Lee v. Minner

• Decision Date: 16 August 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-3329.,05-3329.
• Citation: 458 F.3d 194
• Parties: Matthew LEE v. Ruth Ann MINNER, in her official capacity as Governor of the State of Delaware; M. Jane Brady, in her official capacity as Attorney General of the State of Delaware, Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

458 F.3d 194

Matthew LEE v. Ruth Ann MINNER, in her official capacity as Governor of the State of Delaware; M. Jane Brady, in her official capacity as Attorney General of the State of Delaware, Appellants.

No. 05-3329.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued May 9, 2006.

Opinion Filed August 16, 2006.

W. Michael Tupman, (Argued), Delaware Department of Justice Dover, DE, for Appellant.

David C. Vladeck, (Argued), Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, for Appellee.

Lucy A. Dalglish The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Arlington, VA,1 for Amicus Curiae-Appellee.

Before BARRY and SMITH, Circuit Judges, and DITTER, District Judge.^*

OPINION OF THE COURT

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

The question presented in this appeal is whether Delaware's Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 29 Del.Code Ann. § 10003, violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the United States Constitution by restricting noncitizens' rights to access, inspect, and copy public documents. We conclude that it does. Accordingly, we will affirm the District Court's orders granting summary judgment in favor of Matthew Lee and enjoining the State of Delaware from limiting FOIA benefits to its own citizens.

I.

Plaintiff-Appellee Matthew Lee is a citizen of New York. He serves as the Executive Director of Inner City Press/Community on the Move, a community and consumer organization based in New York City. He is also a lawyer and author. Much of Lee's published work focuses on alleged predatory practices of banks and other financial service companies and the regulation of these entities by state and federal authorities. Lee regularly publishes articles on these issues in print media and online sources. In addition to these activities, Lee submits testimony and public comments on behalf of Inner City Press/Community on the Move to banking and other regulatory agencies on related topics.

On January 12, 2003, Lee requested records from Delaware's Attorney General regarding Delaware's decision to join a nationwide settlement with Household International, Inc., resolving an investigation into Household's deceptive lending practices. The request was made pursuant to Delaware's FOIA. Ten days later, State Solicitor Malcolm Cobin sent Lee a letter denying his request. In relevant part, the letter stated:

You request records of this office relating to the recent settlement with Household International Inc. and "for actions by your office on Household's continuing predatory lending and insurance in connection therewith." Your request is hereby denied. Pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10003, "All public records shall be open to inspection and copying by any citizen of the State during regular business hours ..." Your address indicates that you are not a citizen and therefore would not be entitled to inspect and copy public records under FOIA.

App. at 167.¹

On September 3, 2003, Lee again requested information pursuant to § 10003 regarding the Household settlement, including any records related to a potential conflict of interest. State Solicitor Cobin denied Lee's request, citing the reasons set forth in his previous letter.

On November 24, 2003, Lee filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Governor Ruth Ann Minner and Attorney General M. Jane Brady,² alleging that the citizenship requirement in Delaware's FOIA violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the United States Constitution. Delaware filed an answer and, on January 14, 2004, Lee moved for summary judgment. Delaware objected, indicating that it would need to take discovery to determine whether the citizenship requirement interfered with Lee's fundamental right to engage in his trade as a journalist. The Court deferred consideration of Lee's summary judgment motion and set a discovery schedule. Lee and Cobin were the only two witnesses deposed. After the close of discovery, Lee renewed his motion for summary judgment and Delaware filed a cross-motion for summary judgment.

On May 13, 2004, the District Court issued an order granting summary judgment in favor of Lee and denying Delaware's cross-motion. In its accompanying opinion, the Court explained that Delaware's citizen-only provision violated Lee's fundamental right to "practice his common calling as a journalist and consumer activist on the same terms and conditions" as Delaware citizens who share his profession and to "engage in the political process with regard to matters of both national political and economic importance." App. at 18, 21. The Court also considered Delaware's argument that the citizenship requirement is substantially related to the State's interest in "defin[ing] the political community and strengthen[ing] the bond between citizens and their government officials." Id. at 22 (citation omitted). Although the Court acknowledged that the State's asserted interest might be valid in other contexts, it concluded that, in this case, Delaware had failed to "demonstrate[] how allowing noncitizens access to the same public information available to the State's citizens impedes or thwarts those interests." Id. at 22. It further explained:

