Jones v. Millard

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 97-20422 Summary Calendar NIKKI-MARIE JONES, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus LISA A. MILLARD; T. WAYNE HARRIS; REGINALD A. HIRSCH; GAE C. PRESTON; DAVID S. WACHTEL; GILBERT J. CORCORAN; HARRIS COUNTY, TEX.; GEORGE W. BUSH, Jr., Governor; DAN MORALES, Attorney General, Defendants-Appellees. - - - - - - - - - - Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. H-96-CV-3895 - - - - - - - - - - October 29, 1997 Before JOLLY, BENAVIDES and PARKER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Nikki-Marie Jones, a Texas citizen, moves to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) from the district court’s dismissal of her complaint pursuant to the Rooker/Feldman doctrine. In her complaint, purportedly filed pursuant to federal civil rights provisions, Jones sued her former fiancé (the father of her * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5 4. No. 97-20422 - 2 - daughter) and several Texas state officials in the aftermath of a custody battle in Harris County (Tex.) family court. She alleged that they violated several of her constitutional rights during those proceedings. The district court was correct in determining that Jones’ lawsuit amounted to little more than a collateral attack on on the family-court judgment and that, under the Rooker/Feldman doctrine, it lacked jurisdiction over the action. See Liedtke v. State Bar of Texas, 18 F.3d 315, 317 (5th Cir. 1994). Because Jones’ appeal of the denial of the complaint is frivolous, she fails to present a nonfrivolous issue for appeal. Her motion to proceed IFP is therefore DENIED. See FED. R. APP. P. 24(a); Carson v. Polley, 689 F.2d 562, 586 (5th Cir. 1982). Jones’ appeal is DISMISSED as frivolous. 5TH CIR. R. 42.2. IFP DENIED; APPEAL DISMISSED.