Nordyke v. King
| Decision Date | 22 April 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. S091549.,S091549. |
| Citation | 118 Cal.Rptr.2d 761,27 Cal.4th 875,44 P.3d 133 |
| Court | California Supreme Court |
| Parties | Russell Allen NORDYKE et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Mary V. KING et al., Defendants and Respondents. |
Richard Winnie, County Counsel; Richards, Watson & Gershon, Sayre Weaver, Los Angeles, Paul Gutierrez Baeza and T. Peter Pierce, San Francisco, for Defendants and Respondents.
Louise H. Renne, City Attorney, Joanne Hoeper, Chief Trial Attorney, Owen J. Clements, Chief of Special Litigation, Ellen M. Forman and D. Cameron Baker, Deputy City Attorneys for the City and County of San Francisco as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Teresa Highsmith, Assistant City Attorney, for the City of Alameda as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Law Office of Robert Zweben and Robert Zweben, Berkeley, for the City of Albany as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Manuela Albuquerque, City Attorney, and Matthew J. Orebic, Deputy City Attorney, for the City of Berkeley as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Michael Biddle, City Attorney, for the City of Emeryville as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents. Charles Dickerson, City Attorney, for the City of Inglewood as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Charles Williams, City Attorney, for the City of Lafayette as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Tom Curry, City Attorney, for the City of Livermore as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Daniel S. Murphy, Principal Deputy City Attorney, for the City of Long Beach as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
James K. Hahn, City Attorney, and Carmel Sella, Assistant City Attorney, for the City of Los Angeles as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Jayne W. Williams and John A. Russo, City Attorneys, Randolph W. Hall, Assistant City Attorney, J. Patrick Tang, Barbara J. Parker, Doryanna M. Moreno and Kandis A. Westmore, Deputy City Attorneys, for the City of Oakland as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Lombardi, Loper & Conant and George S. Peyton, Jr., Oakland, for the City of Piedmont as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Michael H. Roush, City Attorney, for the City of Pleasanton as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Daniel J. McHugh, City Attorney, for the City of Redlands as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Samuel L. Jackson, City Attorney, and William P. Carnazzo, Chief Assistant City Attorney, for the City of Sacramento as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Robert Lazone, City Attorney, for the City of San Carlos as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
George Rios, City Attorney, for the City of San Jose as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Roy Abrahms, City Attorney, for the City of San Mateo as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Marsha Jones Mourtrie, City Attorney, for the City of Santa Monica as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Rene A. Chouteau, City Attorney, for the City of Santa Rosa as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Michel Jenkins, City Attorney, for the City of West Hollywood as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Lloyd W. Pellman, County Counsel, Larry Hafetz and Judy W. Whitehurst, Deputy County Counsel, for the County of Los Angeles as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Patrick Faulkner, County Counsel, and John F. Govi, Assistant County Counsel, for the County of Marin as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Thomas F. Casey, County Counsel, and Brenda B. Carlson, Deputy County Counsel, for the County of San Mateo as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Ann Miller Ravel, County Counsel, and Debra L. Cauble, Assistant County Counsel, for the County of Santa Clara as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Steven M. Woodside, County Counsel, for the County of Sonoma as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Barrie Becker and Juliet Leftwich, for Legal Community Against Violence as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents. David Durant, Oakland, for Youth Alive! as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Law Offices of Jones & Mayer and Martin J. Mayer, Long Beach, for California Police Chiefs Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Munger, Tolles & Olson and Jeffrey L. Bleich, San Francisco, for the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association and Bar Association of San Francisco as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Law Offices of Donald Kilmer and Donald E.J. Kilmer, Jr., San Jose, for Plaintiffs and Appellants.
Trutanich • Michel, C.D. Michel; Benenson & Kates, Don B. Kates, San Pedro; and Bruce Colodny, San Bernardino, for California Rifle and Pistol Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Appellants.
Mark Barnes & Associates, Mark Barnes; Law Offices of Jeff Caufield and Jeff Caufield, for National Association of Arms Shows, Madison Society, Second Amendment Foundation, Bruce Colodny and Jess Guy as Amici Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Appellants.
Robert C. Moest, San Pedro, for Law Enforcement Alliance of America as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Appellants.
We granted the request of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, for certification pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 29.5 to address the following question: Does state law regulating the possession of firearms and gun shows preempt a municipal ordinance prohibiting gun possession on county property? We conclude that the municipal ordinance in question, insofar as it concerns gun shows, is not preempted.
Other aspects of the ordinance may be partially preempted, but we need not address these aspects in this case.
