Turner v. Glickman

• Decision Date: 16 March 2000
• Docket Number: No. 99-1923,DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES,PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS,99-1923
• Citation: 207 F.3d 419
• Parties: (7th Cir. 2000) HENRY TURNER, ON HIS OWN BEHALF AND ON BEHALF OF ALL THOSE SIMILARLY SITUATED,, v. DANIEL R. GLICKMAN, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AND PETER J. SYBINSKY, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SECRETARY OF THE INDIANA FAMILY AND SOCIAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION,
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 419

207 F.3d 419 (7th Cir. 2000)

HENRY TURNER, ON HIS OWN BEHALF AND ON BEHALF OF ALL THOSE SIMILARLY SITUATED, PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS, v. DANIEL R. GLICKMAN, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AND PETER J. SYBINSKY, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SECRETARY OF THE INDIANA FAMILY AND SOCIAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES.

No. 99-1923

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

Argued December 1, 1999

Decided March 16, 2000

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. No. 98 C 1084--Richard L. Young, Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Jacquelyn E. Bowie (argued), Indiana Civil Liberties Union, Indianapolis, IN, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Judith A. Stewart, Office of the United States Attorney, Indianapolis, IN, Michael S. Raab (argued), Mark Stern, Department of Justice, Civil Division, Appellate Section, Washington, DC, for Defendant-Appellee Daniel R. Glickman.

Michael S. Raab (argued), Department of Justice, Civil Division, Appellate Section, Washington, DC, Frances Barrow, Office of the Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, for Defendant-Appellee Katherine Davis.

Before Bauer, Cudahy, and Flaum, Circuit Judges.

Flaum, Circuit Judge.

The class representative, Henry Turner, on his own behalf and on behalf of all those similarly situated, challenges the constitutionality of 21 U.S.C. sec. 862a.¹ That statute provides that individuals convicted of certain drug-related felonies are permanently ineligible for benefits under the federal food stamp and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ("TANF") programs. The plaintiffs-appellants allege that this statute violates the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The district court rejected these constitutional claims and entered judgment for the defendants-appellees. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the decision of the district court.

I. Facts

The statutory provision at issue in this case, 21 U.S.C. sec. 862a, was enacted by Congress as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-193, sec. 115, 110 Stat. 2105, 2180-81 (1996). The statute was passed in response to growing concerns about the escalating costs of federal welfare programs. See 142 Cong. Rec. H9401 (daily ed. July 31, 1996) (statement of Rep. Smith); 142 Cong. Rec. S9390 (daily ed. Aug. 1, 1996) (statement of Sen. Helms). In particular, Section 862a was an attempt to address what many members of Congress regarded as increasing and costly incidences of fraud in the food stamp program. See H.R. Doc. No. 104-651 (1996), reprinted in 1996 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2183, 2201, 2202; Enforcement of the Food Stamp Program: Hearing Before the House Comm. on Agric., 104th Cong. (1995) (statement of Roger C. Viadero, Inspector General of the U.S. Dep't of Agric.).

Section 862a attempts to reach the problem of fraud by permanently disqualifying individuals convicted of certain drug-related felonies from receiving benefits under either the federal food stamp program or the TANF program. Although Congress did not specify where this provision was to be codified, the Office of Law Revision Counsel placed the statute in Title 21 of the United States Code. The statute applies to all convictions occurring on or after August 22, 1996. The law provides that states may exempt recipients from disqualification under Section 862a, but the State of Indiana has chosen not to provide such an exemption to its citizens.

The class representative, Henry Turner, is an Indiana resident and former recipient of food stamps. As part of an annual review of his food stamp eligibility, Turner was required to reapply for that program in January 1998. Subsequent to this reapplication, Turner was convicted of felony possession of heroin and cocaine based on conduct that occurred in April 1997. Solely because of this conviction, Turner's pending reapplication for food stamps was denied under Section 862a.

In August 1998, Turner commenced a class action suit for declaratory and injunctive relief in federal district court, challenging the constitutionality of Section 862a. Following a hearing on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court entered judgment for the defendants-appellees. The plaintiffs-appellants now appeal the decision of the district court, arguing that permanent disqualification from participation in the food stamp and TANF programs of those convicted of certain drug-related felonies violates the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

II. Analysis

A.

