UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

Abdul Karim Hassan, 

 

 Plaintiff, 

 -vFederal Election Commission, 

 Defendant. 

Civil Action #: 11-cv-2189 (EGS) 

OPPOSING MEMORANDUM

PLAINTIFF’S MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN OPPOSITION TO 

DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS 

 Abdul K. Hassan, Esq. 

 Plaintiff, Pro Se 

215-28 Hillside Avenue, 

 Queens Village, NY 11427 

 Tel: 718-740-1000 

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 PAGE 

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ii 

I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1 

II. ARGUMENT-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 

1. PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS ARE JUSTICIABLE ------------------------------------ 2 

2. THE INVIDIOUS NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION 

IN THE NATURAL BORN CLAUSE IS TRUMPED, ABROGATED AND 

IMPLICITLY REPEALED BY THE EQUAL PROTECTION GUARANTEE OF 

THE FIFTH AMENDMENT--------------------------------------------------------------- 13 

3. THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT’S CITIZENSHIP CLAUSE 

TRUMPS, ABROGATES AND IMPLICITLY REPEALS THE 

NATURAL BORN CITIZEN CLAUSE-------------------------------------------------- 19 

4. THE NATURAL BORN PROVISION IS INVALID UNDER THE 

ABSURDITY DOCTRINE AND IN LIGHT OF THE CONSTITUTION’S 

LIBERTY AND JUSTICE GOALS AND THE CURRENT PUBLIC POLICY 

OF THE NATION --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 

5. DEFENDANT’S ARGUMENTS FAIL THE DRED SCOTT TEST ------------ 23 

III. CONCLUSION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

CASES 

Adarand v. Pena, 

 515 U.S. 200, 213 (1995) -------------------------------------------------------------- 6, 13 

Afroyim v. Rusk, 

387 U.S. 253 (1967) ---------------------------------------------------------- 16, 17, 19, 20 

Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 

556 U.S. 662, 672 (2009) ------------------------------------------------------------ 15, 23 

Bennett v. Spear, 

 520 U.S. 154, 165 (1997) -------------------------------------------------------------- 4, 11 

Bolling v. Sharpe, 

347 U. S. 497 (1954) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 22, 23 

Branch v. Smith, 

538 U.S. 254, 285 (2003) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 14 

Brown v. Board of Education, 

347 U.S. 483, 489 (1954) -------------------------------------------------------------- 9, 19 

City of Cleburne, Tex. v. Cleburne Living Center, 

 473 U.S. 432, 439 (1985) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 14 

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 

 60 U.S. 393 (1857) -------------------------------------------------- 15, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 

FEC v. Akins et al, 

524 U.S. 11, 22 (1998) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 3, 4 

Federal Election Com'n v. National Conservative Political Action Committee, 

470 U.S. 480 (1985)---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2, 3 

Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer, 

427 U.S. 445 (1976) -------------------------------------------------------------------17, 18 

Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc.,

458 U.S. 564, 575 (1982) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 21 

Hassan v. USA, 

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 EDNY ECF: 08-cv-00938-NG-LB ----------------- 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 

La Mar v. H & B Novelty & Loan Co., 

489 F.2d 461, 469 (9th Cir. 1973) ------------------------------------------------------- 13 

McDonald v. City of Chicago, Ill., 

 130 S.Ct. 3020, 3059 -3060 (U.S., 2010) ------------------------------------------ 15, 16 

National Conservative Political Action Committee v. Federal Election Commission, 

626 F.2d 953 (D.C. Cir. 1980) ----------------------------------------------------------- 12 

Perez v. Brownell, 

356 U.S. 44 (1957) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 17 

Schneider v. Rusk, 

377 U.S. 163, 168 (1964) --------------------------------------------------- 16, 17, 20, 22 

South Carolina v. Regan, 

465 U.S. 367, 412 (1984) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 21 

Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 

523 U.S. 83, 94 (1998) -------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 

United States v. Virginia, 

518 U.S. 515, 532 n. 6, (1996) ----------------------------------------------------------- 22 

Warth v. Seldin, 

422 U.S. 490, 501 (1975) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 12 

 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

U.S. Const. Art. II, Sec. 1, Cl. 5 (“Natural Born Provision”) --------------------------- passim 

U.S. Const. Amend. 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ passim 

U.S. Const. Amend. 14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- passim 

STATUTES

Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act (“Fund Act”) 

26 U.S.C. §§ 9001-9013 ------------------------------------------------------------ passim

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 I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

 

Plaintiff respectfully submits the instant memorandum in opposition to defendant’s motion 

to dismiss. The facts as alleged in the complaint must be taken as true and are incorporated herein. 

