In Azimi v. Worrell, (WD VA, June 3, 2025), plaintiff appearing pro se, challenged on Free Exercise and Establishment Clause grounds an order by a Virginia state trial court judge in plaintiff's divorce proceeding. The state court had ordered that plaintiff "cooperate with any and all actions and procedures necessary to accomplish a religious divorce pursuant to the Islamic Religion with all due speed and dispatch." A Virginia federal district court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction. The court invoked the Rooker-Feldman doctrine that bars federal courts from hearing cases that amount to appellate review of a state court judgment when plaintiff instead should have appealed through the state court system.
