Dist. Ct. erred in granting plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief against defendant-state in section 1983 action alleging that 1997 Wisconsin Act 292, which brought unborn children and their mothers within jurisdiction of state juvenile courts if mothers exhibited habitual lack of self-control with respect to alcohol or drugs that raised substantial health risk for their unborn children. While Dist. Ct. found that Act 292 was void for vagueness, it should have granted defendants’ motion to dismiss complaint on mootness grounds, where, prior to Dist. Ct.’s ruling on merits of complaint, plaintiff had moved outside State of Wisconsin and had indicated that she had no intention to return. As such, any threat that plaintiff may be subjected to Act 292 was no longer existent, and plaintiff was no longer in need of any protection from application of Act 292. Also, plaintiff failed to establish any exception to mootness doctrine.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Mootness Doctrine