Watkins v. Stout

MEMORANDUM*

When the County of San Bernadino filed criminal charges against attorney John F. Watkins, Watkins sought an injunction under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the pending prosecution; he alleged that he was being prosecuted in bad faith, in retaliation for his aggressive litigation strategies in actions brought on a client’s behalf against county officials. The district court dismissed Watkins’s action pursuant to Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971). While Watkins’s appeal was pending, he was convicted in state court of conspiracy to obstruct justice, perjury…