Wyoming ex rel. Crank v. U.S.

• Decision Date: 26 August 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-8046.,07-8046.
• Citation: 539 F.3d 1236
• Parties: State of WYOMING, ex rel. Patrick J. CRANK, Wyoming Attorney General, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Carl J. Truscott, in his official capacity as Director of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; David H. Chipman, in his official capacity as Chief, Firearms Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Defendants-Appellees, Gun Owners Foundation; The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the National Center for Victims of Crime, Amici Curiae.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

539 F.3d 1236

State of WYOMING, ex rel. Patrick J. CRANK, Wyoming Attorney General, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Carl J. Truscott, in his official capacity as Director of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; David H. Chipman, in his official capacity as Chief, Firearms Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Defendants-Appellees Gun Owners Foundation; The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the National Center for Victims of Crime, Amici Curiae.

No. 07-8046.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

August 26, 2008.

C. Levi Martin, Senior Assistant Wyoming Attorney General (Patrick J. Crank, Wyoming Attorney General, with him on the brief), Cheyenne, WY, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Michael S. Raab (Peter D. Keisler, Assistant United States Attorney General, Matthew H. Mead, United States Attorney, Mark B. Stern, and Alexander K. Haas, with him on the briefs), Washington, D.C., for Defendants-Appellees.

Herbert W. Titus, John S. Miles, and William J. Olson, William J. Olson, P.C., McLean, VA, filed an Amicus Curiae brief for Gun Owners Foundation, in support of Plaintiff-Appellant.

Timothy M. Walsh and George R. Calhoun, V, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Washington, D.C., filed an Amicus Curiae brief for The Brady Center and The National Center for Victims of Crime, in support of Defendant-Appellee.

Before LUCERO, EBEL, and HOLMES, Circuit Judges.

EBEL, Circuit Judge.

In 2004, the State of Wyoming enacted § 7-13-1501, which established a procedure to expunge misdemeanor convictions "for the purposes of restoring any firearm rights lost." Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-13-1501(a). The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF"), however, informed the Wyoming Attorney General that § 7-13-1501 would not restore federal firearm rights because the state statute did not satisfy the definition of "expunge" or "set aside" for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(B)(ii). The Wyoming Attorney General sought review of the ATF's interpretation of § 921(a)(33)(B)(ii) and § 7-13-1501 in federal district court. The district court concluded that the ATF's interpretation was neither arbitrary nor capricious and thus dismissed Wyoming's suit.

After conducting our de novo review of these statutes, we conclude that Congress intended the terms "expunge" and "set aside" as used in § 921(a)(33)(B)(ii) to require a state procedure that completely removes the effects of the misdemeanor conviction in question. Accordingly, the district court properly dismissed Wyoming's claim because § 7-13-1501 falls short of this standard.

I.

Title 18, section 922(g)(9) of the United States Code prohibits any person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from owning a firearm that has traveled in interstate commerce. The statute defines a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as a misdemeanor pursuant to federal, state, or tribal law that incorporates, "as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force" against someone in a domestic relationship with the defendant. Id. § 921(a)(33)(A). The statute, however, excludes any misdemeanor conviction that has been expunged or set aside.¹ Id. § 921(a)(33)(B)(ii).²

In light of this exception, in 2004, the Wyoming legislature established a procedure to expunge convictions of domestic violence misdemeanors. See Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-13-1501.³ If a person previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence satisfies the criteria listed in the statute, the statute authorizes the state court to seal the records relating to the conviction. Id. § 7-13-1501(g). The statute specifically provides, however, that such an expunction is only "for the purposes of restoring any firearm rights lost." Id. § 7-13-1501(a); see also id. § 7-13-1501(k) ("An expungement granted pursuant to this section shall only be used for the purposes of restoring firearm rights that have been lost to persons convicted of misdemeanors. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the enhancement of penalties for second or subsequent convictions of misdemeanors under the laws of this state.").

This Wyoming expunction statute — if effective for the purposes of § 921(a)(33)(B)(ii) — would have three consequences. First, it would allow individuals with expunged convictions legally to possess firearms pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 921(a)(33)(B)(ii) and 922(g)(9). Second, it would allow those individuals to apply for a Wyoming permit to carry a concealed weapon. See Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-8-104(b) (dictating that a permit may not be issued to any person who is ineligible to possess a firearm pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)). Third, it would allow those individuals with a concealed-carry permit issued pursuant to Wyoming law to purchase firearms from a federally licensed firearm dealer without submitting to a background check. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3)(A) (declaring that a dealer is not required to request a background check before transferring a firearm if the transferee possesses a state permit).

