Hughes v. Attorney General of Florida
| Decision Date | 21 July 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 03-14122.,03-14122. |
| Citation | 377 F.3d 1258 |
| Parties | Christopher Scott HUGHES, Thomas Porter Cloyd, Petitioners-Appellees, v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA, Charlie Crist, Respondent-Appellant, Air Line Pilots Association, Amicus Curiae. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
Richard L. Polin, Miami, FL, Christopher M. Kise, Christopher M. Kise,, Tallahassee, FL, for Respondent-Appellant.
Jeffrey L. Freeman, Miami, FL, Harold Eugene Lindsey, Ferrell, Schultz, Carter, Zumpano & Fertel, P.A., Miami, FL, James K. Rubin, Law Offices of Barry T. Shevlin, N. Miami Beach, FL, for Petitioners-Appellees.
Jerry D. Anker, Airline Pilots Ass'n, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae, Air Line Pilots Ass'n, Intern.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Before ANDERSON, HULL and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
This case involves two airline pilots who have been charged with violating Florida criminal statutes prohibiting the operation of an aircraft while intoxicated. Prior to the commencement of the state criminal trial, and after making pre-trial motions in that case, the pilots filed the instant action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeking pretrial habeas relief from their pending criminal trial in state court. They assert that the Florida statutes at issue are preempted by federal law; they seek, inter alia, to enjoin the state criminal proceedings. The district court, after determining that it should not abstain from deciding the case, agreed with the pilots that both express and field preemption preempted the Florida criminal statutes at issue. The Florida Attorney General appealed the district court's grant of habeas relief. Because we find the preemption claims in the instant case are not facially conclusive, we reverse the district court; we hold that the district court should have abstained.
On the morning of July 1, 2002, Christopher Scott Hughes and Thomas Porter Cloyd (appellees), America West pilots at the time, reported to America West Flight 566 for a flight from Miami to Phoenix. Upon passing through a security checkpoint at Miami International Airport, officials smelled alcohol on appellees. The officials subsequently reported this to the Miami-Dade County Police. Appellees, in the meantime, boarded Flight 566, and after performing pre-flight checks and the boarding of passengers, the pilots pushed away from the terminal at Miami International Airport. However, before takeoff, the pilots were instructed to taxi back to the gate, whereupon they were interviewed by Miami-Dade police officers, and approximately two hours later were taken to a Miami-Dade police station where the officers administered breathalyser tests to both appellees. The breathalyser results were 0.084 and 0.081 breath alcohol level for Hughes and 0.091 and 0.090 breath alcohol level for Cloyd. Appellees were subsequently charged with operating an aircraft while intoxicated,1 operating a vehicle while intoxicated,2 and culpable negligence under Florida state law. Prior to their criminal trial in Florida state court, appellees filed motions to dismiss both of the informations for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the basis of federal preemption, which the state trial court denied. Appellees then pursued the matter through the Florida appellate courts. The parties agree that the issue has been exhausted.
Appellees then filed a pre-trial petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Appellees claimed that federal law preempted the Florida state statutes under which appellees were being prosecuted and therefore the district court should, inter alia, enjoin the state criminal proceedings.
The district court granted appellees the relief they sought, directing the State of Florida to discharge appellees, quashing the state criminal proceedings, and enjoining the State of Florida from taking any further action in the matter. Hughes v. Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Fla., 274 F.Supp.2d 1334, 1336 (S.D.Fla.2003). The district court decided that abstention would be inappropriate in the present case. Id. at 1340. After citing the general rule, announced in Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 46, 91 S.Ct. 746, 751, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971), that federal courts should not interfere with pending state court criminal proceedings, the district court went on to discuss an exception to this rule — that a federal court may intervene in extraordinary circumstances, such as when a state statute is found to be "flagrantly and patently violative of express constitutional prohibitions in every clause, sentence and paragraph, and in whatever manner and against whomever an effort might be made to apply it." Hughes, 274 F.Supp.2d at 1340 (quoting Younger, 401 U.S. at 53-54, 91 S.Ct. at 755). The district court, citing Baggett v. Dep't of Prof'l Reg., 717 F.2d 521, 524 (11th Cir.1983), noted that this Circuit has held that such intervention is permitted where a petitioner demonstrates that federal preemption of state law is "readily apparent." Hughes, 274 F.Supp.2d at 1340. The district court then determined that the preemption of the state law in the present case is readily apparent, and thus it was appropriate to intervene. Id. The district court concluded that federal law preempts state law in the area of pilot qualification and capacity to operate regularly scheduled commercial flights in interstate commerce, and that the instant Florida criminal statutes fell within this category, and thus were preempted. Id. at 1346.