In essence however, plaintiff is a civil rights and employment attorney by profession who is a 

candidate for the Presidency of the United States in 2012 and if not successful, plaintiff intends to 

continue his campaign without interruption until the 2016 Presidential elections. Plaintiff is running 

for and intends to seek the nomination of the Democratic Party in 2012 and in 2016. The 

Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act (“Fund Act”), 26 U.S.C. §§ 9001-9013, provides tens of 

millions of dollars in public funding to the nominee of major parties, which typically consists of the 

Democratic and Republican parties. However, the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) ruled on 

September 2, 20111 that because plaintiff is a naturalized citizen and not a natural born citizen, he is 

not eligible to receive public funding. Because of the FEC’s reasoning and interpretation, plaintiff 

commenced the instant action to: 1) declare that the Fund Act’s discrimination against plaintiff 

because of his national origin and status as a natural born citizen, violates the equal protection 

guarantee of the Fifth Amendment and the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; and 2) 

declare that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments trump, abrogate and implicitly repeal the 

invidious national origin discrimination in the natural born provision of the Constitution (See 

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5) – the discrimination in the Fund Act is purportedly premised on the 

natural born provision as per the FEC’s interpretation. Because the national origin discrimination in 

the Fund Act, standing independently, will without genuine dispute, violate the equal protection 

guarantee of the Fifth Amendment, such discrimination will fall if the national origin discrimination 

in the natural born provision also falls under the Absurdity Doctrine and the doctrine of implicit 

repeal. Also, the Citizenship Clause which was adopted to repeal citizenship discrimination in the 

 

1

 http://saos.nictusa.com/saos/searchao?SUBMIT=continue&PAGE_NO=-1 

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Constitution, as interpreted, protects naturalized citizenship from the type of discrimination, 

destruction and diminution, caused by the Fund Act and the natural born provision. As to whether 

plaintiff suffered the requisite “injury in fact” under Article III, the central question is whether the 

national origin discrimination in the Fund Act forces plaintiff to compete on an unequal footing 

with other Presidential candidates who are natural born citizens. The answer is obvious – plaintiff is 

being forced to compete on an unequal footing because he is forced to compete without the right to 

receive tens of millions in public financing if nominated. Moreover, as outlined below, the Supreme 

Court cases addressing standing under the Fund Act and the federal election laws, strongly support 

plaintiff’s position that his claims are justiciable. 

 

 II. ARGUMENT 

 1. PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS ARE JUSTICIABLE

 In its opposition to plaintiff’s motion for a three-judge panel, the FEC relied heavily on the 

Supreme Court’s decision in Federal Election Com'n v. National Conservative Political Action 

Committee, 470 U.S. 480 (1985), (“NCPAC”), to argue that this Court lacks subject matter 

jurisdiction over this action. However, after plaintiff in reply pointed out that the FEC’s use of 

NCPAC was misleading, deceptive and possibly worse, the FEC in its current motion to dismiss, 

while also arguing that plaintiff’s claims are not justiciable, does not even mention NCPAC

although it is the leading Supreme Court case dealing with standing under the Fund Act. (Def. 

Memo. 6-9). The reason for the FEC’s prior misuse and its current omission of NCPAC is obvious – 

under NCPAC defendant’s arguments are without merit and plaintiff has standing and this Court 

has subject matter jurisdiction over this case. 

 In NCPAC, the Supreme Court found in relevant part that the FEC had statutory and Article 

III standing to bring a declaratory judgment action like this one to determine the constitutionality of 

the Fund Act. The Supreme Court began its analysis with 26 USC § 9011(b) which specifically 

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grants the FEC the same right as an individual voter like plaintiff to bring an action to construe or 

implement the Fund Act. The Supreme Court specifically stated that, “an individual voter could sue 

the FEC under 26 U.S.C. § 9011(b) to implement or construe the Act.” This is precisely what 

plaintiff herein has done – an action that is especially warranted in light of the FEC’s ruling that the 

public funding law for primaries, and by extension the Fund Act, excludes naturalized citizens like 

plaintiff. The analysis is made more compelling by the fact that plaintiff is not just an eligible voter 

- he is also a Presidential candidate whom the FEC has ruled must comply with the obligations of 

the campaign finance laws like any other Presidential candidate but is not entitled to their benefits. 

In terms of the Article III requirements, the Supreme Court in NCPAC found that the FEC 

satisfied them and that the requisite “injury-in-fact” existed and that the suit was ripe even though 

the FEC had not yet even taken any action directed at NCPAC – like an eligible voter, the FEC 

must also satisfy the statutory and Article III requirements. Here, plaintiff’s injury-in-fact is much 

more profound here than the injury-in-fact that the Supreme Court in NCPAC found was sufficient 

under Article III – standing and ripeness are much more present here than in NCPAC. 

 Jurisdiction, including standing and ripeness also exist in this case under the Supreme 

Court’s decision in FEC v. Akins et al, 524 U.S. 11, 22 (1998). In Akins, the FEC argued as it does 

here, that injury-in-fact, along with causation and redressibility did not exist. The FEC’s arguments 

were rejected by the Supreme Court which found that, ‘The “injury in fact” that respondents have 

suffered consists of their inability to obtain information.’ See FEC v. Akins et al, 524 U.S. 11, 22 

(1998). Here, plaintiff’s “injury in fact” includes his inability and the denial of the right to obtain 

tens of millions in public funding, if nominated, because of the FEC’s interpretation that plaintiff 

cannot receive public funding as a naturalized citizen. Because of this, and the various other forms 

of injury outlined below, plaintiff’s case here is a lot more compelling than that of the plaintiffs in 

Akins which the Supreme Court found was sufficient to satisfy Article III requirements. 

