Doe #1 v. City Of San Diego
| Decision Date | 29 January 2019 |
| Docket Number | Case No.: 17-cv-01581-BTM-WVG |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of California |
| Parties | John DOE #1, an Individual, and John Doe #2, an Individual, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF SAN DIEGO, an Incorporated California Municipality; and Does 1 to 10, Inclusive, Defendants. |
Alex L. Landon, Law Offices of Alex L. Landon, San Diego, CA, Janice M. Bellucci, Law Offices of Janice M. Bellucci, Sacramento, CA, for Plaintiffs.
Christopher S. Morris, Morris Law Firm, APC, David James Karlin, Office of the City Attorney, San Diego, CA, for Defendants.
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT CITY OF SAN DIEGO'S MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFFS' REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE
Defendant City of San Diego has filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint. (ECF No. 10 ("MTD").) In response, Plaintiffs John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 filed an opposition, (ECF No. 13 ( ) ), along with a request for judicial notice in support of the opposition, (ECF No. 13-1 ( ) ). Defendant City of San Diego then filed a reply. (ECF No. 14 ("Def.s' Reply").) For the reasons discussed below, the Court denies Defendant's motion to dismiss and grants in part and denies as moot in part Plaintiffs' request for judicial notice.
Plaintiffs John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 (collectively, "Plaintiffs") bring claims against Defendant City of San Diego ("Defendant" or "the City") under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, requesting declaratory and injunctive relief due to the allegation that a local city ordinance restricting the areas where registered sex offenders ("Registrant(s)") may reside is unconstitutional under federal and California state law. (ECF No. 1 ("Compl.").) The local law, entitled the "Child Protection Act," was adopted on April 13, 2008 by San Diego City Council and codified as San Diego Municipal Code, Chapter 5, Article 8, Division 6. See San Diego, Cal., Municipal Code § 58.0601-58.0607 (hereinafter "the Ordinance").
About a year and a half before the City of San Diego adopted the Ordinance, the California voters adopted Proposition 83, known as "The Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act: Jessica's Law", which passed on November 7, 2006 and went into effect on November 8, 2006. Cal. Legis. Serv. Prop. 83 (West) (hereinafter "Jessica's Law"). Among other changes, Jessica's Law amended several sections of the California Penal Code, including Section 3003.5. Id. ; see also Cal. Penal Code § 3003.5. The newly amended law retained the original language of Section 3003.5, now codified under subsection (a), which restricts Registrants released on parole from residing with other Registrants in a single family dwelling. See Cal Penal Code § 3003.5(a). Two additional subsections were also added. Subsection (b) makes it unlawful "for any person for whom registration is required pursuant to [California Penal Code] Section 290 to reside within 2000 feet of any public or private school, or park where children regularly gather." Id. at § 3003.5(b). Subsection (c) provides that "nothing in this section shall prohibit municipal jurisdictions from enacting local ordinances that further restrict the residency of any person for whom registration is required pursuant to Section 290." Id. at § 3003.5(c).
The Ordinance mandates additional residency restrictions for Registrants in the City of San Diego. The stated purpose of the Ordinance is "to reduce the risk of harm to children by impacting the ability of sex offenders to be in contact with children" and "to provide additional restrictions beyond those provided for in Proposition 83, Jessica's law (effective November 8, 2006) by adding locations to the residence restrictions imposed by Jessica's Law...." Ordinance at § 58.0601.