The facts, as set forth by the Ninth Circuit and from our own review of the record, are as follows:
Plaintiffs Russell Allen Nordyke and Sallie Nordyke (doing business as TS Trade Shows) (the Nordykes) have been promoting gun shows at the Alameda County Fairgrounds (Fairgrounds) since 1991. The Fairgrounds are located on unincorporated county land in the City of Pleasanton and are managed by an independent nonprofit corporation, the Alameda County Fair Association (Fair Association), under an operating agreement with Alameda County. The exhibitors at the show include sellers of antique (pre 1898) firearms, modern firearms, ammunition, Old West memorabilia, and outdoor clothing. In addition, the show hosts educational workshops, issue groups, and political organizations. The remaining plaintiffs are exhibitors and patrons of the show.
Alameda County passed in August 1999 and amended in September 1999 an ordinance (Ordinance) making it a misdemeanor "to bring[ ] onto or possess[ ] on county property a firearm, loaded or unloaded, or ammunition for a firearm...." (Alameda County, Gen. Ord.Code, ch. 9.12, § 9.12.120, subd. B.) The Ordinance recited as justification the epidemic of gunshot fatalities or injuries in the county—in the first five years of the 1990's, 879 homicides were committed using firearms and 1,647 additional victims were hospitalized with gunshot injuries. The Ordinance also recited a July 4, 1998, shooting incident on the Fairgrounds resulting in several gunshot wounds and other injuries.
The Ordinance was subject to certain limitations and exceptions. County property did not include any "`local public building'" as defined in Penal Code section 171b, subdivision (c). (Alameda County Gen. Ord.Code, ch. 9.12, § 9.12.120, subd. C.) It exempted from the prohibition various classes of persons, including peace officers, various types of security guards, persons holding valid firearms' licenses pursuant to Penal Code section 12050, and authorized participants "in a motion picture, television, video, dance, or theatrical production or event" under certain circumstances. (Alameda County Gen. Ord.Code, ch. 9.12, § 9.12.120, subd. F.) The Ordinance would have, as one of its chief consequences, the effect of forbidding the presence of firearms at gun shows, such as the Nordykes', thereby making such shows impractical.
To prevent the Ordinance's enforcement, the Nordykes brought suit against Alameda County in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The Nordykes applied for a temporary restraining order, claiming that the Ordinance was preempted by state gun regulations and that it violated the First Amendment's free speech guarantee. The district court judge treated the application as one for a preliminary injunction and denied it, finding that the Nordykes had failed to demonstrate probable success on the merits.
The Nordykes then filed an interlocutory appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which subsequently certified to us the above question. We granted certification for reasons similar to those stated in the companion case also decided today, Great Western Shows, Inc. v. County of Los Angeles (2002) 27 Cal.4th 853, 118 Cal.Rptr.2d 746, 44 P.3d 120 (Great Western).
General preemption principles are recapitulated in Great Western, a case addressing whether state law preempts an ordinance banning the sale of guns on county property. We conclude in Great Western that "[a] review of the gun law preemption cases indicates that the Legislature has preempted discrete areas of gun regulation rather than the entire field of gun control." (Great Western, supra, 27 Cal.4th at p. 861, 118 Cal.Rptr.2d 746, 751, 44 P.3d 120, 124.) We further conclude that an ordinance banning the sale of firearms and...
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...by exempting those activities from otherwise applicable state prohibitions. Thus, as discussed in Nordyke v. King (2002) 27 Cal.4th 875, 118 Cal.Rptr.2d 761, 44 P.3d 133( Nordyke ), a state statute, Penal Code section 171b, made it a crime to possess firearms in any state or local public bu......
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Nordyke v. King
...California Supreme Court answered that the County Ordinance was not preempted by state law. See Nordyke v. King, 27 Cal.4th 875, 118 Cal.Rptr.2d 761, 44 P.3d 133, 138 (2002) (“ Nordyke II ”). After receiving that response, we returned to the Nordykes' First Amendment claim. Construing their......
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Conejo Wellness Ctr., Inc. v. City of Agoura Hills
...adopted by Agoura. In the language of preemption, the ordinances do not conflict with the MMPA.5 Nordyke v. King (2002) 27 Cal.4th 875, 883–884, 118 Cal.Rptr.2d 761, 44 P.3d 133 ( Nordyke ), is instructive. In Nordyke, Alameda County enacted an ordinance which banned the possession of firea......
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Nordyke v. King, 07-15763.
...(9th Cir.2000). The California Supreme Court answered that the Ordinance was not preempted. See Nordyke v. King (Nordyke II), 27 Cal.4th 875, 118 Cal.Rptr.2d 761, 44 P.3d 133, 138 (Cal. 2002). We proceeded to address the Nordykes' challenges under the First and Second Amendments.3 Construin......