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Furthermore, unlike the plaintiffs in Akins, plaintiff is also a Presidential candidate whom the FEC 

has opined must satisfy the obligations of the campaign finance laws, in the same manner as the 

other Presidential candidates who are natural born. 

When Congress grants a plaintiff standing to sue under a statute like in the context of the 

present case, it abrogates the requirement of prudential standing although it cannot abrogate the 

requirements of Article III standing. See Akins et al, 524 U.S. at 19-20. Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 

154, 165 (1997). However, the decision of Congress in granting statutory standing should be given 

great weight in the Article III standing analysis. In granting an eligible voter like plaintiff the right 

to sue under 26 USC § 9011(b) to construe or implement the Fund Act, Congress is making an 

informed judgment that uncertainty over the Fund Act creates “injury in fact” and that such injury 

should be remedied by a declaratory judgment action like this one sooner rather than later in the 

Presidential campaign process. The courts recognize that Congress created these campaign finance 

laws to remedy harms in the area of elections and campaign finance and is uniquely positioned to 

judge what constitutes an injury, when and how such injury can be remedied by judicial action, and 

by whom. Not surprisingly, in almost every case like this one where statutory standing is 

established, Article III standing is also present as it easily is in this case. 

Moreover, contrary to defendant’s laments about the nature and extent of plaintiff’s 

campaign (Def. Memo. 7), in enacting the “testing the waters” provisions2

 of the federal campaign 

law, Congress through statute, and the FEC, through regulation, wanted candidates to “test the 

waters” and identify and overcome obstacles at an early stage before making the significant 

commitment, effort and expense of running for President. Resolving such obstacles early, especially 

major obstacles like the discrimination and denial challenged by plaintiff herein, is not only in the 

 

2

 See 11 CFR § 100.72 and 11 CFR § 100.131. See also the Federal Election Commission bulletin 

(http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/testing_waters.pdf), summarizing the relevant FECA 

provisions. See also Federal Election Campaign Act (“FECA”), 2 USC § 431 et Seq also contained 

at http://www.fec.gov/law/feca/feca.pdf.

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interest of plaintiff, it is also in the interest of the voting public as well as the FEC. Significantly, 

FEC in its September 2011 ruling and deliberations intimated that campaigning and raising funds 

may constitute fraud in light of the natural born provision. The Supreme Court has never required a 

plaintiff to engage in illogical, unreasonable, futile, illegal or fraudulent conduct in order to 

establish standing and ripeness. In addition, whether a candidate can receive tens of millions in 

public funding is a significant factor that would influence whether a voter would vote for plaintiff as 

the candidate of the Democratic Party. In the ongoing Republican primaries, exits polls revealed 

that electability, and specifically, the ability to compete with the Democratic candidate in terms of 

money, was an extremely significant factor in who voters voted for. A significant number of 

Republican voters said they voted for Mitt Romney because he was more electable than the other 

candidates even though they preferred one of the other candidates. This is further reason why the 

answer to the questions presented herein should come before the voters vote so that their vote is not 

wasted or diminished – it is therefore not surprising that Congress provided an expedited procedure 

with direct appeal to the Supreme Court – Presidential elections cover the whole country and the 

Supreme Court is the only national court. Likewise, an early and expedited answer to this question 

will also help the FEC plan and administer the public funding programs – especially since the FEC 

informed plaintiff in writing that “the Commission cannot make any determination as to whether 

you can, as a naturalized citizen, serve as President3

,” – even though such a determination was key 

to the FEC’s decision to deny plaintiff the right to receive public funding and even though plaintiff 

has a legal right to obtain the FEC’s opinion on his entitlement to public funding. This type of 

confusion and inconsistency is itself sufficient to establish “injury in fact” warranting an action like 

this one to construe the Fund Act and clear up the confusion. 

 

3

 http://saos.nictusa.com/saos/searchao?SUBMIT=continue&PAGE_NO=-1 

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The presence of statutory and Article III standing and ripeness in this case can be further 

demonstrated based on Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200, 211-212 (1995). In the 

area of standing jurisprudence it is important to pick the right precedent. Standing is very fact and 

context specific and the stage of the proceedings is important as well. One can quickly observe that 

a lot of the leading cases on standing are environmental cases which are not analogous to equal 

protection cases, and because they generally involve associational standing – the plaintiffs in those 

cases usually have a more difficult burden than in cases involving individual standing where the 

harm is direct – like this one. Because this is an equal protection case based on a discriminatory 

classification – national origin, Adarand is a more relevant precedent than any case cited by 

defendant – based on the pattern of the FEC’s advocacy thus far, one can reasonably conclude that 

the FEC avoided Adarand and other equal protection cases because these cases do not support its 

position on jurisdiction. In Adarand, 515 U.S. at 211-212, the U.S. Supreme Court stated in relevant 

part as follows (internal cites omitted): 

We note that, contrary to respondents’ suggestion, Adarand need not demonstrate 

that it has been, or will be, the low bidder on a Government contract. The injury in 

cases of this kind is that a “discriminatory classification prevent[s] the plaintiff from 

competing on an equal footing.” The aggrieved party “need not allege that he would 

have obtained the benefit but for the barrier in order to establish standing.” 

