Rice v. U.S., Dept. of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

• Decision Date: 18 October 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-1547,94-1547
• Citation: 68 F.3d 702
• Parties: Philip V. RICE, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 702

68 F.3d 702

Philip V. RICE, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS, Appellee.

No. 94-1547.

United States Court of Appeals,

Third Circuit.

Argued Oct. 25, 1994.

Decided Oct. 18, 1995.

Arthur L. Jenkins (argued), Norristown, PA, for Appellant.

Bernadette A. McKeon (argued), Office of United States Attorney, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellee.

Before: STAPLETON, HUTCHINSON ^* and GARTH, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

HUTCHINSON, Circuit Judge.

I. Introduction

Appellant, Philip V. Rice ("Rice"), appeals an order of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissing his request for judicial review of appellee's, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms's ("BATF"), refusal to process his application for relief from a firearm disability. Rice claimed that BATF acted contrary to the Gun Control Act of 1968 ("Act"), the Second Amendment and the Fifth Amendment.

Section 922(g)(1) of the Act prohibits persons convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment in excess of one year from owning or possessing firearms. Rice was so convicted. Section 925(c) authorizes BATF to lift this prohibition if, after an investigation, it is satisfied that the convict will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that the granting of such relief would not be contrary to the public interest. Section 925(c) gives BATF broad discretion, but its exercise of this discretion is subject to judicial review. The statute does not confine a district court to the administrative record, but authorizes the reviewing courts to receive additional evidence if necessary to avoid a "miscarriage of justice." Despite BATF's authority to grant relief from a firearm disability, Congress in recent years has prohibited it from spending appropriated funds to investigate such applications.

The district court granted BATF's motion for summary judgment on the merits of Rice's constitutional claims. It concluded, however, that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over his statutory claim for judicial review of BATF's inability to complete the investigation that is a prerequisite to its action granting a convict's section 925(c) application. The court reasoned that judicial review was unavailable because BATF had not finally denied Rice's application, but simply lacked any present means to continue processing it.

While we will affirm the district court's decision to dismiss Rice's constitutional claims on their merits, we will reverse its order dismissing his section 925(c) claim and remand the case to the district court so that it can exercise its statutory discretion to decide whether BATF's failure to grant Rice the relief he seeks would be a miscarriage of justice. If it decides this question in the negative, it should dismiss Rice's request for judicial review on its merits. If it decides in the affirmative, Rice should be given an opportunity to present evidence relevant to section 925(c)'s standards for restoration of firearm privileges and thereafter the court should decide the merits of Rice's case on the completed record.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

Rice alleges these facts, all of which we assume are true at this stage of the case. In 1970, at age twenty, Rice pled guilty in a Pennsylvania state court to several related felonies involving stolen automobile parts. The state fined him and sentenced him to a term of probation.

The Act, 18 U.S.C.A. Secs. 921-30 (West Supp.1995), as amended, prohibits a person convicted of "a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" from possessing firearms. ¹ 18 U.S.C.A Sec. 922(g)(1) (West Supp.1995). It authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to grant relief

from the disabilities imposed by Federal laws with respect to the acquisition ... or possession of firearms ... if it is established to [the Secretary's] satisfaction that the circumstances regarding the disability, and the applicant's record and reputation, are such that the applicant will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that the granting of the relief would not be contrary to the public interest.

18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 925(c) (West Supp.1995).

Rice claims that he did not realize his felony convictions deprived him of his right to own and possess firearms. As a hunter and a gun collector, he continued to possess them.

The Secretary's decision to grant or deny relief pursuant to section 925(c) is subject to judicial review. In this respect section 925(c) provides that the district court is not limited to the administrative record, but can admit additional evidence to avoid "a miscarriage of justice." ² The Secretary of the Treasury has delegated his authority to grant relief to the Director of BATF. See 27 C.F.R. Sec. 178.144.

