Hughes v. Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida

• Decision Date: 05 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. 03-21300-CIV.,03-21300-CIV.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida
• Parties: Christopher Scott HUGHES and Thomas Porter Cloyd, Petitioners, v. THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, the Honorable Joseph P. Farina, in his capacity as Chief Judge of The Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, The Honorable David H. Young, in his capacity as a Judge on The Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, and Charlie Crist, Attorney General of the State of Florida, Respondents.

274 F.Supp.2d 1334

Christopher Scott HUGHES and Thomas Porter Cloyd, Petitioners, v. THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, the Honorable Joseph P. Farina, in his capacity as Chief Judge of The Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, The Honorable David H. Young, in his capacity as a Judge on The Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, and Charlie Crist, Attorney General of the State of Florida, Respondents.

No. 03-21300-CIV.

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

August 5, 2003.

Jeffrey L. Freeman, Esq., Counsel for Petitioner Hughes, North Miami.

James K. Rubin, Esq., Counsel for Petitioner Hughes, North Miami Beach.

William M. Pearson, Esq., H. Eugene Lindsey, Esq., Beatrice Butchko, Esq., Counsel for Petitioner Cloyd, Ferrell Schultz Carter Zumpano & Fertel, PA, Miami.

Richard L. Polin, Esq., Counsel for Respondents, Office of the Attorney General, Miami.

Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami-Dade State Attorney, c/o Ron Ramsingh, Miami.

Hon. Joseph P. Farina, Miami.

Hon. David H. Young, Miami.

ORDER GRANTING CHRISTOPHER SCOTT HUGHES AND THOMAS PORTER CLOYD'S PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 2254

SEITZ, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus of Petitioners Christopher Scott Hughes ("Hughes") and Thomas Porter Cloyd ("Cloyd") pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Hughes and Cloyd, both former pilots for America West Airlines, seek to enjoin the State of Florida from criminally prosecuting them for operating a commercial aircraft while under the influence of alcohol. Hughes and Cloyd contend that federal law exclusively governs their actions as federally certified commercial airline pilots and preempts the state criminal laws under which the State seeks to prosecute them. The Attorney General of Florida, on behalf of the Respondents, maintains that the State has concurrent power to prosecute federally certified commercial airline pilots for operating an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol.

As the state trial has not yet begun, the first issue is whether the Court may properly intervene at this early stage of the state criminal proceedings, or whether abstention is required. Second, if abstention is not required, the Court must determine whether Hughes and Cloyd have met the statutory requirements for pretrial habeas relief by demonstrating that the State Courts' denial of their motion to dismiss the state charges on federal preemption grounds was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. In order to address both of these issues, the Court must determine whether federal law governing pilot qualifications and capacity to operate commercial aircraft in interstate commerce preempts the state criminal laws under which the State seeks to prosecute Hughes and Cloyd. Consideration of these issues requires recognition of the federal government's interests in maintaining and enforcing uniform, nationwide standards regulating the behavior of commercial airline pilots, and the State's interests in enforcing its criminal laws to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens.

Having considered Hughes and Cloyd's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Respondents' Response, the Reply thereto, Respondents' Supplemental Response and Supplemental Authorities, and having heard oral argument on this matter, the Court holds that federal law governing pilot qualifications and capacity to operate commercial aircraft in interstate commerce preempts the state criminal laws under which the State seeks to prosecute Hughes and Cloyd through both field and express preemption. Because preemption is readily apparent, the Court must not abstain from intervening in the state criminal proceedings. Additionally, Hughes and Cloyd have demonstrated that the State Courts unreasonably applied clearly established federal law to the facts in this case. Thus, the Court must grant the petition, order the State Courts to discharge Hughes and Cloyd from the State's custody, quash the state criminal proceedings, and enjoin the State from taking any further criminal action against Hughes and Cloyd for the actions described in State of Florida v. Christopher Scott Hughes and Thomas Porter Cloyd, Case No. F02-019207B.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On July 1, 2002, First Officer Hughes and Captain Cloyd, both federally certified airmen at the time, boarded America West Airlines Flight 566 in preparation for a commercial flight from Miami, Florida to Phoenix, Arizona. Shortly after Flight 566 pushed back from the gate at Miami International Airport with Hughes and Cloyd at the controls, officers from the Miami-Dade County Police Department contacted the Transportation Security Administration and asked for permission to recall Flight 566 based upon tips from officials at the security checkpoint that the pilots smelled of alcohol. After the Transportation Security Administration granted permission and air traffic control recalled the plane to the gate, Miami-Dade police officers interviewed the pilots.