In August 2004, after the Wyoming legislature enacted § 7-13-1501, the ATF sent the Wyoming Attorney General a letter indicating that the ATF determined that federal — not state — law governed the definition of "expunge" for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(B)(ii), and that the Wyoming statute did not meet the federal definition. Thus, the ATF concluded that any person with a conviction expunged pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-13-1501 would still face criminal liability pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) for possessing a gun.

Approximately one year later, the ATF sent the Wyoming Attorney General another letter that reiterated its position and explained that the ATF would notify federally licensed firearm dealers that a Wyoming concealed-carry permit would no longer excuse a background check pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3)(A). The Wyoming Attorney General responded with a letter contesting the ATF's conclusion that federal law governed the definition of expunge. In turn, the ATF gave Wyoming a choice: either bar individuals with convictions expunged pursuant to § 7-13-1501 from obtaining concealed-carry permits, or draft legislation to fix the disparity between the federal definition of expunge and § 7-13-1501. If Wyoming failed to comply with one of these alternatives, the ATF indicated that it would require federally licensed firearm dealers to conduct background checks on all concealed-carry permit holders.⁴ Wyoming refused to comply, and instead filed a suit in federal court seeking injunctive and declaratory relief.

After briefing by the parties, the district court determined that Wyoming had standing to bring the instant action, but held that § 7-13-1501 did not comply with the term "expunge" as set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(B)(ii). Thus, the district court dismissed the suit. The state of Wyoming now appeals.⁵

II.

Before turning to the merits, we must address the threshold question of whether Wyoming has the requisite Article III and prudential standing to bring this suit. We review de novo questions of standing, New England Health Care Employees Pension Fund v. Woodruff, 512 F.3d 1283, 1288 (10th Cir.2008), and we must address Article III standing before conducting our prudential standing analysis, Mount Evans Co. v. Madigan, 14 F.3d 1444, 1451 (10th Cir.1994).

A.

In its simplest terms, our Article III standing inquiry ensures that we limit our jurisdiction to "Cases" and "Controversies." Kan. Judicial Review v. Stout, 519 F.3d 1107, 1115 (10th Cir.2008). In general, this inquiry seeks to determine "whether [the plaintiff has] `such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to assure that concrete adverseness which sharpens the presentation of issues upon which the court so largely depends for illumination.'" Massachusetts v. EPA, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1438, 1453, 167 L.Ed.2d 248 (2007) (quoting Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 204, 82 S.Ct. 691, 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962)). We determine whether the plaintiff has satisfied this general inquiry using three familiar requirements. Pursuant to Article III, to have standing, a plaintiff must demonstrate: (i) an injury in fact that is both concrete and particularized as well as actual or imminent; (ii) an injury that is traceable to the conduct complained of; and (iii) an injury that is redressable by a decision of the court. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992); State ex rel. Sullivan v. Lujan, 969 F.2d 877, 880 (10th Cir.1992).

In the context of the instant case, we must also keep in mind the Supreme Court's recent guidance that the States constitute a special class of plaintiffs for federal jurisdiction purposes. The Massachusetts Court stated that "[i]t is of considerable relevance that the party seeking review here is a sovereign State and not, as it was in Lujan, a private individual." Massachusetts, 127 S.Ct. at 1454. In addition, the Court highlighted that "[w]ell before the creation of the modern administrative state, we recognized that States are not normal litigants for the purposes of invoking federal jurisdiction." Id.

With this in mind, we consider whether the familiar three-pronged standing analysis demonstrates that Wyoming's stake in this litigation is sufficiently adverse to the defendants to establish standing. Wyoming alleges that it has suffered an injury in fact because the ATF's interpretation of § 7-13-1501 undermines its ability to enforce its legal code. To remedy this alleged injury, Wyoming sought declaratory and injunctive relief. In light of the "special solicitude" the Massachusetts Court afforded to states in our standing analysis, id., and because our discussion below demonstrates that Wyoming's stake in this controversy is sufficiently adverse, we conclude that Wyoming has Article III standing.

The States have a legally...