No. 25-805

Kerry Kruskal v. Alan Maestas, et al.

Lower Court: New Mexico
Docketed: 2026-01-08
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: access-to-courts civil-claims due-process fourteenth-amendment judicial-review procedural-fairness
Latest Conference: 2026-02-20
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. Whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is violated when a state court affirms the dismissal of civil claims without findings of fact, without evidentiary hearings, and while repeatedly denying discovery, thereby depriving a litigant of any meaningful opportunity to be heard.

2. Whether the Equal Protection Clause is violated when courts selectively enforce procedural rules —sanctioning a pro se litigant for minor technical errors while excusing licensed attorneys who repeatedly miss deadlines and ignore motions.

3. Whether pro se litigants are constitutionally entitled to meaningful access to the courts, including liberal construction of filings under Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519 (1972), and Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89 (2007), and whether state appellate courts violate due process by refusing to apply those precedents.

4. Whether a state appellate court violates the Fourteenth Amendment by affirming a trial court judgment that contains no findings of fact or conclusions of law, thereby foreclosing meaningful review of constitutional claims.

5. Whether the cumulative effect of multiple due process violations —including denial of discovery, refusal to compel testimony, summary dismissal without findings, and refusal to certify constitutional questions —constitutes a violation of fundamental fairness requiring federal review.

6. Whether this Honorable Court retains supervisory authority to review systemic due process violations where a state judiciary, through repeated pretrial dismissals, has effectively nullified the constitutional right to a civil jury trial guaranteed by the Seventh and Fourteenth Amendments.

7. Whether this Court may consider other New Mexico cases, including both Kruskal v. Quintana and Martinez v. Kruskal, that together demonstrate a consistent pattern of procedural misapplication and denial of due process in determining whether certiorari should be granted.

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is violated when a state court affirms the dismissal of civil claims without findings of fact, without evidentiary hearings, and while repeatedly denying discovery, thereby depriving a litigant of any meaningful opportunity to be heard

Docket Entries

2026-02-23
Petition DENIED.
2026-02-04
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
2026-02-03
Waiver of right of respondents Alan Maestas, Maestas Law Firm, P.C., Kimberly Alderman, JOnathan Hull, Paula Ganz, Santiago Chavez to respond filed.
2026-01-27
Waiver of Dwight Thompson of right to respond submitted.
2026-01-27
Waiver of right of respondent Dwight Thompson to respond filed.
2025-12-15
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 9, 2026)

Attorneys

Alan Maestas, Maestas Law Firm, P.C., Kimberly Alderman, JOnathan Hull, Paula Ganz, Santiago Chavez
John Slater CampbellResnick & Louis, P.C., Respondent
Dwight Thompson
Edward Robert RiccoRodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, P.A., Respondent
Kerry Kruskal
Kerry Kruskal — Petitioner