Civil Rights — federal court jurisdiction

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U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Civil

Civil Rights — federal court jurisdiction

A state court suit against the attorneys who filed a Fair Housing Act suit against the plaintiff was properly remanded back to state court after the defendants removed it to federal court.

“In Johnson v. Mississippi, Justice Marshall stated that ‘[t]he line between Rachel and Peacock is that between prosecutions in which the conduct necessary to constitute the state offense is specifically protected by a federal equal rights statute under the circumstances alleged by the petitioner, and prosecutions where the only grounds for removal are that the charge is false and motivated by a desire to discourage the petitioner from exercising … a federal right.’ 421 U.S. at 234 (Marshall, J., dissenting) (internal quotation marks omitted). Even if Dudley and Sidea are correct that Fenton has a retaliatory motivation, this case falls into the latter category and is not removable under § 1443(1). See Glanton, 107 F.3d at 1051. If the defendants’ Fair Housing Act rights have indeed been violated in this case, we believe that the violation can, and must, be heard and remedied in the Illinois courts.”

Affirmed.

14-1067 Fenton v. Dudley

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Pallmeyer, J., Flaum, J.