Approximately two hours later, Miami-Dade police took Hughes and Cloyd to the station and administered breathalyzer tests. The results of those tests revealed that both Hughes and Cloyd had breath-alcohol levels exceeding the 0.08 limit under Florida criminal law, exceeding the 0.04 federal regulatory limit, but not exceeding the federal criminal limit of 0.10. As a result of the breathalyzer tests, America West permanently fired Hughes and Cloyd, and the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") permanently revoked their airmen and medical certificates.

Thereafter, on July 22, 2002, the State filed a two-count Information criminally charging Hughes and Cloyd with operating an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol in violation of Fla. Stat. §§ 316.193(1)(c)¹ and 860.13(1)(a).² Hughes and Cloyd pleaded "not guilty" to all state charges. The State Circuit Court Judge released both Hughes and Cloyd on bail pending trial which is presently set for October, 2003.

On September 4, 2002, Hughes and Cloyd moved to dismiss the state criminal charges, arguing that the State Circuit Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the acts alleged in the Information because federal law preempts state law in the area of pilot qualification and capacity to operate commercial aircraft in interstate commerce.³ On October 23, 2002, the State Circuit Court conducted a hearing on Hughes and Cloyd's motion and denied their request to dismiss the Information without written opinion.⁴ Thereafter, Hughes and Cloyd filed a Petition for Writ of Prohibition with the Third District Court of Appeal, challenging the State Circuit Court's ruling. On January 9, 2003, the Third District Court of Appeal held oral argument and denied Hughes and Cloyd's petition without opinion. The Third District Court of Appeal also considered Petitioners' motions for rehearing and written opinion, motion for certification of great public importance, and motion for rehearing en banc, and denied those motions without opinion.⁵

Having exhausted their state remedies, Hughes and Cloyd petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, asking this Court to discharge them from the State's custody, quash the state proceedings, and enjoin the State from taking any further action against them.⁶ Hughes and Cloyd contend that federal habeas relief is appropriate for two reasons. First, they argue that they have satisfied the threshold requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2254 because: (a) they are in custody pursuant to a state court judgment; and (b) they have exhausted their available state court remedies.⁷ Second, Hughes and Cloyd also maintain that federal law preempts state law in the area of pilot qualification and capacity to operate commercial aircraft in interstate commerce, and therefore, the State lacks jurisdiction to prosecute them.

Hughes and Cloyd premise their federal preemption arguments primarily on field preemption. Specifically, they argue that Congress has impliedly preempted the field of law governing the qualifications and capacity of pilots operating commercial aircraft in interstate commerce through the comprehensive scheme of federal regulations under 49 U.S.C. § 44701 et seq.,⁸ and the federal criminal prohibitions against piloting a commercial aircraft while intoxicated pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 341-343.⁹ In the alternative, Hughes and Cloyd maintain that Congress has expressly preempted the same area of law under 14 C.F.R. Pt. 121, App. I, § XI.¹⁰

In response, Respondents make two main arguments. First, that pursuant to Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971), the Court should abstain from interfering with the State Court criminal proceedings until those proceedings have been completed, i.e., until Hughes and Cloyd have been tried and found guilty. Second, that Petitioners have not demonstrated that the State Courts' refusal to dismiss the state prosecution on grounds of federal preemption were either contrary to or involved an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).¹¹

II. ABSTENTION

Federal courts must not interfere with pending state criminal proceedings in the absence of extraordinary circumstances demonstrating a great and immediate threat of irreparable injury. Younger, 401 U.S. at 46, 91 S.Ct. 746; Kolski v. Watkins, 544 F.2d 762, 764-65 (5th Cir. 1977).¹² This longstanding policy is grounded in two legal principles. The first "is the basic doctrine of equity jurisprudence that courts, of equity should not act, and particularly should not act to restrain a criminal prosecution, when the moving party has an adequate remedy at law and will not suffer irreparable injury if denied equitable relief." Younger, 401 U.S. at 43-44, 91 S.Ct. 746. The second is "the notion of `comity,' that is, a proper respect for state...