The present habeas petition was initially brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. However, because this petition for habeas relief is a pre-trial petition it would only be properly asserted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. See Medberry v. Crosby, 351 F.3d 1049, 1060 (11th Cir.2003), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 124 S.Ct. 2098, 158 L.Ed.2d 714 (2004) ( ); Stacey v. Warden, Apalachee Corr. Inst., 854 F.2d 401, 403 n. 1 (11th Cir.1988) (). Even though the district court applied the standards appropriate for § 2254 petitions, instead of dismissing appellees' petition as improperly brought pursuant to § 2254, we will treat appellees' petition as if brought pursuant to § 2241(c), and review the petition accordingly.3 In the present case petitioners have met the exhaustion requirements necessary to obtain relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241.4
When a petitioner seeks federal habeas relief prior to a pending state criminal trial the petitioner must satisfy the "Younger abstention hurdles" before the federal courts can grant such relief. Kolski v. Watkins, 544 F.2d 762, 766 (5th Cir.1977).5 Therefore, before turning to the preemption issue in earnest, we must first determine whether the district court should have abstained from deciding the present case. We review a Younger abstention decision for an abuse of discretion. 31 Foster Children v. Bush, 329 F.3d 1255, 1274 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 124 S.Ct. 483, 157 L.Ed.2d 376 (2003). However, it would be an abuse of the district court's discretion to apply an inappropriate legal standard or fail to follow the proper procedures in making its determination. Boyes v. Shell Oil Prods. Co., 199 F.3d 1260, 1265 (11th Cir.2000).
In Younger, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669, the Supreme Court established that "absent extraordinary circumstances federal courts should not enjoin pending state criminal prosecutions." New Orleans Pub. Serv., Inc. v. Council of New Orleans, 491 U.S. 350, 364, 109 S.Ct. 2506, 2516, 105 L.Ed.2d 298 (1989) (NOPSI). This decision was based not on jurisdiction, but on the principles of equity and comity. NOPSI, 491 U.S. at 364, 109 S.Ct. at 2516 (citing Younger, 401 U.S. at 43-44, 91 S.Ct. at 750). Federal courts have consistently recognized this limitation on enjoining state criminal prosecutions unless one of a few narrow exceptions is met.6
In the present case, the pertinent exception is the exception for irreparable injury.7 See Younger, 401 U.S. at 46-48, 91 S.Ct. at 751-53. The Supreme Court has noted that irreparable injury may be shown if a state statute is "flagrantly and patently violative of express constitutional prohibitions in every clause, sentence and paragraph, and in whatever manner and against whomever an effort might be made to apply it."8 Id. at 53-54, 91 S.Ct. at 755. Before turning to the application of this exception in the instant case, we must first discuss the Baggett, 717 F.2d 521, decision from this Circuit, as well as the Supreme Court's subsequent decision in NOPSI, 491 U.S. 350, 109 S.Ct. 2506, 105 L.Ed.2d 298, and how those cases inform our analysis in the instant case.
In Baggett, 717 F.2d 521, this Court addressed the issue of Younger abstention as it relates to federal preemption. We held that the state administrative agency attempting to enforce state regulations upon a tugboat pilot had no competence to proceed because of preemption by federal statutes. Id. at 523-24. Although the district court in Baggett noted that federal statutes and regulations preempted the state regulations at issue in the case, the district court nevertheless concluded that Younger abstention was appropriate because the plaintiff had failed...
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