Therefore, contrary to defendant’s position herein, to establish “injury in fact” plaintiff here 

does not have to show he would become the Presidential nominee of a major party or otherwise 

qualify for public financing. Plaintiff is only required to show that the discrimination against 

naturalized citizens in the Fund Act has or will place him on an unequal footing with natural born 

candidates in competing for the Presidency or public funding. If only a presidential nominee for a 

major party can have standing, then the plain words of the statue that any voter can bring an action 

to interpret or construe the Act, will be meaningless. Nonetheless, plaintiff can easily make the 

showing of “unequal footing” in several ways. First, plaintiff has been injured because, unlike the 

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natural born citizens who are running for President, he is being forced to comply with the 

obligations of the federal campaign finance laws while being denied the benefits of these laws such 

as the right to receive Presidential matching funds – this denial is solely because plaintiff is a 

naturalized citizen. In a September 2, 2011 decision4

, the defendant in this case ruled that plaintiff 

as a person running for President is covered by the federal campaign finance laws like every other 

declared Presidential candidate and must comply with the obligations of those laws, even though he 

is a naturalized citizen. Under the campaign finance laws, the act of making a declaration of 

candidacy for the Presidency signals the start of the presidential campaign in the eyes of the law and 

triggers a series of significant obligations5, as the FEC confirmed in its ruling about plaintiff’s 

Presidential campaign. Here, plaintiff has not only declared his candidacy, he has actively 

campaigned, and has been promoting his candidacy through nationwide advertising. (See 

Complaint, ¶ 14, 15, 17, 22). However, because plaintiff is a naturalized citizen, he is being denied 

the right to receive public funding. Under penalty of law, plaintiff has been expending effort and 

money and has adjusted to satisfy the many other restrictions of the campaign finance laws. (See 

Complaint, ¶ 15). While paying the same types of costs of compliance as the other Presidential 

candidates who are natural born citizens, as forced upon him by the law and the FEC’s ruling, 

plaintiff is being given less rights in return solely because he is a naturalized and not a natural born 

citizen – denial of the right to receive public funding. The FEC has taken the inconsistent position 

that as to the obligations imposed by the campaign finance laws, the national origin of the candidate 

does not matter but as to the benefits, national origin does matter. This inconsistency by itself is 

sufficient “injury in fact” in addition to the other types outlined herein. 

 

4

 http://saos.nictusa.com/saos/searchao?SUBMIT=continue&PAGE_NO=-1 5 5

 See 11 CFR § 100.72 and 11 CFR § 100.131. See also the Federal Election Commission bulletin 

(http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/testing_waters.pdf), summarizing the relevant FECA 

provisions. See also Federal Election Campaign Act (“FECA”), 2 USC § 431 et Seq also contained 

at http://www.fec.gov/law/feca/feca.pdf.

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Second, while “injury in fact” is more obvious where the law imposes costs on plaintiff and 

where plaintiff has no choice in the matter, “injury in fact” is also compellingly present in 

connection with plaintiff’s other expenditures - plaintiff has been spending money on his 

presidential website as well as separate national advertising as part of his presidential campaign. 

(See Complaint, ¶ 14, 15, 17, 22). While making these expenditures as part of his presidential 

campaign, plaintiff is being placed on an unequal footing with candidates who are natural born 

citizens because the Fund Act denies plaintiff the right to receive public funding because of his 

national origin. 

Third, and very significantly, denial of funds significantly hurts plaintiff’s electoral chances. 

Obviously, having a candidate who is ineligible for tens of millions of dollars in public funding will 

seriously hurt the political party and the party’s members and because of this, voters will not 

logically vote or are significantly less likely to vote to nominate plaintiff as the party’s Presidential 

candidate. Exit polls in the recent Republican primaries reveal that a significant and material 

number of voters voted for Mitt Romney solely because they viewed him as more electable and 

better able to compete with the Democrats in terms of money. Being elected President is already a 

difficult task and to compete for nomination and the Presidency with a major handicap such as the 

denial of the right to receive public funding, places plaintiff on a hugely unequal footing solely with 

natural born candidates because of the national origin discrimination in the Fund Act. This is even 

more harmful in light of the fact that no candidate outside the two major political parties has even 

been elected President and the importance of money in Presidential campaigns – as the old saying 

goes, “money is the mother’s milk of politics.” 

Fourth, the stigma of distrust has and will continue to hurt plaintiff’s campaign. The 

discrimination against naturalized citizens in the Fund Act has its origins in the natural born 

provision of the Constitution (Article II, Section 1, Clause 5) and the natural born provision was 

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based on the legally impermissible assumption that foreign-born citizens bear less allegiance to the 

country and are less loyal than natural born citizens. In this regard, the Congressional Research 

Service has stated in relevant part that6

: 

The use of the [natural born] phrase in the Constitution may have derived from a 

suggestion in a letter from John Jay to George Washington during the Convention 

expressing concern about having the office of Commander-in-Chief devolve on, any 

but a natural born Citizen, as there were fears at that time about wealthy European 

aristocracy or royalty coming to America, gaining citizenship, and then buying and 

scheming their way to the presidency without long-standing loyalty to the nation. 

