Gonzales v. Shea
| Decision Date | 09 October 1970 |
| Docket Number | C-2066.,Civ. A. No. C-1920 |
| Parties | Juana Perez GONZALES, Ramon Vargas and Narcissa Vargas, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Con F. SHEA, individually and as Director of the Colorado Department of Social Services, Charline J. Birkins, individually and as Director of the Colorado State Division of Public Welfare, Peter Samac, Ernest J. Bloedorn, Damian P. Ducy, John L. Haley, James A. Henderson, Gail F. Ouren, Henry J. Tupper, Willie E. Anthony, James H. Vincent, individually and as constituting the Colorado State Board of Social Services, Bernard Valdez, individually and as Manager of the Denver Department of Welfare of the City and County of Denver, Orlando Romero, individually and as Director of the Denver Department of Welfare of the City and County of Denver, and all other persons similarly situated, Defendants. Soledad NAVA and Francisca Ayala, individually and on behalf of all persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Con F. SHEA, individually and as Director of the Colorado Department of Social Services, Charline J. Birkins, individually and as Director of the Colorado State Division of Public Welfare, Peter Samac, Ernest J. Bloedorn, Damian P. Ducy, John L. Haley, James A. Henderson, Gail F. Ouren, Henry J. Tupper, Willie E. Anthony, James H. Vincent, individually and as constituting the Colorado State Board of Social Services, William R. Maddock, individually and as Supervisor of the Adult Services and Medical Division of the Pueblo County Department of Public Welfare, Robert N. Trunk, individually and as Supervisor of the Eligibility Division of the Pueblo County Department of Public Welfare, and James H. Walch, individually and as Director of the Pueblo County Department of Public Welfare, and all other persons similarly situated, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
Richard F. Hennessey, Kim B. Batcheller, Ruthanne Polidori, Robert P. Vogel, Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Denver, Denver, Colo., A. Andrew Borg, Colorado Rural Legal Services, Inc., Greeley, Colo., Robert P. Borsody, Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law, New York City, of counsel, for plaintiffs Gonzales and others.
Albert G. Davis, Theron Pray O'Connor, Pueblo County Legal Services, Inc., Pueblo, Colo., for plaintiffs Nava and others.
Frank A. Elzi, Asst. City Atty., Denver, Colo., for defendants Bernard Valdez and Orlando Romero.
Duke W. Dunbar, Atty. Gen., John P. Moore, Deputy Atty. Gen., by Douglas D. Doane, Special Asst. Atty. Gen., Denver, Colo., for defendants Con F. Shea, Charline J. Birkins, and members of Colorado State Board of Social Services.
Edwin K. McMartin, Pueblo, Colo., for defendants William R. Maddock and James H. Walch.
Robert N. Trunk, pro se.
Before BREITENSTEIN, Senior Circuit Judge, and ARRAJ and DOYLE, District Judges.
Involved herein is the question of constitutionality of the Colorado Old Age Pension amendment. The basis for the attack is its requirement of United States citizenship. The plaintiffs, who are noncitizens of the United States, maintain that this amendment is discriminatory and invalid under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. United States citizenship is an absolute requirement for all three categories of Old Age Pension assistance pursuant to Article XXIV, Section 3 of the Colorado Constitution and Colo.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 101-1-4(1) (a) (f) and § 101-1-5(1) (a) (c) (1963).
Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 and Rule 57 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure declaring Article XXIV, Section 3 of the Colorado Constitution, Colo.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 101-1-4(a) (f) and any enforcement thereof, and related rules, regulations and policies pursuant thereto invalid and unconstitutional, insofar as these laws require United States citizenship as an absolute condition of eligibility for Old Age Pension; and also demand that this Court permanently enjoin the defendants from enforcing the Article, C.R.S. § 101-1-4 and related regulations, rules and policies pursuant thereto insofar as these laws result in an unconstitutional and illegal denial of Old Age Pension benefits solely on the basis of lack of U. S. citizenship of the applicant.
