Ariz. State Legislature v. Ariz. Indep. Redistricting Comm'n

• Decision Date: 21 February 2014
• Docket Number: No. CV–12–01211–PHX–PGR–MMS–GMS.,CV–12–01211–PHX–PGR–MMS–GMS.
• Citation: 997 F.Supp.2d 1047
• Parties: ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE, Plaintiff, v. ARIZONA INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Arizona

997 F.Supp.2d 1047

ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE, Plaintiff,

v.ARIZONA INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION, et al., Defendants.

No. CV–12–01211–PHX–PGR–MMS–GMS.

United States District Court, D. Arizona.

Feb. 21, 2014.

Gregory G. Jernigan, Arizona State Senate, Pele Kay Peacock, Arizona Legislature, Peter Andrew Gentala, Arizona House of Representatives, Phoenix, AZ, Joshua William Carden, Davis Miles McGuire Gardner PLLC, Tempe, AZ, for Plaintiff.

Brunn Wall Roysden, III, Joseph Andrew Kanefield, Kristin Louise Windtberg, Mary Ruth Ogrady, Joseph Nathaniel Roth, Osborn Maledon PA, Phoenix, AZ, for Defendants.

ORDER

SNOW, District Judge.

This three-judge statutory court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2284(a). Pending before it are Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Doc. 16), Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 33), and Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction for Lack of Standing (Doc. 43). For the following reasons, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction is denied, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim is granted, and Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction is denied as moot.

BACKGROUND

From the first year of its statehood in 1912 until 2000, the Arizona State Legislature (“Legislature”) was granted the authority by the Arizona Constitution to draw congressional districts, subject to the possibility of gubernatorial veto. In 2000, Arizona voters, through the initiative power, amended the state Constitution by passing Proposition 106. Proposition 106 removed congressional redistricting authority from the Legislature and vested that authority in a new entity, the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (“IRC”). Ariz. Const. art. IV, pt. 2, § 1. Proposition 106 prescribes the process by which IRC members are appointed and the procedures the IRC must follow in establishing legislative and congressional districts. Once this process is complete, the IRC establishes final district boundaries and certifies the new districts to the Secretary of State. Id. at ¶ ¶ 16–17.

Under the IRC redistricting process, the legislative leadership may select four of the five IRC members from candidates nominated by the State's commission on appellate court appointments. The highest ranking officer and minority leader of each house of the legislature each select one member of the IRC from that list. Id. at ¶¶ 4–7. The fifth member, who is the chairperson, is chosen by the four previously selected members from the list of nominated candidates. The governor, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the senate, may remove an IRC member for substantial neglect of duty or other cause. Id. at ¶ 10. The IRC is required to allow a period for public comment after it advertises a draft of its proposed congressional map during which it must review any comments received from either or both bodies of the Legislature. Id. at ¶ 16.

On January 17, 2012, the IRC approved a final congressional map to be used in all congressional elections until a new IRC is selected in 2021 and completes the redistricting process for the next decade. Ariz. Const. art. IV, pt. 2, § 1 ¶¶ 5, 17.

On June 6, 2012, the Legislature filed the present suit against the IRC, its current members, and the Arizona Secretary of State. (Doc. 1.) In its First Amended Complaint, the Legislature seeks a judgment declaring that Proposition 106 violates the Elections Clause of the United States Constitution by removing congressional redistricting authority from the Legislature and that, as a result, the congressional maps adopted by the IRC are unconstitutional and void. (Doc. 12 at 9.) The Legislature also asks the Court to permanently enjoin Defendants from adopting, implementing, or enforcing any congressional map created by the IRC, beginning the day after the 2012 congressional elections. ( Id.) Defendants move to dismiss on the grounds that Plaintiff fails to state a claim (Doc. 16) and lacks standing to bring this action (Doc. 43). Plaintiff moves for a preliminary injunction. (Doc. 33.) The Court held a consolidated hearing before a three-judge panel on these motions on January 24, 2014.

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Standard

Rule 12(b)(6) is designed to “test[ ] the legal sufficiency of a claim.” Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir.2001). While “a complaint need not contain detailed factual allegations ... it must plead ‘enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Clemens v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 534 F.3d 1017, 1022 (9th Cir.2008) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “However, conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted inferences are not sufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss.” Pareto v. FDIC, 139 F.3d 696, 699 (9th Cir.1998). Here, none of the essential facts of Plaintiff's claim are subject to dispute. The parties dispute only the proper legal interpretation of the Elections Clause of the United States Constitution, in light of Supreme Court precedent.

