Doe v. Norton

• Decision Date: 05 September 1973
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 15579,15589.
• Citation: 365 F. Supp. 65
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: Donna DOE et al. v. Nicholas NORTON, Individually and as Commissioner of Welfare of the State of Connecticut. Sharon ROE and Dorothy Poe, Individually and on behalf of others similarly situated v. Nicholas NORTON, Individually and as Commissioner of Welfare of the State of Connecticut.

365 F. Supp. 65

Donna DOE et al. v. Nicholas NORTON, Individually and as Commissioner of Welfare of the State of Connecticut.

Sharon ROE and Dorothy Poe, Individually and on behalf of others similarly situated v. Nicholas NORTON, Individually and as Commissioner of Welfare of the State of Connecticut.

Civ. Nos. 15579, 15589.

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

September 5, 1973.

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Douglas M. Crockett, Raymond J. Kelly, Willimantic, Conn., Robert Beckman, Stamford, Conn., Elliot Taubman, Norwich, Conn., David Rosen, Edw. Dolan, New Haven, Conn., for plaintiffs in Civ. No. 15579.

Frank Cochran, New Haven, Conn., David Rosen, Edward Dolan, New Haven, Conn., for plaintiffs in Civ. No. 15589.

James M. Higgins, Michael Anthony Arcari, Asst. Atty. Gen., East Hartford, Conn., for defendant.

Before TIMBERS, Circuit Judge, and BLUMENFELD and NEWMAN, District Judges.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION FINDINGS OF FACT and CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

BLUMENFELD, District Judge:

By this action, the plaintiffs¹ challenge the constitutionality of Public Act 439 § 4 (1971), Conn.Gen.Stats. § 52-440b.² The challenged statute is part of a comprehensive legislative scheme whereby the mother of any illegitimate child is legally obligated to disclose the name of her child's biological father and to prosecute a paternity action against the named putative father.³ The plaintiffs rely upon the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for a cause of action and upon 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3) for this court's jurisdiction. In addition to injunctive and declaratory relief, 28 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq., they seek to maintain their suit as a class action. Fed.R.Civ. P. 23.

Because they sought to enjoin the operation of a state statute, this three-judge district court was convened. 28 U.S.C. §§ 2281, 2284.⁴

I. The Parties

The plaintiffs in this suit are all unwed mothers of illegitimate children, allegedly eligible to receive welfare benefits under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program of the Social Security Act of 1935, Sections 401 et seq., 42 U.S.C. §§ 601 et seq. (hereinafter the Act). They seek to represent the class of individuals similarly situated as well as their children.

The defendant is the Commissioner of Welfare, Nicholas Norton, sued in his individual and representative capacity, and charged with the responsibility of implementing the provisions of this statute with regard to individuals presently receiving welfare benefits.

II. Class Action

The plaintiff mothers who instituted this action in their own behalf and in behalf of their children moved for certification of this case as a class action under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) and (b)(2). Of course, the plaintiff mothers, as guardians of their respective children, may sue on their behalf. Thus, the children are not only proper, but necessary parties. However, some of the interests which the mothers urge relating to the subject matter of this action are neither typical of nor congruent with the interests of their children, but actually conflict with them in several respects. In light of this conflict of interests between the mothers and their children, the court, on its own motion, appointed counsel to represent the interests of the children.

It is clear that the plaintiffs, if regarded as members of a class which includes their children as well as themselves, do not meet the condition of Rule 23(a)(4) that "the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class." Since this is in all other respects properly a class under Rule 23, the obstacle presented by this claim to represent an overly broad class may easily be obviated by dividing the mothers and their children into appropriate separate subclasses. See 3B Moore's Federal Practice, § 23.07(3). The classes consist of:

(1) those mothers receiving AFDC assistance who refuse to comply with § 52-440b; and

(2) the illegitimate children of those mothers.

See Doe v. Shapiro, 302 F.Supp. 761, 762 n. 3 (D.Conn.1969), appeal dismissed, 396 U.S. 488, 90 S.Ct. 641, 24 L.Ed.2d 677, rehearing denied, 397 U.S. 970, 90 S.Ct. 991, 25 L.Ed.2d 264 (1970).

III. Claims

The plaintiffs allege that as applied to them Conn.Gen.Stats. § 52-440b violates several constitutional rights and safeguards, including due process, equal protection, and the right of privacy. In addition, they contend that the Connecticut statute is inconsistent with the underlying policies of the Act and is therefore invalid under the supremacy clause.

