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Terpsehore Maras v. Mayfield City School District Board of Education, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 22-3915 · judgment February 6, 2024


Certiorari denied · October 7, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

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

Questions presented

The District Court for the Northern District of Ohio dismissed the Amended Complaint filed by Petitioner Terpsehore Maras on her personal behalf and on her daughter’s behalf against the Mayfield City School District Board of Education (“MCSD”), its Superintendent, and Board reasoning that parents cannot represent pro se their minor children. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the Amended Complaint solely on the alternative ground of mootness given the Petitioner’s daughter graduated from MCSD’s high school during the pendency of the litigation. The two questions presented are:

  1. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1654, do minors have pro se rights that can be asserted by their parents on their behalf based on a parent’s fundamental right to control their child’s legal claims?

  2. Does the mootness doctrine bar adjudication of a claim brought by a parent when the claim of her minor daughter in the same action terminates by virtue of mootness?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Warner DeWitt Mendenhall
The Law Offices of Warner Mendenhall, Inc.

For respondent
Thomas L. Feher
Thompson Hine LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Oct 07 2024
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jun 26 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/30/2024.
  3. Jun 20 2024
    Reply of petitioner Terpsehore Maras filed. (July 2, 2024) (Distributed)
  4. Jun 10 2024
    Brief of respondents Mayfield City School District Board of Education, et al. in opposition filed.
  5. May 06 2024
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 10, 2024)