The job of President, more than any other, requires trust and loyalty. As such, for the Fund 

Act to exclude plaintiff, in essence, on the assumption that he bears less allegiance, trust and loyalty 

to this country is a stigma that is extremely harmful. This stigma took on a more direct and personal 

effect when the FEC specifically denied plaintiff the right to receive primary matching funds, and 

by extension, the right to receive funding under the Fund Act (Complaint, 23-25), solely because 

plaintiff is a foreign-born citizen. As an example, plaintiff recently did a radio interview on a 

popular NYC radio station7

 in which the host focused on the distrust rationale on which the natural 

born provision is based and in so doing, echoed the sentiments of many who use the perceived 

legitimacy of the laws and the FEC to promote unjustified stigma and hatred. See also National 

Journal Article8

. As the Supreme Court recognized in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 

(1954), among many other cases, separate or unequal treatment because of immutable 

characteristics such as race or national origin, is inherently harmful and can be remedied in the 

courts. 

 

6

 http://www.legistorm.com/score_crs/show/id/82388.html 

7

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQmzIG6PvWw 

8

 http://www.nationaljournal.com/hotline/campaign-law-watch/fec-no-u-s-birth-certificate-no-presidential-matchingfunds-20110903 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 13 of 33
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Defendant also mentions the case of Hassan v. USA, on the issue of standing. (Def. 

Memo. 8). In Hassan v. USA, the district court correctly applied binding precedent in finding 

that plaintiff had standing to challenge the natural born provision and that the claims were ripe 

for review. It was so obvious that the petitioner suffered the requisite “injury in fact,” the 

government on appeal did not challenge the district court’s ruling that petitioner suffered the 

requisite “injury in fact.” As such, neither party before the Second Circuit addressed “injury in 

fact” in their briefs and the Second Circuit disagreed with the district court on standing solely 

based on the alleged absence of “injury in fact” – the one issue the parties did not contest and 

did not brief. The numerous errors in the Second Circuit’s standing decision were due to the 

fact that unlike the district court, the Second Circuit did not have the benefit of briefing9. 

Instead of denying the unopposed petition for rehearing with a one-word denial as it usual does, 

likely realizing the merit of the standing/ripeness arguments the Second Circuit felt the need to 

explain that, “Appellant had ample opportunity to brief all relevant issues, including the issue 

of standing, before the district court and this Court and an opportunity to further advance his 

positions at oral argument.” Notably, the Second Circuit did not take issue with the compelling 

merits of the standing arguments - instead, it said the arguments should have been raised earlier. 

Unlike the Second Circuit, this Court is being presented with the relevant arguments. Moreover, 

petitioner has been injured even more since the Second Circuit ruling including when the FEC 

issued its ruling that petitioner cannot obtain public funding because of his naturalized citizen 

status. In any event, under the rules of the Second Circuit, its summary order in Hassan has no 

precedential value especially because, "abbreviated explanations in summary orders might result in 

distortions of case law." (See 2d Cir. LCR 32). 

 

9

 See http://www.abdulhassanforpresident.com/second_circuit/rehearing_petition.shtml. 

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Defendant seems to argue that plaintiff’s claims are not justiciable because, “Hassan has not 

alleged in his complaint that he is the candidate of a major political party, that he seeks to become 

the candidate of a major political party, or that there is any imminent chance that he might become 

such a candidate.” (Def. Memo. 6). At the outset, contrary to defendant’s position, the Fund Act 

only requires plaintiff to be a voter in order to bring the instant action and this has been alleged. 

(See Complaint ¶ 11). 26 USC § 9011(b). In support of its argument, defendant urges this Court to 

review and use defendant’s website on this motion and it claims that the February 23, 2012 version 

of the website does not state that plaintiff is running for the nomination of a major party. (Def. 

Memo. 6). Plaintiff agrees with defendant that the Court should review and use plaintiff’s website 

on this motion to dismiss, especially where said website, on its homepage, now clarifies that 

plaintiff is seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party. Nonetheless, while plaintiff is not 

required to allege such facts in his complaint, Defendant is wrong on a number of other grounds as 

well. First, in drafting his complaint, plaintiff is not required to allege each fact that would be 

provided on an application for funds from the Fund Act or on a motion for summary judgment. 

However, in paragraph 26 of the complaint, plaintiff clearly states in relevant part that: 

Because PECFA denies funds to Plaintiff, Plaintiffs chances of becoming the nominee of 

a major political party is destroyed and the same can be said of Plaintiff’s chances of 

winning the Presidency given that only candidates of the major political parties have 

won the Presidency throughout the history of the Country. 