As will appear, their arguments in support of these contentions overlap and are variations of a single theme, namely that in the opinion of the plaintiff mothers the adverse consequences which mother and child may suffer by reason of the procedures employed by the state to enforce the uncontested obligation of a man to support his child born of an unwed mother far outweigh any resultant benefit to them or to society. Without questioning the sincerity with which the plaintiff mothers hold their views, it appears to the court that the legal semantics in which they have dressed their particular views about morality, propriety, and psychology do not furnish any constitutional or statutory basis for striking down Connecticut's statute. While some of their arguments are clearly non-starters which do not merit extended discussion, the court will consider all of them seriatim.

IV. Statutory Conflict

We proceed first to examine the merits of the plaintiffs' claim that Conn.Gen.Stats. § 52-440b is so in conflict with the AFDC Act that it must fall under the supremacy clause.⁵ The plaintiffs' principal argument is that this statute is "inconsistent with the basic purpose and objective of the Social Security Act." A brief analysis of relevant portions of that Act is needed to place their argument in proper context.

A. Social Security Act—AFDC

Under the AFDC program, in which Connecticut participates, financial assistance is provided for dependent children and their families. The program is financed with matching funds and administered by the states. As the Supreme Court has noted in King v. Smith, supra, 392 U.S. at 316-317, 88 S.Ct. at 2133:

"The AFDC program is based on a scheme of cooperative federalism. See generally Advisory Commission Report, supra, at 1-59. It is financed largely by the Federal Government, on a matching fund basis, and is administered by the States. States are not required to participate in the program, but those which desire to take advantage of the substantial federal funds available for distribution to needy children are required to submit an AFDC plan for the approval of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). 49 Stat. 627, 42 U. S.C. §§ 601, 602, 603, and 604. See Advisory Commission Report, supra, at 21-23. The plan must conform with several requirements of the Social Security Act and with rules and regulations promulgated by HEW. 49 Stat. 627, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 602 (1964 ed. Supp. II). See also HEW, Handbook of Public Assistance Administration, pt. IV, §§ 2200, 2300 . . . ." (Footnote omitted).

Within this broad statutory framework, the states are empowered to enact legislation intended to further the policies of the Act, with the caveat that in so doing they may not impinge on the constitutional rights of the recipients or contravene the supremacy clause by promulgating legislation squarely in conflict with the federal law. See, e. g., King v. Smith, supra, 392 U.S. at 318, 88 S.Ct. 2128. In testing whether the Connecticut statute contravenes the Act, we follow the instructions in New York State Dept. of Social Servies v. Dublino, 413 U.S. 405, 423 n. 29, 93 S.Ct. 2507, 2518, 37 L.Ed.2d 688 (1973) quoted in the margin.⁶

The AFDC program, as with many pieces of social welfare legislation, evidences disparate values and competing policies which often appear to be in conflict. We take as our touchstone the settled proposition that with regard to dependent children ". . . protection of such children is the paramount goal of AFDC." King v. Smith, supra, 392 U.S. at 325, 88 S.Ct. at 2137 (footnote omitted). Since the implementation of Connecticut's statute may lead to the incarceration of the mother of a dependent child, the plaintiffs contend that it is implacably inconsistent with that goal. For reasons which will appear, we cannot accept that assessment.

The AFDC statute contains a frank recognition of the importance of determining the paternity of those needy children born out of wedlock. Title 42 U.S. C. §§ 602(a)(17)(A)(i) and (ii) provide:

"(A) for the development and implementation of a program under which the State agency will undertake—

"(i) in the case of a child born out of wedlock who is receiving aid to families with dependent children, to establish the paternity of such child and secure support for him, and

"(ii) in the case of any child receiving such aid who has been deserted or abandoned by his parent, to secure support for such child from such parent (or from any any other person legally liable for such support), utilizing any reciprocal arrangements adopted with other States to obtain or enforce court orders for support . . . ."⁷

The question presented is thus not whether Connecticut may act to establish the paternity of and insure the paternal support for children who qualify for AFDC benefits, a proposition we find firmly established, but rather whether the procedure which it has selected to achieve this end is in such "direct and positive" conflict with the Act that "the two acts cannot `be reconciled or consistently stand together.'" Kelly v. Washington, 302 U.S. 1, 10, 58 S.Ct. 87, 92, 82 L.Ed. 3 (1937). See Snell v. Wyman, 281 F.Supp. 853, 869 (S.D.N.Y. 1968) (three-judge district court), aff'd, 393 U.S. 323, 89 S.Ct. 553, 21 L.Ed.2d 511 (1969).

B. The Connecticut Statute and Its History

In order to put the present case in perspective it is important to...