Denis v. Ige
| Decision Date | 31 August 2021 |
| Docket Number | Civil NO. 21-00011 SOM-RT |
| Citation | 557 F.Supp.3d 1083 |
| Parties | Megeso-William-Alan: DENIS a.k.a. William Denis, Plaintiff, v. David Y. IGE, Clare E. Connors, Derek S.K. Kawakami, Todd Raybuck, Derrick Kelley, and Joesph Russell Himongala, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Hawaii |
Megeso William Alan Denis, Kapa'a, HI, Pro Se.
Andrew Scott Michaels, Office of the County Attorney, Lihue, HI, for Defendants Derek Kelley, Russell Himongala.
ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS TO DISMISS AND DENYING MOTION FOR LIVE-STREAM MEDIA COVERAGE
On December 5, 2020, Plaintiff Megeso-William-Alan Denis was arrested during a protest in Kapaa, on the island of Kauai. According to Denis, even though he was socially distanced from other people, police officers arrested him because he was not wearing a face mask. Denis claims that during the arrest the officers treated him roughly, and that he suffered injuries as a result. Denis, proceeding pro se , has sued two of the police officers involved in his arrest, Defendant Derrick Kelley and Defendant Joseph Russell Himongala. This order does not address Denis's claims against the two officers.
Instead, the present order concerns Denis's claims against four other Defendants (the "Moving Defendants") who did not physically arrest him. Denis contends that Defendants David Y. Ige (Hawaii's Governor), Clare E. Connors (Hawaii's Attorney General), and Derek S.K. Kawakami (Kauai's Mayor) violated his constitutional rights by issuing rules that required him to wear a mask in the first place (even though he was allegedly complying with those rules when he was arrested). Denis also maintains that Defendant Todd Raybuck (Kauai's Police Chief) is responsible for his wrongful arrest because of his position of authority.
On May 12, 2021, this court dismissed Denis's claims against those four defendants but granted Denis leave to amend. This court ruled that Denis had not stated a constitutional claim against Ige, Connors, or Kawakami because he had not plausibly alleged that the Mask Mandates targeted religion, speech, association, or any other fundamental right. Nor had he alleged that the Mask Mandates were an irrational response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, he had not stated a claim against Raybuck because he had not claimed that Raybuck did anything to harm him.
In his First Amended Complaint, Denis largely repeats his prior allegations. While he now contends that he "believes, and has evidence that the wearing of a mask is not only unhealthy but a sign of slavery to another man or government, [and] slavery was abolished in 1865," and that Defendants are "serving a deity known as the Baphomet, Lucifer, Baal, or Satan" by refusing to acknowledge "known effective cures" for COVID-19, see ECF No. 63, PageID # 728, 730, those assertions do not remedy the deficiencies this court identified in the Order filed on May 12, 2021. Denis's claims against the Moving Defendants are dismissed with prejudice.
Heights Apartments, LLC v. Walz , 510 F.Supp.3d 789, 797 (D. Minn. 2020). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by August 26, 2021, more than 38 million cases of COVID-19 had been identified in the United States, and more than 600,000 people have died. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home (last visited August 26, 2021).
Hawaii's first case of COVID-19 was confirmed on March 6, 2020. Audrey McAvoy, Hawaii Records its First Case of New Coronavirus , A.P. News, March 6, 2020, https://apnews.com/article/877078a229df18bbbb531524dab3f96c. On March 16, 2020, Mayor Kawakami, citing the dangers of the disease, issued an Emergency Rule prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more people in the County of Kauai. Mayor's Emergency Rule #1, https://www.kauai.gov/Portals/0/Civil_Defense/EmergencyProclamations/Mayor% 27s% 20Emergency% 20Rule% 20% 231_20200316.pdf. Shortly thereafter, on March 21, 2020, Governor Ige required anyone entering the State of Hawaii to self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival. Second Supplementary Proclamation, https://governor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2003152-ATG_Second-Supplementary-Proclamation-for-COVID-19-signed.pdf. Two days later, on March 23, 2020, Governor Ige ordered everyone in the State of Hawaii to shelter in place until April 30, 2020. Third Supplementary Proclamation, https://governor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2003162-ATG_Third-Supplementary-Proclamation-for-COVID-19-signed.pdf.
As COVID-19 continued to spread, the medical community and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked to identify measures that could limit the virus's transmission. By early April 2020, those experts were recommending wearing face coverings in public. Specifically, on April 3, 2020, the CDC recommended "wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Recommendation Regarding the Use of Cloth Face Coverings, Especially in Areas of Significant Community-Based Transmission , April 3, 2020, available at https://web.archive.org/web/20200404003200/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html.1
Both Governor Ige and Mayor Kawakami revised their emergency rules to incorporate that recommendation. On April 13, 2020, Mayor Kawakami, after noting that the CDC "currently recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings," issued an order requiring all persons over the age of five on Kauai to wear some form of face covering or mask when outside of their homes. Mayor's Emergency Rule #6, https://www.kauai.gov/Portals/0/Civil_Defense/EmergencyProclamations/Mayor% 27s% 20 Emergency% 20Rule% 20% 236% 2020200413.pdf. Violations were punishable by a $5,000 fine or a prison sentence of up to one year. Id. Similarly, on April 17, 2020, after recognizing that the CDC had "recommended wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain," Governor Ige updated his shelter-in-place order by requiring an individual to wear a face mask upon leaving home to shop at an essential business. Fifth Supplementary Proclamation, https://governor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2004088-ATG_Fifth-Supplementary-Proclamation-for-COVID-19-distribution-signed.pdf. Again, violations were punishable by a $5,000 fine or a prison sentence of up to one year. Id.
As the pandemic progressed, the CDC issued several additional releases endorsing face masks. For instance, on July 14, 2020, the CDC issued a press release stating that "cloth face coverings are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19 that could reduce the spread of the disease," and that "[t]here is increasing evidence that cloth face coverings help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC Calls on Americans to Wear Masks to Prevent COVID-19 Spread , July 14, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/p0714-americans-to-wear-masks.html.
Governor Ige and Mayor Kawakami continued to require individuals to wear face coverings in public settings. At the times at issue in this case, the following orders (collectively, the "Mask Mandates") were in force, and a violation was again punishable by a fine of $5,000 or a prison sentence of up to one year:
Sixteenth Emergency Proclamation, https://governor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2011098-ATG_Sixteenth-Proclamation-Related-to-the-COVID-19-Emergency-distribution-signed.pdf; Mayor's Emergency Rule #19 (As Amended), https://www.kauai.gov/Portals/0/Civil_Defense/EmergencyProclamations/2010134-COK_Mayor% 27s% 20Emergency% 20Rule% 20No_% 2019% 2C% 20Amendment% 20No_% 201% 20% 28 certified% 29% 20-% 20signed.pdf.
On December 5, 2020, Denis attended a protest in Kapaa, Kauai. ECF No. 63, PageID # 14. At the protest, Denis allegedly held a "free speech sign." Id. At some point, according to Denis, several police officers arrived and informed Denis that he was violating the law because he was not wearing a face mask. Id. Denis contends that, although he allegedly did not need to wear a mask because he was more than 18 yards away from any other protestor, two police officers, Defendants Derrick Kelley and Joseph Russell Himongala, arrested him. Id. Denis maintains that during the arrest he "received bodily harm" from both officers. Id.
It appears that, at some point, Denis was charged with having violated the Mask Mandates. Denis has indicated that the...
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