 

It is therefore clear, based on the complaint that plaintiff is running to be the “nominee of a 

major political party,” – the Democratic Party. It is also important to remember the applicable 

standards at the pleadings stage. In Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154 (1997), the Supreme Court stated 

in relevant part that: 

“[a]t the pleading stage, general factual allegations of injury resulting from the 

defendant’s conduct may suffice, for on a motion to dismiss we ‘presum[e] that 

general allegations embrace those specific facts that are necessary to support the 

claim.’ 

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Furthermore, when standing and jurisdiction are challenged on the basis of the pleadings, the 

Court must, “accept as true all material allegations of the complaint, and ... construe the complaint 

in favor of the complaining party,” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 501 (1975). Here, the allegation 

that plaintiff is running for President and will seek funding under the Fund Act, “embrace those 

specific facts that are necessary to support the claim,” such as the fact that plaintiff is running for 

the nomination of a major party etc. However, it is worth repeating, that defendant seems to 

misunderstand the type of injury required – likely because it relied on cases that did not involve a 

discriminatory classification. As pointed out above, plaintiff has been forced to compete on an 

unequal footing because of the discrimination in the Fund Act against naturalized citizens – he has 

in essence been forced to compete without the right to receive tens of millions of dollars in public 

funding - and as such has been clearly injured in several distinct ways as laid out above. 

With injury-in-fact established, the causation and redressibility arguments can be quickly 

disposed of in this context. In essence, the harm is that because of the discrimination in the Fund 

Act plaintiff is forced to compete without the right to receive public funding, so causation is easily 

established. Likewise, if the discrimination in the Fund Act is struck down, plaintiff will not be 

denied the right to receive public funding because of his naturalized status and as such, it is obvious 

that a favorable ruling will redress the harm alleged. By way of clarification, plaintiff is only 

required to show that the injury caused by the Fund Act will be redressed by a favorable ruling – he 

is not required to show that a favorable ruling would remedy some other harm to plaintiff such as 

bigotry against Muslims. 

 A few other principles of standing jurisprudence are worth reiterating. First, plaintiff is not 

required to engage in futile conduct in order to establish standing and ripeness. See National 

Conservative Political Action Committee v. Federal Election Commission, 626 F.2d 953 (D.C. Cir. 

1980). In this regard, even if plaintiff satisfies every real or imagined requirement for public 

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funding that defendant puts forth, plaintiff still cannot receive public funding because plaintiff can 

never change his national origin – the fact he was born in another country. Second, standing 

jurisprudence does not require plaintiff to act unreasonably. As such, even though plaintiff is 

enduring the costs of seeking the Democratic Party nomination, it would be perfectly reasonable 

and logical if he first seeks a declaration invalidating the discrimination against him in the Fund 

Act, before seeking the nomination. In addition, the already strong standing argument is made even 

stronger by the fact that courts have traditionally applied a “broad and accommodating concept of 

standing in civil rights cases.” La Mar v. H & B Novelty & Loan Co., 489 F.2d 461, 469 (9th Cir. 

1973). One of the reasons for this relaxed standard is the fact that invidious discrimination not only 

injures the petitioner but the whole society as well. As Justice O'Connor reiterated in Adarand v. 

Pena, 515 U.S. 200, 213 (1995), "[d]istinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry are 

by their very nature odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of 

equality." Where as here, our government discriminates against plaintiff and more than fifteen (15) 

million of its other naturalized citizens because of their national origin/ancestry – a strict scrutiny 

characteristic, this Court has no higher duty than to inform petitioner and the millions of other 

victims of such invidious discrimination across the nation whether they are required to endure such 

discrimination any longer and why. 

2. THE INVIDIOUS NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION IN THE 

NATURAL BORN CLAUSE IS TRUMPED, ABROGRATED AND 

IMPLICITLY REPEALED BY THE EQUAL PROTECTION GUARANTEE 

OF THE FIFTH AMENDMENT

Defendants in their opposition to plaintiff’s motion for a three-judge panel relied heavily on 

the decision and the arguments by the defendant in the district court decision in Hassan v. USA - 

EDNY ECF: 08-cv-00938-NG-LB – defendant does the same thing here. As such, Plaintiff will 

address defendants’ arguments and Hassan v. USA together to show that implicit repeal has 

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14

occurred here. At the outset, the district court in Hassan v. USA, at 3, the district court stated as 

follows: 

As the parties acknowledge, this [implicit repeal] approach to statutes could, in theory, 

apply to the Constitution. For example, the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth 

Amendment partially abrogated Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity, even though 

the text of the Fourteenth Amendment does not explicitly require that result. See 

Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer, 427 U.S. 445, 456 (1976) 

Here, defendants have not put forth any logical explanation why implicit repeal cannot be 

applied in the Constitutional context. In Branch v. Smith, 538 U.S. 254, 285 (2003), the established 

standard for implicit repeal was stated in relevant part as follows: 

The question whether an Act of Congress has repealed an earlier federal statute is 

similar to the question whether it has pre-empted a state statute. When Congress 

clearly expresses its intent to repeal or to pre-empt, we must respect that expression. 

