Carmichael v. Okla. Dep't of Corr.
Carmichael v. Okla. Dep't of Corr.
Opinion of the Court
Before the Court is Defendants' Second Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 13], to which *1358Plaintiff has responded [Doc. No. 14]. The matter is fully brief and at issue.
BACKGROUND
In May 2002, Plaintiff pled guilty to charges of First Degree Rape, Indecent or Lewd Acts with A Child Under Sixteen, and Indecent Exposure. Because of his convictions, Plaintiff is required to register as a convicted sex offender pursuant to the Oklahoma Sex Offenders Registration Act (OSORA),
On November 1, 2015, amendments to
unlawful for any person registered pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration Act to reside, either temporarily or permanently, within a two-thousand-foot radius of any ... park that is established, operated or supported in whole or in part by a homeowners' association or a city, town, county, state, federal or tribal government, or a licensed child care center as defined by the Department of Human Services.
Plaintiff's Amended Complaint stated three causes of action: (1) that § 590 violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution; (2) that § 590 violates the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution; and (3) a claim for declaratory relief. Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 7] on September 8, 2017. On March 23, 2018, the Court granted in part and denied in part Defendants' Motion to Dismiss with leave for Plaintiff to amend. Order [Doc. No. 9].
On April 12, 2018, Plaintiff filed his Second Amended Complaint. Plaintiff asserts the same three causes of action. However, Plaintiff amended his Complaint to more specifically describe the alleged greenbelt in question as "a small area of grass" which is: (1) not a park; (2) not designated, or alternatively, is improperly designated, for recreational use; and, (3) not used for recreational purposes. Second Amended Complaint at 2, 3, 4.
Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiff's action on the grounds that: (1) the residency restriction does not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause; (2) the residency restriction does not violate the Due Process Clause; and, (3) Plaintiff has failed to state a claim for declaratory relief, or, in the alternative, his underlying claims present the more effective remedy.
STANDARD OF DECISION
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) provides that a pleading stating a claim for relief must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." To survive a Rule 12(b) motion to dismiss, "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted *1359as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal ,
"Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief will ... be a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense." Iqbal ,
The Tenth Circuit has held that the Iqbal / Twombly pleading standard is "a middle ground between heightened fact pleading, which is expressly rejected, and allowing complaints that are no more than labels and conclusions or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action, which the Court stated will not do." Khalik ,
I. Ex Post Facto Claim
Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution provides that "[n]o ... state shall ... pass ... any ex post facto law."
A. Retroactivity
Plaintiff alleges OSORA is retroactively enforced. Defendants make no argument to the contrary. Therefore, the Court need not examine the retroactive nature of the statute.
B. Punitive Effect
As discussed in its previous Order [Doc. No. 9], the Court must apply the *1360"intents-effects" inquiry outlined in Smith v. Doe ,
Plaintiff acknowledges a non-punitive intent of OSORA. Second Amended Complaint at 3; Plaintiff's Response at 4. Therefore, the court need only analyze the sufficiency of Plaintiff's alleged facts as to the punitive effect of OSORA, pursuant to the guideposts of Smith , as adopted by the Tenth Circuit in Shaw . See Order [Doc. No. 9].
The Shaw court acknowledged that residency restrictions are "generally designed to reduce temptations and opportunities for sex offenders to prey on children." Shaw ,
Applying the Smith guideposts, Plaintiff has alleged facts, if taken as true, sufficient to state a plausible claim that the specific residency restriction in question negates the legislative non-punitive intent by: (1) closely resembling, if not embodying, the historic punishment of banishment as cities and neighborhoods increasingly put a high value on green areas therefore ensuring "small area[s] of grass" are found throughout cities making it virtually impossible for sex offenders to find housing;
*1361(2) imposing an affirmative restraint on housing beyond what is necessary to further the civil regulatory scheme; (3) promoting traditional aims of punishment by limiting offenders to living in tiny areas of the community and imposing restrictions based only on prior conduct rather than the furtherance of a non-punitive intent of protecting children; (4) having no rational connection to a nonpunitive purpose of reducing recidivism and protecting children; and, (5) being excessive as to the stated nonpunitive purpose. See Smith ,
The pleaded facts demonstrate it is plausible that the application of OSORA's amended residency restrictions as to "parks," under the circumstances of this case, is sufficiently punitive to negate the civil intent of OSORA. Taken as true, Plaintiff's alleged facts as to the nature of the "park" restricting him from residing in his residence of twenty-five years are sufficient to state a plausible claim for violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause. Moreover, as pleaded, the facts demonstrate that the residency restriction as applied to a "small area of grass" that is not actually a park is not rationally related to the non-punitive purpose of OSORA, and goes beyond what is necessary in Plaintiff's circumstances. See Shaw ,
Although Plaintiff's amendments are minimal, the alleged facts in his Second Amended Complaint nudge his Ex Post Facto claim "across the line from conceivable to plausible." Twombly ,
II. Due Process Claim
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the state from depriving any person "of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. "[T]he touchstone of due process is protection of the individual against arbitrary action of government." Dias v. City & Cty. of Denver ,
Defendants argue that Plaintiff fails to state a claim of either procedural or substantive violations of the Due Process Clause. However, Plaintiff asserts no procedural Due Process claim in his Second Amended Complaint. See Second Amended Complaint at 4-5. Therefore, the Court need not address Defendants' motion to dismiss as to a procedural Due Process violation and will address only the substantive due process claim.