If, as Defendants contend, one of the goals of the FOIA is to strengthen the bond between citizens and their government by ensuring transparency and accountability in government, then nonresidents are no more a threat to this goal than residents. Indeed, consumer advocates and journalists like [Lee] are particularly suited to advancing the goals of transparency and accountability, whether they are Delaware citizens or not, and it is difficult to understand how such external scrutiny might undermine the bond between citizens and their government.

Id. at 24. The Court also issued an order permanently enjoining Delaware's Attorney General "from refusing to honor or respond to [FOIA] requests ... on the basis of the requestor's residency or citizenship" and directing the Attorney General to "process and evaluate FOIA requests from nonresidents or noncitizens in the same manner in which FOIA requests from citizens of Delaware are processed and evaluated." Id. at 34-35.

After the District Court entered the injunction, Delaware sought a stay pending appeal. The District Court denied the motion for a stay. Delaware filed this timely appeal, challenging the Court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Lee and the order granting Lee's request for injunctive relief.

II.

The District Court exercised jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Because the District Court entered a final order, this Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

Our review of a District Court's order granting summary judgment is plenary. Camiolo v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 334 F.3d 345, 354 (3d Cir.2003). We apply the standard set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), under which we may affirm the District Court's order if, when viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, there is "no genuine issue as to any material fact ... and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c).

III.

Article IV, section 2 of the United States Constitution provides that "[t]he Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States." U.S. Const. art. IV, § 2. The Privileges and Immunities Clause was designed to "fuse into one Nation a collection of independent sovereign States," Toomer v. Witsell, 334 U.S. 385, 395, 68 S.Ct. 1156, 92 L.Ed. 1460 (1948), and its object was "to place the citizens of each State upon the same footing ... so far as the advantages resulting from citizenship in those States are concerned," Paul v. Virginia, 8 Wall. 168, 75 U.S. 168, 180, 19 L.Ed. 357 (1868). As the Supreme Court explained, "[t]he section, in effect, prevents a State from discriminating against citizens of other States in favor of its own." Hague v. CIO, 307 U.S. 496, 511, 59 S.Ct. 954, 83 L.Ed. 1423 (1939).

The Supreme Court has set forth a three-prong test to determine whether a state action or policy violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause. See Toomer, 334 U.S. at 396, 68 S.Ct. 1156; A.L. Blades & Sons, Inc. v. Yerusalim, 121 F.3d 865, 870 (3d Cir.1997). Under that test, a court must: (1) determine whether the policy at issue burdens a right protected by the Privileges and Immunities Clause; (2) consider whether the state has a "substantial reason" for the discriminatory practice; and (3) evaluate whether the practice bears a substantial relationship to the state's objectives. See Toomer, 334 U.S. at 396, 68 S.Ct. 1156; Supreme Court of New Hampshire v. Piper, 470 U.S. 274, 284, 105 S.Ct. 1272, 84 L.Ed.2d 205 (1985); A.L. Blades, 121 F.3d at 870.

We agree with the District Court that the citizens-only provision of Delaware's Freedom of Information Act burdens noncitizens' right to "engage in the political process with regard to matters of national political and economic importance." Although in some cases the State's asserted objective of "defining its political community" might justify a discriminatory practice, in this case, there is an insufficient nexus between the State's policy of excluding noncitizens from receiving FOIA benefits and that objective. For that reason, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court.

A.

The first prong of the Supreme Court's test requires us to determine whether the right asserted by the plaintiff is protected by the Privileges and Immunities Clause. The contours of the Privileges and Immunities Clause, however, have not been "precisely shaped by the process and wear of constant litigation and judicial interpretation," and the reach of the Clause is not "well developed." See Baldwin v. Fish & Game Comm'n of Montana, 436 U.S. 371, 379-80, 98 S.Ct. 1852, 56 L.Ed.2d 354 (1978). Consequently, in deciding whether a given right is protected under Article IV,...