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Beverly Jackson v. Connecticut Department of Public Health, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, No. 16-2282 · judgment October 17, 2017


Certiorari denied · March 26, 2018
Pre-decision estimate: 0% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

Whether federal trademark law can preempt or abrogate state law that is interfering with, undermining the value of, and usurping the use of a federal Certification Mark, in this case the mark Doctor ofJedicine® owned by a professional association, by improperly identifying the Certification Mark with a different class of health professionals than the one approved by the commissioner of trademarks thereby diluting the mark in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125? Whether the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health, et al., can contest the incontestable Certification Mark in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 11065 by, attempting to regulate the practice of Nedicine® ultra vires Connecticut General Statute Chapter 370 § 20-9, which is intended to regulate only allopathic medicine; thereby interfering with the rights of a qualified person to employ the Certification Mark to practice within the scope practice of Nedicine®? Whether the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health, et al., in an effort to prohibit Petitioner from employing the Certification Mark to identify herself as a Doctor of Nedicine® violated the Dormant Commerce Clause, Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution; by improperly interfering with Petitioner's right under the Certification Mark to practice Natural Medicine in interstate commerce and to hold herself out as a licensed Doctor of Nedicine®?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Beverly Jackson

For respondent
Walter Menjivar

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Proceedings

  1. May 14 2018
    Rehearing DENIED.
  2. Apr 24 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/10/2018.
  3. Apr 17 2018
    Petition for Rehearing filed.
  4. Mar 26 2018
    Petition DENIED.
  5. Mar 07 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/23/2018.
  6. Feb 16 2018
    Waiver of right of respondents CT Dept. of Public Health, et al. to respond filed.
  7. Jan 15 2018
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 20, 2018)