The plaintiffs-appellants first contend that Section 862a violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it lacks any rational basis connected to a legitimate government interest. Because the statute at issue does not implicate any fundamental rights or involve any suspect classifications, see Department of Agric. v. Moreno, 413 U.S. 528, 533 (1973), the question before us is whether the stated reasons proffered by the government are a sufficient justification to survive rational basis review, see Heller v. Doe, 509 U.S. 312, 320 (1993) ("[A] classification [neither involving fundamental rights nor proceeding along suspect lines] cannot run afoul of the Equal Protection Clause if there is a rational relationship between the disparity of treatment and some legitimate government purpose."). In rejecting the plaintiffs-appellants' equal protection challenge, the district court found three rational bases for the legislation: (1) deterring drug use; (2) reducing fraud in the food stamp program; and (3) curbing welfare spending. The defendants-appellees assert these same three bases for the statute now, and argue that they all represent legitimate government interests.

In attempting to show that the classification in Section 862a has no rational basis, the plaintiffs-appellants must meet a heavy burden. Rational basis review "is not a license for courts to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic of legislative choices." FCC v. Beach Comm., Inc., 508 U.S. 307, 313 (1993). Rather, we must uphold the challenged classification if "there is a rational relationship between the disparity of treatment and some legitimate government purpose." Heller, 509 U.S. at 320. In order to show that Section 862a is irrational, the plaintiffs-appellants must "'negative every conceivable basis which might support it,'... whether or not the basis has a foundation in the record." Id. at 320-21, 113 S.Ct.2637 (quoting Lehnhausen v. Lake Shore Auto Parts Co., 410 U.S. 356, 364 (1973)). However, "the relationship of the classification to its goal [must] not [be] so attenuated as to render the distinction arbitrary or irrational." Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1, 11 (1992) (citing City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 446 (1985)).

The plaintiffs-appellants argue that Section 862a is exactly the kind of arbitrary and irrational government sanction that the equal protection guaranties forbid. As the plaintiffs-appellants correctly point out, one of the express purposes of the Food Stamp Act is "[t]o alleviate... hunger and malnutrition... [by] permit[ting] low-income households to obtain a more nutritious diet through normal channels of trade." 7 U.S.C. sec. 2011. According to the plaintiffs-appellants, Section 862a is not relevant to this purpose because it deprives individuals convicted of drug-related felonies of food stamps despite their continuing financial and nutritional needs. Furthermore, the plaintiffs-appellants contend that Section 862a has no rational connection to the three justifications accepted by the district court: deterring drug use, reducing fraud in the food stamp program, and curbing welfare spending.

Ordinarily, an argument as to the actual purpose of a legislature in passing a law would not be relevant to the question of whether the challenged classification had a rational connection to a legitimate government interest. See Beach Comm., 508 U.S. at 315 (stating that "it is entirely irrelevant for constitutional purposes whether the conceived reason for the challenged distinction actually motivated the legislature") (citing Railroad Retirement Bd. v. Fritz, 449 U.S. 166, 179 (1980)). However, as we understand it, the plaintiffs-appellants' argument does not rest on their ability to prove that Congress acted with an unconstitutional motive. Rather, the plaintiffs-appellants argue that because no possible motive exists for passing this law other than punishment, Congress must have acted out of animus toward individuals convicted of drug-related felonies and that the district court's assertion that the law functions to reduce welfare fraud, deter drug abuse, and decrease welfare expenditures is therefore implausible. If this is true, and the plaintiffs-appellants can "'negative every conceivable basis which might support [Section 862a],'... whether or not the basis has a foundation in the record," id. at 320-21, 113 S.Ct. 2096 (quoting Lehnhausen, 410 U.S. at 364), then the challenged statute would lack a rational relation to a legitimate state interest.

After a consideration of Section 862a in light of the proffered government interests, we reject the plaintiffs-appellants' equal protection challenge. First, as the district correctly found, there is...