Shoemaker v. Handel, Civ. No. 85-1770.
| Decision Date | 09 September 1985 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 85-1770. |
| Citation | 619 F. Supp. 1089 |
| Parties | William SHOEMAKER, Angel Cordero, Jr., William Herbert McCauley, Philip Grove and Vincent Bracciole, Plaintiffs, v. Hal HANDEL, Executive Director of the New Jersey Racing Commission, Samuel A. Boulmetis, Steward Representing NJ Racing Commission, Joseph F. Piarulli, Associate Steward, Carl H. Hanford, Associate Steward and Richard W. Lawrenson, Associate Steward, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
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William L. Bowe, Bowe & Rakinic, Woodbury, N.J., and Edward A. Rudley, Philadelphia, Pa., for plaintiffs.
Irwin I. Kimmelman, Atty. Gen. of N.J. by Steven Wallach, Deputy Atty. Gen., Richard J. Hughes, Trenton, N.J., for defendants.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
This is an action under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, by which plaintiffs seek relief from persons acting under color or authority of state law, who allegedly deprive them of their constitutional rights. Plaintiffs are thoroughbred race horse jockeys who complain that the New Jersey Racing Commission's regulations authorizing breathalyzer and urine tests for alcohol and drug use violate several of their constitutionally protected freedoms. They seek a declaratory judgment and permanent injunction against their enforcement. This court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343.
Plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the enforcement of the contested regulations on April 17, 1985, the date they filed this complaint. On April 24, 1985, oral argument was heard on this motion. This court, on May 13, 1985, issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions of law, in which it denied plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction, ordered changes in the medical disclosure forms used, and directed the state to resolve any ambiguities which might exist in the regulations.1 The court also set an expedited schedule for discovery and a full bench hearing. On June 18, 19, 21 and July 1, 1985, this court heard testimony as to whether a permanent injunction should issue. For the reasons provided below, the court upholds the constitutionality of these regulations.
The following constitute Findings of Fact and are considered true in all respects.
1. Plaintiffs William Shoemaker, Angel Cordero, Jr., William Herbert McCauley, Philip Grove, and Vincent Bracciole are all nationally known thoroughbred race horse jockeys licensed by the State of New Jersey who have won, over their careers, thousands of individual races.2 Their performances have captured the imagination and loyal following of millions of Americans.
2. Defendants include Hal Handel, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Racing Commission; Samuel A. Boulmetis, a former jockey and presently State Steward and Assistant Stewards Joseph F. Piarulli, Carl H. Handford, and Richard W. Lawrenson, Associate Stewards, all representing the Racing Commission at the "race meeting" held at Garden State Park, Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
3. Horse racing is a publicly sponsored sport featuring legalized gambling by members of the general public, which, in turn, generates revenue for the state treasury. Its economic impact is broad. When a fire destroyed the Garden State Racetrack in Cherry Hill several years ago, the State Legislature specifically found that it should "be reopened as soon as possible so that economic benefits of an operating track and its attendant service industries will once again flow into the area — and to the State as a whole." N.J.S.A. 5:5-94(c).
4. Jockeys must be in total control of their mental faculties and physical capabilities. Racing requires acute alertness, coordination, skill and reflex ability. The risk of serious injury is apparent considering the speed and number of horses running in a confined area, and is greatly increased if a jockey participates while under the influence of alcohol or controlled dangerous substances.
5. The court can take judicial notice that alcohol and drug abuse is a serious national problem, which could involve upwards of ten percent of the total population. Recent media attention has focused on this problem as it affects professional and amateur athletes. Dr. Robert Pandina, Associate Professor of Psychology at the Center of Alcohol Studies, testified that the degree of risk of drug abuse among athletes is the same as for the general public. TR, Pandina at p. 9. Unannounced drug screening tests administered to minor league baseball players have resulted in between five and thirty percent of those tested recording a "positive" for some drug use. Id.