When it fails to do so expressly, the presumption against implied repeals, like the 

presumption against pre-emption, can be overcome in two situations: (1) if there is 

an irreconcilable conflict between the provisions in the two Acts; or (2) if the later 

Act was clearly intended to “cove[r] the whole subject of the earlier one.” 

The district court in Hassan correctly found that plaintiff had standing to bring the case but 

made several errors on the merits – somewhat to be expected, given that this was a significant 

constitutional case of first impression and there are almost always mistakes the first time around. 

The job of everyone involved in this case is to learn from the mistakes made in Hassan v. USA and 

not repeat them. 

First, the district Court in Hassan, like defendants here, hinged its decision on the principle 

that there is generally a presumption against implicit repeal and that such a presumption is greater in 

the constitutional context. This was a gigantic legal error. The general presumption against implicit 

repeal is based on the principle that statutes are presumed to be valid. However, because statutes 

which discriminate on the basis of race or national origin are not presumed to be valid, there is no 

presumption against their implicit repeal. See City of Cleburne, Tex. v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 

U.S. 432, 439 (1985) (presumption of validity goes away when the subject is race or national origin 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 18 of 33
15

discrimination.). Not surprisingly, the defendant and district court in Hassan v. USA as well as the 

defendants in this case have not cited a single case in which a law that discriminated on the basis of 

race or national origin was presumed valid or which carried a presumption against implicit repeal – 

such cases do not exist. Furthermore, as explained in the above excerpt, one of the main reasons for 

this presumption of invalidity of laws that discriminate on the basis of race or national origin, is the 

fact that obtaining a remedy or repeal through the legislative process would be difficult. Because it 

is even more difficult to achieve change and amendment/repeal in the Constitutional context 

through legislative means, the presumption of invalidity and in favor of implicit repeal is stronger in 

the Constitutional context. It is not surprising that all of the significant changes in Constitutional 

law and civil rights were implicit, in the form of judicial opinions and do not expressly appear in the 

text of the Constitution. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 672 (2009) (explaining that the 

Supreme Court recognized an implied Constitutional “Bivens” cause of action in discrimination 

cases like this one but not in other types of cases. Bolling (recognizing an implied equal protection 

guarantee in the Fifth Amendment – when the subject was discrimination). Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer

(finding that the 14th Amendment impliedly abrogated the 11th Amendment – where the subject, 

like here, was discrimination). McDonald v. City of Chicago, Ill. 130 S.Ct. 3020, 3059 -3060 (U.S., 

2010), (explaining that Constitutional slavery/citizenship discrimination and Constitutional equality 

are “irreconcilable” – a condition that triggers implicit repeal.). Because the presumption against 

implicit repeal is removed when the subject law discriminates by race or national origin, there is no 

need to show “irreconcilability” or “intent” to repeal – the two conditions that would otherwise 

overcome the presumption against implicit repeal. 

Second, the district court in Hassan v. USA did not have the benefit of the Supreme Court’s 

decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago, Ill. 130 S.Ct. 3020, 3059 -3060 (U.S., 2010), which was 

handed down a few weeks after the district court’s decision and which stated that slavery and the 

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measures designed to protect it like the citizenship discrimination in Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 

U.S. 393 (1857), based on ancestry, were “irreconcilable” with the “principles of equality” in the 

Constitution. Because defendant USA and the district court in Hassan agree that irreconcilability 

would trigger implicit repeal, implicit repeal should have been declared in Hassan v. USA and 

should be declared in this action – this Court has the benefit of McDonald but the district court in 

Hassan did not. There is a very easy technique to determine irreconcilability which the district court 

in Hassan failed to apply – maybe because it was not explicitly pointed out to the Court but is here. 

To determine irreconcilability, we simply assume that the natural born provision is a statute and 

determine whether it would violate the equal protection clause – because it discriminates on the 

basis of national origin, it will be subject to strict scrutiny and will quickly fail. Significantly, the 

Supreme Court in Schneider v. Rusk, 377 U.S. 163, 165 (1964), rejected the argument that, “it is 

not invidious discrimination for Congress to treat such naturalized citizens differently from the 

manner in which it treats native-born citizens” - the very thing the Fund Act does. Likewise, in 

Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967), the Supreme Court found that treating naturalized citizens 

differently than natural born citizens also violated constitutional equal protection and struck down 

the statute in that case. No law which discriminates on the basis of race or national origin has 

survived in the Supreme Court in the last sixty years. Because the national origin discrimination in 

the Fund Act is unlawful under the Fifth Amendment but is permitted under the natural born 

provision, these two parts of the Constitution are irreconcilable and the Fifth Amendment trumps 

the natural born provision because of this irreconcilability and principles of implicit repeal. 

Fourth, the district court in Hassan did not address the argument based on the Citizenship 

Clause – apparently confusing the Citizenship Clause with the Equal Protection Clause of the 

Fourteenth Amendment – the Court should have known that the Equal Protection Clause of the 

Fourteenth Amendment applies only to states and not to the federal government. (Pl. Br. 10-12). 

