T. M. v. University of Md. Medical System Corporation · ¶48
When you lose in trial court, you go to an appeals court. The so-called Rooker-Feldman doctrine reflects that commonsense understanding. See Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U. S. 413 (1923); District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U. S. 462 (1983). At its core, the doctrine says that parties who lose in state trial court do not get to appeal to a federal trial court. Instead, they may take their appeal to a state appeals court and, if a federal statute allows, ultimately seek review in this Court. That “basic fact” has been a part of our law for more than 200 years. Reed v. Goertz, 598 U. S. 230, 244 (2023) (THOMAS, J., dissenting). The Court’s opinion thus properly rejects petitioner’s quest to reimagine, artificially cabin, or overrule Rooker-Field man. Ante, at 5–18. I join it in full. I write separately to explain why Rooker, properly understood, is correct as an…Read in context ›
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