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No. 25-7180October Term 2025Petition PendingUpdated Sep 16, 2026

Fair treatment in court

Edward L. Clark, Jr. v. Clark

Edward L. Clark, Jr. v. Deborah L. Clark

Case status

Petition PendingPetition pending

Where it stands

Awaiting an order on the petition

Next
No decision timeline until the Court agrees to hear the case.

What it's about

Edward L. Clark, Jr. asked the Supreme Court to review a California Court of Appeal case involving Deborah L. Clark. His petition argues that a person representing themselves should not lose Fourteenth Amendment rights to fair treatment and equal protection; the Court has not yet agreed to hear the case.

Question presented

1. Does a person representing themselves as a prose litigant automatically forfeit his Fourteenth amendment rights to fair and equal protection under the law in a court with Subject Matter Jurisdiction? 2. Is Subject Matter Jurisdiction still the foundational pre-requisite for any judicial process to be legal, valid and enforceable in the United States? 3. Can a Family Court fabricate and take back subject matter jurisdiction ONCE forfeited, (failing to reserve jurisdiction in judgment before being dismissed) in a dissolution money judgment and after refusing to merge private settlement contracts into the family court judgment for a final accord? 4. Can a family court judge fabricate a new judgment with a different judgment date (11-years later) using a case number no longer at issue over two years prior with a fully executed private settlement contract dated 3/21/2016? 5. Does the “ The Law Of The Land Doctrine ” allow an appellate court to supersede the long standing precedence of Subject matter jurisdiction, basically allowing an appellate court to validate void orders by adopting an order it issued on the merits of a void order?. 6. Is it standard judicial conduct to issue a pre-filing order as a shield from legal liability to introduce extrinsic fraud to enforce VOID orders under the law, that were issued without subject matter jurisdiction and by a person who is not a judge?

What happens next

The Court will decide whether to agree to hear the case, known as granting Supreme Court review. The docket says the petition was distributed for the September 28, 2026, conference, but that is not a grant or a promised decision date.

Why it matters

Clark argues that the California courts acted without authority over parts of the dispute and treated him unfairly as a person representing himself. Those claims remain unresolved because Supreme Court review has not been granted.

The case is at the petition stage, when the Supreme Court decides whether to take up a lower-court dispute.

Case file

Docket
25-7180
From
Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three
Documents
2

Docket activity

3
  • AI analysis generated: Case Briefing

    Sep 16, 2026 · Generated

  • Court Order added: Lower Court Orders/Opinions

    Apr 27, 2026 · Court records

  • Brief added: Petition

    Dec 31, 2025 · Court records

More questions

4
What is Clark v. Clark about?
Edward L. Clark Jr. challenges actions in a California family-court case involving Deborah L. Clark. He argues the courts lacked authority and denied him fair treatment.
Did the Supreme Court decide who wins in Clark v. Clark?
No. The Supreme Court has not agreed to hear the case and has issued no merits decision.
What remains unresolved in this case?
The Court has not decided whether to review Clark's claims. It also has not decided whether the California courts had the authority Clark disputes.
When could the Supreme Court act next?
The petition was distributed for the Court's September 28, 2026, conference. That listing does not guarantee an order or show that review will be granted.

Sources

Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.

Checked Sep 16, 2026Methodology

Primary materials

Context reporting