II. Plaintiff's Claim is Justiciable and Not Barred by Laches or by State Law

As preliminary matters Defendants assert that: (1) Plaintiff lacks standing to bring its First Amended Complaint (Doc. 43), (2) Plaintiff's claims should be barred by the doctrine of laches (Doc. 16 at 11), and (3) Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint presents a non-justiciable political question (Doc. 37 at 13). Finally, the Amici assert that this claim is barred by the Arizona Voter Protection Act. (Doc. 42.)

Plaintiff has standing to bring the present action. It has demonstrated that its loss of redistricting power constitutes a concrete injury, unlike the “abstract dilution of institutional legislative power” rejected by the Supreme Court as a basis for legislature standing. Raines v. Byrd, 521 U.S. 811, 826, 117 S.Ct. 2312, 138 L.Ed.2d 849 (1997) (holding that members of Congress lacked standing to challenge the constitutionality of the Line Item Veto Act). Here, Proposition 106 resulted in the Legislature losing its authority to draw congressional districts even if it retains some influence over the redistricting process via other means. In addition, prior Supreme Court precedent strongly suggests that the Plaintiff has suffered a cognizable injury. The Court has twice entertained challenges raised by state officials under the Elections Clause. See Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, 52 S.Ct. 397, 76 L.Ed. 795 (1932); Davis v. Hildebrant, 241 U.S. 565, 36 S.Ct. 708, 60 L.Ed. 1172 (1916). In neither did the Court refuse to address the merits for lack of standing.

Nor does laches bar the present action, at least at this stage of the litigation. To establish laches, a “defendant must prove both an unreasonable delay by the plaintiff and prejudice to itself.” Evergreen Safety Council v. RSA Network Inc., 697 F.3d 1221, 1226 (9th Cir.2012) (quoting Couveau v. Am. Airlines, Inc., 218 F.3d 1078, 1083 (9th Cir.2000)). “[A] claim of laches depends on a close evaluation of all the particular facts in a case” and thus is rarely appropriate for resolution at the motion to dismiss phase. Kourtis v. Cameron, 419 F.3d 989, 1000 (9th Cir.2005)abrogated on other grounds by Taylor v. Sturgell, 553 U.S. 880, 128 S.Ct. 2161, 171 L.Ed.2d 155 (2008). In addition, courts are hesitant to apply laches against state entities or agencies to the extent that it would limit a full exploration of the public interest, or governmental or sovereign functions. See United States v. Ruby Co., 588 F.2d 697, 705 (9th Cir.1978); Mohave Cnty. v. Mohave–Kingman Estates, Inc., 120 Ariz. 417, 421, 586 P.2d 978, 982 (Ariz.1978). Further, “it would be the unusual case in which a court would be justified in not taking appropriate action to insure that no further elections are conducted under [an] invalid plan.” Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 585, 84 S.Ct. 1362, 12 L.Ed.2d 506 (1964).

In asserting the defense of laches at this stage, “the defendant must rely exclusively upon the factual allegations set forth in the complaint.” Kourtis, 419 F.3d at 1000. Here, it is unclear based on the facts set forth in the complaint whether Plaintiff's delay in filing this action was unreasonable or whether or to what extent Defendants were prejudiced by this delay. Thus, Defendants have failed to establish a laches claim sufficient to prevail on a motion to dismiss.

Additionally, as will be further explained below, the Court is not barred from determining whether the Elections Clause of the United States Constitution, U.S. Const, art. I § 4, prohibits state voters from amending the Arizona Constitution to place the congressional re-districting function in the IRC. To the extent, however, that the Legislature makes arguments that the IRC cannot be the repository of legislative authority because it is not a representative body, such arguments arise under the republican guarantee clause of the Constitution and, as such, are not justiciable. Ohio ex rel. Davis v. Hildebrant, 241 U.S. 565, 569, 36 S.Ct. 708, 60 L.Ed. 1172 (1916) (citing Pacific States Teleph. & Teleg. Co. v. Oregon, 223 U.S. 118, 32 S.Ct. 224, 56 L.Ed. 377 (1912)).

Finally, the Amici assert that this action is barred by the Arizona Voter Protection Act (“VPA”) which states that the Legislature “shall not have the power to repeal an initiative measure approved by a majority of the votes cast” and “shall not have the power to amend an initiative measure ... unless the amending legislation furthers the purposes of such measure and at least three-fourths of the members of each house ... vote to amend such measure.” Ariz. Const., art. IV, pt.1, § 1, ¶¶ 6(B)-(C), The Amici argue that this suit is barred because both houses of the Legislature authorized filing this action, and thus it constitutes legislative action to repeal Proposition 106. (Doc. 42 at 8.) However, the text of the VPA clearly refers to the Legislature passing a bill to repeal...