Substantive due process "specially protects those fundamental rights and liberties which are, objectively, deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition *1362and so implicit in the concept of ordered liberty that neither liberty nor justice would exist if they were sacrificed." Washington v. Glucksberg ,
Therefore, in order to state a claim for a substantive due process violation, Plaintiff must plead sufficient facts alleging: (1) a fundamental right is burdened by legislation that is not narrowly tailored to a compelling state interest; or, (2) if a fundamental right is not at issue, that the statute is not rationally related to a legitimate state interest. Glucksberg ,
Plaintiff alleges an infringement of a fundamental property right, i.e., to use his property.
In Weems v. Little Rock Police Dep't ,
Plaintiff has alleged he has a fundamental property right to use his property, i.e., to live in his home, and that the Department of Corrections infringes that property right by enforcing OSORA's application to the "small area or grass" near his home that is not a park and is not designated or used for recreational purposes. Defendants offer no argument that Plaintiff's alleged property right is not a fundamental right subject to heightened scrutiny. To the extent Defendants fail to challenge Plaintiff's claimed fundamental property right, the Court finds that for purposes of the Motion to Dismiss, Plaintiff has stated sufficient facts to state a substantive due process claim.
The Court also finds that Plaintiff has stated sufficient facts to establish a plausible claim that OSORA, as applied to a "small area of grass" which is not designated or used for recreational purposes, is not rationally related to the stated purpose of "protecting children who may frequent parks." Defendants' Second Motion to Dismiss *1363at 8. Application of the statute to small green spaces not used as, or intended as, parks would be, if true, the type of arbitrary governmental action prohibited by the substantive due process protections of the Due Process Clause.
It is not the Court's duty to evaluate the merits of the claims at this stage of the litigation. "[A] well-pleaded complaint may proceed even if it strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of those facts is improbable." Twombly ,
III. Declaratory Relief
The Federal Declaratory Judgment Act,
In a case of actual controversy within its jurisdiction, ... any court of the United States, upon the filing of an appropriate pleading, may declare the rights and other legal relations of any interested party seeking such declaration, whether or not further relief is or could be sought.6
The Declaratory Judgment Act confers "on federal courts unique and substantial discretion in deciding whether to declare the rights of litigants." See Wilton v. Seven Falls Co. ,
[1] whether a declaratory action would settle the controversy; [2] whether it would serve a useful purpose in clarifying the legal relations at issue; [3] whether the declaratory remedy is being used merely for the purpose of procedural fencing or to provide an arena for a race to res judicata ; [4] whether use of a declaratory action would increase friction between our federal and state courts and improperly encroach upon state jurisdiction; and [5] whether there is an alternative remedy which is better or more effective.
Mid-Continent Cas. Co. v. Village at Deer Creek Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. ,
The Court examined the first Mhoon factor in its previous Order [Doc. No. 9]. Because the Court has denied the Defendants' current motion to dismiss as to the Ex Post Facto Clause and the Due Process Clause, the Court finds no reason to alter or repeat its previous examination as to the issue of the existence of a controversy between the parties. The Court finds that Defendants do, indeed, have adverse legal interests to Plaintiff of sufficient immediacy *1364and reality to warrant the issuance of a declaratory judgment.
As to the fifth factor, Plaintiff's response restates the facts and issues alleged in support of his separate constitutional claims. However, Defendants present no authority for their position that Plaintiffs' Constitutional claims would "be the more effective" resolution. Plaintiff has stated sufficient facts to state a plausible claim for declaratory judgment.
For these reasons, Defendants' Second Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's declaratory judgment claim is denied.
CONCLUSION
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendants' Second Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 13] is DENIED, as set forth herein.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 22nd day of August, 2018.
Plaintiff denominates his operative amended pleading a "Second Amended Petition"; herein the Court refers to it as a Second Amended Complaint, consistent with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
As he did in his Response to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 8], Plaintiff again erroneously cites to Starkey v. Oklahoma Department of Corrections ,
The Court provided an extensive examination of the Tenth Circuit's application of the Shaw guideposts to OSORA in its previous Order [Doc. No. 9]. As the same examination applies here, it will not be repeated in this Order.
The premium municipalities place on green spaces is demonstrated in ordinances that require both residential and commercial zoned real property to include a designated percentage of green space. See Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 59-11100, et. seq. Application of the subject OSORA restriction to non-park green spaces would allow every small area of grass at the entrance to neighborhoods, along walkways, at the edge of property lines, and in commercial parking areas to restrict the residency of sex offenders.
Whether Plaintiff's alleged fundamental property right to live in his home has merit is not at issue here because it was not challenged by Defendants.
Defendants' only challenge to the Court's jurisdiction over this matter is in the introductory sentence of their Motion invoking Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). Defendants' Second Motion to Dismiss, at 1. They provide no argument in support of this challenge. As discussed in its Order [Doc. No. 9], this Court has subject matter jurisdiction under
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Thomas CARMICHAEL v. The OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Joe M. Allbaugh, Director, and The City of Oklahoma City
- Status
- Published