Lowrey v. Collela

── Lowrey v. Collela ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 20, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-2063 Document: 31-1 Date Filed: 04/20/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT April 20, 2026 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court JARROD LOWREY, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. No. 25-2063 (D.C. No. 1:24-CV-00225-KWR-LF) NANCY COLLELA, in her official (D. N.M.) capacity; CHERYL H. JOHNSTON, in her official capacity; JAMES NOEL, in his official capacity; CHRISTOPHER PEREZ, in his official capacity; KARL REIFSTECK, in his official capacity; MEGAN DUFFY, in her official capacity; SHAMARRAH HENDERSON, in her official capacity; SHANNON BACON, in her official capacity; EDNA SPRAGUE, in her official capacity; SARAH COFFEY, in her official capacity; SONYA BELLAFANT, in her official capacity; AMBER CHAVEZ BAKER, in her official capacity; JENNIFER REGAN, in her private capacity, Defendants - Appellees. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT * _________________________________ Before BACHARACH, McHUGH, and ROSSMAN, Circuit Judges. After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined * unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.  Appellate Case: 25-2063 Document: 31-1 Date Filed: 04/20/2026 Page: 2 _________________________________ Jarrod Lowrey, appearing pro se, appeals the district court’s judgment dismissing his federal claims and declining to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over his state-law claims. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we dismiss the appeal in part as moot and otherwise affirm. I. BACKGROUND This case arises from child-custody and domestic-dispute proceedings in New Mexico state court involving Lowrey and Jennifer Regan, who is the mother of his minor child. Defendants are (1) Regan; (2) six New Mexico state-court judges, a New Mexico Supreme Court justice, and a New Mexico state-court hearing officer, in their official capacities (“Judicial Defendants”); and (3) two attorneys and the executive director of New Mexico Legal Aid, Inc., in their official capacities (“NMLA Defendants”). 1 In his complaint, Lowrey alleged that during state-court proceedings, defendants engaged in a coordinated effort to violate his rights under the United States Constitution, the New Mexico Constitution, and New Mexico state law. He also alleged the NMLA Defendants violated the Legal Services Corporation Act (“LSCA”), 42 U.S.C. § 2996–2996l. He sought (1) a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) to stop a state-court TRO hearing before defendant Judge Chavez-Baker, (2) a preliminary injunction reversing defendant Judge Noel’s order recusing all the 1 Defendants Johnston, Noel, Perez, Reifsteck, Duffy, Henderson, and Chavez-Baker are t