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John Torsten Loop v. Washington, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 24-5020 · judgment March 20, 2026


3%
estimated cert probability
(petition-stage, structural)

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

Questions presented

  1. Whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine bars an independent action under 42 U.S. C. §1983 alleging constitutional injuries caused by constitutionally defi­ cient procedures preceding and producing a state­ court judgment, rather than by the judgment itself.

  2. Whether the Fourteenth Amendment permits a State to delegate adjudication substantially affecting a fit parent’s fundamental liberty interest to a private arbitrator without the procedural safeguards consti­ tutionally required before the State may interfere with the parent-child relationship.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Gene Clayton Schaerr
Schaerr | Jaffe

For respondent
Tera Marie Heintz
Washington State Attorney General's Office

Case

Conference history
—

Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage

Proceedings

  1. Oct 16 2026
    Amicus brief of NC Values Institute submitted.
  2. Oct 02 2026
    Waiver of right of respondent State of Washington and Bob Ferguson to respond filed.
  3. Sep 15 2026
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 19, 2026)