The Ordinance provides three main regulations. First, the Ordinance makes it unlawful for Registrants to reside within 2000 feet of listed restricted areas. Id. at § 58.0603. The list includes "(a) Amusement center (b) Arcade (c) Child day care facility (d) Library (e) Playground (f) Park (g) School." Id. A separate section also provides brief definitions for each restricted area as well as definitions for other terms in the Ordinance like "[r]egistered sex offender." See id. at § 58.0602. Second, the Ordinance describes how to measure the 2000-foot buffer zone surrounding each restricted area. Id. at § 58.0604 (). Third, two additional sections regulate which Registrants are covered by the residency requirements with provisions specifying an effective date for the Ordinance as well as exemptions. See id. at §§ 58.0605-58.0606. The Ordinance only applies to a Registrant whose offense was committed on or after April 13, 2008. Id. at § 58.0606. The Ordinance also exempts a Registrant residing outside of the covered entities before April 13, 2008, even if one of the listed entities were to then move within 2000 feet of the Registrant after April 13, 2008. Id. at § 58.0605(b).
Since the passage of Jessica's Law in 2006, cases challenging the constitutionality of residency restrictions applying to Registrants have been litigated in state and federal courts. Of particular relevance here, the California Supreme Court in 2015 held the "blanket enforcement of the mandatory residency restrictions of Jessica's Law, as applied to registered sex offenders on parole in San Diego County" to be unconstitutional because the law could not "survive even the more deferential rational basis standard of constitutional review." In re Taylor , 60 Cal. 4th 1019, 1038, 184 Cal.Rptr.3d 682, 343 P.3d 867 (2015).
Plaintiffs John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 filed a complaint on August 7, 2017, challenging the Ordinance on state and federal constitutional grounds. (Compl. ¶¶ 1-3.) The Complaint alleges that both Plaintiffs are required to register as sex offenders under California Penal Code Section 290 for offenses committed after April 13, 2008. Id. at ¶¶ 6-7. Plaintiff John Doe 1 resides in the City of San Diego, and Plaintiff John Doe 2 resides in the County of San Diego. Id. Both intend to establish new lawful permanent residencies in the City of San Diego as well as temporary residencies in the City by spending nights in a hotel or inn or at the homes of friends and relatives. Id. Thus, Plaintiffs allege that they are subject to the Ordinance. Id.
Defendant City of San Diego challenges the Complaint, in part, on the ground that Plaintiffs lack Article III standing. Standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution is an element of subject matter jurisdiction. Therefore, Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1).
Generally, on a 12(b)(1) motion regarding subject matter jurisdiction, unlike a 12(b)(6) motion, a court need not defer to a plaintiff's factual allegations. But the Supreme Court has held that where a 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss is based on lack of standing, the Court must defer to the plaintiff's factual allegations and must "presume that general allegations embrace those specific facts that are necessary to support the claim." Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife , 504 U.S. 555, 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) (internal quotation marks omitted). "At the pleading stage, general factual allegations of injury resulting from the defendant's conduct may suffice." Id. at 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130. In short, a 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss for lack of standing can only succeed if the plaintiff has failed to make "general factual allegations of injury resulting from the defendant's conduct." Id.
Defendant also moves to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) should be granted only where a plaintiff's complaint lacks a "cognizable legal theory" or sufficient facts to support a legal claim. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dept. , 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1988). When reviewing a motion to dismiss, the allegations of material fact in the plaintiff's complaint are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Parks Sch. of Bus., Inc. v. Symington , 51 F.3d 1480, 1484 (9th Cir. 1995). Although detailed factual allegations are not required, the factual allegations made "must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Bell Atlantic v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). Only a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief will survive a motion to dismiss. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).
Defendant moves to dismiss the Complaint on the grounds that Plaintiffs lack Article III standing and Plaintiffs' claims fail to state a claim as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). For the reasons discussed below, the Court holds that Plaintiffs have standing to maintain this action. The Court then analyzes Plaintiffs' various claims to determine whether the claims should be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6).
Defendant first argues that Plaintiffs' Complaint should be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) because Plaintiffs lack Article III standing. Standing is a necessary element of federal court jurisdiction under Article III of the U.S. Constitution. Warth v. Seldin , 422 U.S. 490, 498, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). To have standing to sue in federal court, a plaintiff must meet the requirements set forth in the of Article III of the Constitution. U.S. Const. art. III, § 2....
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