Plaintiffs have filed this class action pursuant to Rule 23(a) and (b) (2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on behalf of themselves and all persons similarly situated—i. e., all other persons who are resident aliens of the United States and residents of the State of Colorado who would be eligible for and entitled to receive benefits under Colorado's Old Age Pension program except that they do not meet the citizenship requirement. They contend that the citizenship requirement (1) denied them equal protection of the laws, due process of law, and the right to travel freely interstate; and (2) is contrary to Title 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (1964) which secures to all persons the full and equal benefits of all laws for their security.
Jurisdiction of the Court is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3) and (4), 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202, this being an action for declaratory and injunctive relief to redress the deprivation under color of state law of rights, privileges and immunities secured to plaintiffs by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Plaintiffs seek to enjoin a state statute on constitutional grounds which are not insubstantial; a three-judge court has been convened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2281 and 2284. The matter has been heard and the cause now stands submitted.
From the factual material which has been presented and which is in the file, it would appear that the plaintiffs are not being deprived altogether of public assistance. They now receive aid under one of the categorical programs, either Aid to Needy Disabled or income from Social Security. Thus, their argument is that they would receive a greater sum of money if they were declared eligible for Old Age Pension.
The particular facts at hand pertaining to the plaintiffs are as follows:
A. Juana Perez Gonzales
This plaintiff has received Aid to Families with Dependent Children from 1947 to 1956 and since 1956 has received Aid to Needy Disabled (AND) due to medical problems. At present, she receives $32.00 from AND and $60.30 from Social Security benefits, making a total of $92.30 per month income from all sources. Mrs. Gonzales states that if she were a U. S. citizen she would be eligible for $130.00 per month from Old Age Pension.1
B. Ramon Vargas and Narcissa Vargas
Mr. Vargas worked in the Colorado beetfields from 1923 to 1948. He has received some form of public assistance since 1948. His wife and he both receive AND with a total grant of $143.00. He states that he is allotted $15.00 per month for a special diet, but does not state if that is in addition to or included in the $143.00 figure. Mr. Vargas states: "My wife and I together would be eligible for $262.00 per month compared to our current $143.00 per month combined income."
Mrs. Vargas receives AND which includes a $9.00 per month special dietary need allowance.2 She maintains that if she were a citizen, she would receive $130.00 per month or $262.00 per month for both herself and her husband. On the basis of the new minimum allotment of $134.00 per month, Mr. and Mrs. Vargas would be entitled to receive a total of $268.00 per month or $125.00 per month more than their present combined income of $143.00.
C. Lupe Bueno (Intervenor)
Mr. Bueno's wife presently receives $105.00 per month in Old Age Pension benefits; he and his wife presently receive $69.00 per month in Social Security benefits; and he presently receives $15.00 per month in medical benefits. Mr. Bueno does not qualify for AND, according to defendants, because his family income exceeds AND standards of the State of Colorado.3 Assuming that Lupe Bueno receives $35.00,4 his present income would appear to amount to $50.00 per month. If he were eligible for Old Age Pension (OAP), his monthly income would be increased to $134.00 or by an additional amount of $84.00 per month.
As noted above, the Colorado pension law is in the form of a constitutional amendment and is set forth in detail in Article XXIV, Sections 1-9. This amendment originated with the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq. Prior to the passage of this amendment Colorado had a poor law which paid approximately $8.15. At this time a movement was in progress to adopt the so-called Townsend Plan which would have paid every citizen in the nation $200.00 per month at age 60. This philosophy was rejected as unrealistic, and the amendment was authored by Chief Justice O. Otto Moore who is generally recognized as "the father of the Old Age Pension amendment." At the time this amendment guaranteed to eligible persons the sum of $45.00 per month. It was written, according to Justice Moore, as a program of social insurance.5
Moreover, an effort was made to draft a law having a sound economic and legal basis. Among the sources consulted by Justice Moore in this effort was The Report of the President's Committee on Economic Security. A portion of this report was written into the amendment.6
Apparently this report was the origin of the citizenship requirement, and this dispels any notion that it had an invidious purpose or motive. In the years following, the presence of this requirement was never challenged, notwithstanding that it was embattled on many occasions through the years.7 Efforts were made to repeal the amendment at the polls on several occasions. These all failed.
Perhaps the outstanding feature of the pension fund program is its trust fund character. Section 1 of the Article provides for the creation of a special fund in the Treasury of the ...
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