Pincus Hueter v. Kruse

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

STEVEN JAY PINCUS HUETER,

Plaintiff, v. Case No. 1:20-cv-03686 (TNM) LEALAIALOA FRITZ MICHAEL KRUSE, et al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff Steven Jay Pincus Hueter, proceeding pro se, sues Acting Secretary of the Interior Scott de la Vega and the Chief Justice of American Samoa (“Federal Defendants”), as well as several officials of the American Samoa Government (“ASG Defendants”). See First. Am. Compl. at 3–6, ECF No. 6; Federal Defs.’ Mem. in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss and Opp’n to Pl.’s Mot. for TRO and Prelim. Inj. (“Federal Defs.’ Mem.”) at 5, ECF No. 22-1; Opp’n of American Samoa Government Defs. to Pl.’s Mot. for TRO and Prelim. Inj. (“ASG Defs.’ Mem.”) at 3, ECF No. 25. 1 Hueter claims that the American Samoa Government’s restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have violated his constitutional rights. See, e.g., First Am. Compl. at 7–10.

Before the Court is Hueter’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction. See Pl.’s Mot. for TRO and Prelim. Inj. (“Pl.’s Mot.”), ECF No. 14. The Court construes Hueter’s emergency motion as seeking relief from the American Samoa Government’s January 30, 2021 Emergency Declaration, see id. at 8–9, which—as relevant here—prohibited “[p]ublic gatherings” “between the hours of 12 midnight and 5am.” Federal Defs.’ Mem. Ex. 2 at 4 ECF No. 22-3. The Declaration also allowed business to operate only “from 5am to 12 midnight,” but exempted “StarKist and its direct documented business affiliates, water production, and oxygen gas production.” Id. Hueter argues that the January 30, 2021 Declaration violated his “First Amendment freedoms” and prevented him from attending church “after 9PM or after 12AM midnight and before 5AM,” while allowing “Starkist and its documented business affiliates . . . to go to work.” Pl.’s Mot. at 7. He asks the Court to enjoin Defendants “from enforcing and prosecuting the provisions of the [January 30, 2021 Declaration].” Id. at 8–9.

To be sure, government restrictions that prevent attendance at religious services can “strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.” Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, 141 S. Ct. 63, 68 (2020). Indeed, the “instinct to protect religious freedom has roots that predate the Constitution.” Capitol Hill Baptist Church v. Bowser, No. 20-cv-02710-TNM, 2020 WL 5995126, at *4 (D.D.C. Oct. 9, 2020); see also James Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (June 20, 1785), in SELECTED WRITINGS OF JAMES MADISON 21, 22 (Ralph Ketcham ed., 2006) (“The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate.”).

Perhaps in response to Hueter’s filings, the American Samoa Government issued a new Emergency Declaration on February 19, 2021 to provide the relief that Hueter seeks here. Federal Defs.’ Mem. at 9. Specifically, it now provides: “Public gatherings, except for religious services, are prohibited between the hours of 12 midnight and 5am.” Federal Defs.’ Mem. Ex. 4 at 4, ECF No. 22-5 (emphasis added). 2 Hueter’s request for a temporary restraining order and injunction enjoining the American Samoa Government from enforcing its January 30, 2021 Emergency Declaration is thus moot. 3 Cf. Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 577 U.S. 153, 160 (2016), as revised (Feb. 9, 2016) (explaining that Article III requires that “an actual controversy be extant at all stages of review” (cleaned up)). Hueter is asking for injunctive relief from restrictions that have been superseded. In short, he has obtained the relief he seeks in this emergency posture.

Hueter’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction will therefore be denied as moot. 4 A separate Order will issue.

2021.02.26 17:55:19 -05'00'

Dated: February 26, 2021 TREVOR N. McFADDEN, U.S.D.J.