To determine whether an applicant is entitled to relief, BATF "conducts a broad-based field investigation concentrating on [the] statutory criteria surrounding the applicant's disabling conviction and the applicant's record and reputation." Appendix ("App.") at 30. It also "interviews the applicant, the listed character references, employers, members of the community where the applicant lives, the applicant's probation officer and other local law enforcement officers," as well as other law enforcement records. Id.

Rice claims that he applied for restoration of his firearms privileges when he first became aware of the effect his state court guilty pleas had on his right to possess firearms. BATF's investigation revealed that Rice had purchased as many as fifty guns after his state conviction. BATF did not confiscate any of Rice's guns, but allowed him to turn them over to his father for safekeeping. Rice admitted these purchases and pled guilty to violating 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 922(g)(1). On the present record, it is not clear to us whether Rice voluntarily disclosed these violations to BATF when he filed his first application for relief or instead merely conceded them after BATF uncovered them in the course of its investigation.

On February 27, 1992 the Governor of Pennsylvania pardoned Rice's 1970 convictions, and the state court subsequently expunged his state criminal record. In June 1992 Rice again applied to BATF for restoration of his firearms privileges. BATF began a second investigation. It was unable to complete this investigation because Congress passed an appropriation bill for fiscal 1992-1993 (effective October 1992) that provided: "[N]one of the funds appropriated herein shall be available to investigate or act upon applications for relief from Federal firearms disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 925(c)." Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, Pub.L. No. 102-393, 106 Stat. 1729, 1732 (1992). Congress imposed a similar spending prohibition on BATF for fiscal years 1993-1994 and 1994-1995. See Pub.L. No. 103-123, 107 Stat. 1226, 1228 (1993); Pub.L. No. 103-329, 108 Stat. 2382, 2385 (1994). It is currently considering extending the spending prohibition for fiscal 1995-96. See H.R. 2020, 104th Cong., 1st Sess. (1995). After the October 1992 prohibition, BATF informed Rice that it could not continue to process existing applications for relief from federal firearms disabilities and, therefore, that it was terminating further action on his application.

Rice then filed this action for judicial review of BATF's refusal to grant his June 1992 application. In his complaint he also claimed that BATF "is denying him his constitutional rights to bear arms under the Second Amendment and to due process and 'equal protection of the laws' under the Fifth Amendment." Rice v. United States Dept. of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 850 F.Supp. 306, 308 (E.D.Pa.1994). BATF moved to dismiss Rice's complaint or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. BATF argued that Rice is not entitled to judicial review of its refusal to act on his section 925(c) application because it has never finally denied the application; but, rather, was forced to stop processing it because Congress prohibited the use of appropriated funds for this purpose. BATF also contended that Rice's constitutional claims failed as a matter of law. Accepting BATF's contention that its inability to act on Rice's application did not constitute a denial under section 925(c), the district court dismissed his request for judicial review for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and granted BATF's motion for summary judgment on the merits of Rice's constitutional claims.

III. Discussion

This Court's appellate jurisdiction over Rice's challenge to the district court's final decision is based upon 28 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1291 (West 1993). A district court's dismissal for lack of jurisdiction is subject to plenary review. Anthuis v. Colt Indus. Operating Corp., 971 F.2d 999, 1002 (3d Cir.1992); Mellon Bank (East) PSFS v. Farino, 960 F.2d 1217, 1220-21 (3d Cir.1992).

BATF's argument that the district court lacked jurisdiction over Rice's claim is straightforward. It begins with the proposition that district courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and cannot disregard or evade the limits that Congress imposes on them. See Owen Equipment & Erection Co. v. Kroger, 437 U.S. 365, 98 S.Ct. 2396, 57 L.Ed.2d 274 (1978). BATF then contends that section 925(c) is the exclusive avenue for relief from section 922(g)(1)'s prohibition against a convict's ownership or possession of firearms; that judicial review is only available after it has denied an application for relief; that it has not denied Rice's application; and that it cannot take any final action until the prohibited investigation is completed. The district court accepted BATF's argument, with a caveat. It stated:

It is doubtful whether the [B]ATF may avoid judicial review under any and all circumstances simply by failing to process an application. In this instance, however, there is no evidence of bad faith or arbitrary or capricious conduct...