because McNally and Kermani could have a protected interest in hearing Spargo speak and in associating politically with Spargo only if Spargo has an underlying First Amendment right to engage in such speech and political activity, the legal analysis of the plaintiffs’ claims are unavoidably intertwined and inseparable. McNally‘s and Kermani‘s claims are largely the mirror-image of Spargo‘s First Amendment challenge, and it would be impossible for the District Court to analyze plaintiffs’ claims independently without first analyzing Spargo‘s constitutional right to engage in the charged conduct, a matter which, under Younger, must be resolved in the pending state disciplinary proceeding.
Because plaintiffs’ claims are essentially derivative, this case presents one of the narrow circumstances in which Younger may properly extend to bar claims of third-parties who are not directly involved in the pending state action.20 Cf. Allee v. Medrano, 416 U.S. 802, 830-31, 94 S.Ct. 2191, 40 L.Ed.2d 566 (1974) (Burger, J., concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part) (reasoning that Younger abstention should also apply to a union‘s First Amendment claims, where the union is seeking to assert the interests of members prosecuted in state court); but see N.J.-Philadelphia Presbytery of the Bible Presbyterian Church v. N.J. State Bd. of Higher Educ., 654 F.2d 868, 877-88 (3d Cir.1981) (in a First Amendment challenge to a state licensing regime, abstention did not extend to plaintiffs who were not party to the state proceeding, because the parents, students, and teachers involved in the suit asserted First Amendment rights distinct from those of the religious college involved in the ongoing state litigation).
Moreover, the second prerequisite for extending Younger is present, as plaintiffs seek to directly interfere with the pending disciplinary proceeding against Spargo by requesting that the District Court permanently enjoin defendants from pursuing the disciplinary proceeding or otherwise enforcing the challenged judicial conduct rules. In addition, there is no suggestion that Spargo would fail to adequately represent plaintiffs’ interests in the state disciplinary proceeding, and it appears that McNally and Kermani could seek to appear as amici curiae, see
Conclusion
In sum, for the reasons stated above, we conclude that Spargo has an adequate opportunity to raise his constitutional claims in the pending disciplinary proceeding and accordingly hold that the District Court should have abstained from exercising jurisdiction over Spargo‘s claims in deference to the state proceeding. In addition, we find that the First Amendment interests of plaintiffs McNally and Kermani are derivative of Spargo‘s right to engage in protected speech. Because plaintiffs’ legal claims are inextricably intertwined, and the federal suit seeks to directly interfere with the pending state disciplinary proceeding, we conclude that Younger extends to bar the claims of McNally and Kermani although neither is a party to the state disciplinary proceeding. We therefore vacate the judgment of the District Court and remand with instruction to the District Court to abstain from exercising jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ action.22
Notes
Under these circumstances, there is substantial doubt as to whether plaintiffs have standing to seek equitable relief based on the speech of other judges, and even if plaintiffs could demonstrate such standing, whether the controversy is sufficiently ripe for adjudication. See, e.g., Competitive Enter. Inst. v. U.S. Dept. of Transp., 856 F.2d 1563, 1566 (D.C. Cir. 1988) (noting that “[w]hether the injury is phrased as a deprivation of information that the listener would find useful or the interference with a relationship between speaker and listener, a government regulation cannot cause that injury unless [plaintiffs] can identify a willing speaker“); Basiardanes v. City of Galveston, 682 F.2d 1203, 1211 (5th Cir. 1982) (“Recipients of protected communications have standing only if there is a speaker who wishes to express himself or herself.“); cf. Nutritional Health Alliance v. Shalala, 144 F.3d 220, 225-27, 228 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1040 (1998).
In any event, plaintiffs’ allegations about other judges and judicial candidates are too speculative to avoid the application of Younger. Throughout this litigation, plaintiffs have relied almost exclusively on their close relationship with Spargo to establish an interest in the challenged judicial conduct rules, and therefore, cannot now seek to downplay the connection to prevail on Younger grounds, Cf. Collins v. County of Kendall, 807 F.2d 95, 102 (7th Cir.1986) (concluding that court would not ignore the parties’ close relationship in determining the scope of Younger abstention where the plaintiff had previously urged the court to view the facts as a whole and treat the plaintiffs as tightly connected), cert. denied, 483 U.S. 1005 (1987).