6. Raymond Edward Deputy has been the State Steward for the Delaware Harness Racing Commission since 1977. He testified that the Commission has administered breathalyzer tests since 1969 and urine tests since 1982 to harness drivers on a random basis. TR, Deputy at pp. 32-33. Three to five drivers are required to give urine samples each week. The alcohol testing program produces five to six "positives" each year. Over five hundred harness drivers have been tested for drugs. Fully 14.2% of the drivers tested "positive" for drug use. Id. at 34.
7. Samuel A. Boulmetis has been the State Steward for the Thoroughbred Racing in New Jersey. He has seen "several" people "drunk" or "high" in the Jockey's Room. However, although Boulmetis served as the State Steward at the Meadowlands in 1984, he did not see any jockey at the track impaired prior to a race during that period. He spent an average of fifteen minutes in the Jockey's Room each night. TR, Boulmetis at pp. 20-21. One year ago, two jockeys were found with cocaine at the race track in New Jersey, TR, Bruce Garland, Deputy Director of the New Jersey Racing Commission, at p. 84.
8. Each jockey which testified, with the exception of McCauley, observed other persons impaired at the race track — "six" for Bracciole, "three" for Grove, and "three or four" for Anthony Samuel Black.
9. A review of the National Association of State Racing Commissions Bulletins reveals that in 1984, eleven jockeys were disciplined in eight states and one Canadian province for involvement with drugs. Garland Affidavit at ¶ 7, citing Letter of Charles K. Bradley, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, N.J. Racing Commission dated January 7, 1985.
10. No evidence has been introduced linking a jockey's drug-related impairment with an accident during a race. One accident in Pennsylvania has been linked to alcohol use by a jockey. The vast majority of racing accidents are caused by injuries to the horses.
11. The New Jersey State Legislature has enacted strict controls over horse racing. N.J.S.A. 5:5-22 et seq.3 It established the New Jersey Racing Commission ("Commission") and vested it with the broad powers necessary to supervise the industry, including the "full power to prescribe rules, regulations and conditions under which all horse racing shall be conducted...." N.J.S.A. 5:5-30. These regulations apply to "all racetracks, all race meetings and all persons and to all matters" within its jurisdiction. N.J.A.C. 13:70-1.1 et seq.
12. These regulations apply to jockeys, who are also required to be licensed, and regulates race tracks such as Garden State and Monmouth Parks.4
13. To combat alcohol and drug use at the racetrack, the Commission promulgated regulations authorizing the use of breathalyzer tests to detect the presence of alcohol in the blood of jockeys, trainers, officials, and grooms, N.J.A.C. 13:70-14A.10, and urinalyses to detect the presence of controlled dangerous substances not authorized by a valid prescription from a physician. N.J.A.C. 13:70-14A.11. (See Regulations attached hereto as Appendix A). These regulations were proposed on June 18, 1984, N.J.R. 1457(a), adopted on January 14, 1985, 17 N.J.R. 470, became effective on February 19, 1985, and operational on April 1, 1985, the first day of thoroughbred racing in New Jersey following their adoption. Garland, who has primary responsibility relating to the rules and regulations of the Commission, testified that the purpose of the regulations was three-fold: (1) to promote the Commission's primary goal of increasing the safety of participants in the race, (2) to promote the integrity and public perception of the cleanliness of the industry, and (3) to rehabilitate those who are found to abuse alcohol and drugs.
14. Oral and written notice of the adoption of these rules were provided to all persons affected and to the Jockey's Guild. TR, Garland at p. 44. Notices were posted at the race tracks. Garland Affidavit at ¶ 11. Each jockey who applied for a 1985 license received a package containing a letter from Commission Executive Director Hal Handel, a sample certification form used for the drug test, and copies of the new regulations. Id. The Commission announced at its monthly meeting that the effective date of these rules, April 1, 1985. Id. On April 1, 1985, a meeting was held at Garden State Park among representatives of the jockeys, the Jockey's Guild, and the Commission, during which the Commission explained the new regulations. Id.
15. The Jockey's Guild unsuccessfully sought to have the Commission defer implementation of the new regulations until a court test of their constitutionality could be made.
16. The Commission's breathalyzer rule is modeled after the harness breathalyzer rule in effect since 1969. TR, Garland at p. 44. It provides as follows:
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