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Fifth, the district court in Hassan v. USA, like defendants here (Def. Memo. 9-10), while 

relying to some extent on dicta in Schneider v. Rusk, 377 U.S. 163, 168 (1964), and prior cases 

about the natural born provision, strangely did not address the seminal Citizenship Clause case of 

Afroyim v. Rusk 387 U.S. 253, 262 (1967) and which was the last and seminal case in the 

Schneider line of cases and in which the Supreme Court stated without exception as to presidential 

eligibility that a naturalized citizen, “becomes a member of the society, possessing all of the rights 

of a native citizen, and standing, in view of the constitution, on the footing of a native.” First, the 

cases cited by defendant are not inconsistent with plaintiff’s position herein. In those cases, the 

Court observed the distinction or conflict in the treatment of naturalized citizens – this case also 

does that but goes one step further and is asking the Court to resolve and this conflict in favor of 

equality in light of the evolution in constitutional jurisprudence in the last several decades. 

Importantly in the cases cited by defendant, the Courts were not presented with and did not decide 

the issues or arguments presented herein including the issue of Presidential eligibility – those were 

all immigration-type cases. Even though Afroyim involved a similar subject matter, the subject 

statement in Afroyim is not dicta because it was necessary to it was necessary to justify the ultimate 

holding that the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to “completely control” the status of 

citizenship and that it created “a citizenship” – singular not plural. This view is further supported by 

the context of the Afroyim case. The Supreme Court specifically granted certiorari in Afroyim to 

determine whether to overrule its 1957 decision in Perez v. Brownell, 356 U.S. 44 (1957). See 

Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253, 256 (U.S.N.Y. 1967) (“These cases, as well as many 

commentators, have cast great doubt upon the soundness of Perez. Under these circumstances, we 

granted certiorari to reconsider it”). As such, Afroyim is rightly considered to be the seminal case 

on the Citizenship clause and supersedes all prior cases on the subject, including Schneider and is 

binding precedent. Defendant’s arguments are therefore without merit. 

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Sixth, the district court itself in Hassan v. USA, identified Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer, 427 U.S. 

445 (1976) as an example of implicit repeal/abrogation in the Constitutional context but had the 

court applied Fitzpatrick, it would have had to issue a declaration in plaintiff’s favor. Based on 

Fitzpatrick, and its progeny, a finding of abrogation/implicit repeal is even more warranted in this 

case for several reasons. (See Pl. Brief at 12-14)). 

Seventh, the district court in Hassan did not address the Absurdity Doctrine – this doctrine 

does not have the same requirements as the implicit repeal doctrine and is a powerful basis for 

plaintiff’s arguments herein. 

On appeal, the Second Circuit invalidated the erroneous merit rulings by the district court in 

Hassan v. USA by finding an absence of jurisdiction. See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better 

Environment, 523 U.S. 83, 94 (1998) ("Without jurisdiction the court cannot proceed at all in any 

cause."). The following exchange during oral arguments on the merits before the Second Circuit is 

very revealing (Oral Argument Transcript, 9:7-25; 10:1-8 – See Ex. 1): 

 The rest of the Second Circuit’s exchanges with plaintiff on the merits during oral 

arguments are attached hereto as Exhibit 1. As the transcript in Exhibit 1 shows, the Second Circuit 

did not challenge plaintiff’s argument that there is no presumption against implicit repeal of laws 

that discriminate on the basis of race or national origin discrimination. Once plaintiff answering 

Judge Newman’s question and explained that laws that discriminate based on age in this context are 

subject to rational basis review and are not presumed to be invalid but that laws that discriminate 

based on national origin are subject to strict scrutiny and are presumed invalid, the Second Circuit 

went from being a very “hot bench” to one that did not challenge plaintiff for the remainder of his 

oral arguments on the merits. (See Exhibit 1). It seems obvious from being in the room the day of 

oral arguments that the Second Circuit seemed to think that plaintiff was right on the merits. This 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 22 of 33
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Court should follow the lead of the Second Circuit and not challenge plaintiff on the merits and in 

addition, issue the declaration that Plaintiff seeks in this case. 

3. THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT’S CITIZENSHIP CLAUSE 

TRUMPS, ABROGATES AND IMPLICITLY REPEALS THE 

NATURLAL BORN CITIZEN CLAUSE 

With respect to the Citizenship Clause argument, both grounds for implicit repeal exist 

herein and implicit repeal can occur based on either of them – irreconcilability or intent to repeal. In 

the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 489 (1954), the Supreme Court 

held oral arguments in that case and focused heavily on the purpose and intent of the Fourteenth 

Amendment - after careful examination, and its “own investigation” the Supreme Court concluded 

that the legislative history of the Fourteenth Amendment was inconclusive. However, while 

reaching this conclusion, the Supreme Court in Brown noted that “avid proponents” of the 

Fourteenth Amendment intended it, “to remove all legal distinctions among ‘all persons born or 

naturalized in the United States.’” Brown, 347 U.S. at 489. It is evident from the language of the 

Citizenship Clause that this “intent” prevailed and that it makes no legal distinction among citizens. 

The Citizenship Clause grants a single citizenship to persons born or naturalized within the United 

States – it does not grant naturalized citizenship to some and natural born citizenship to others – 

birth and naturalization are means of acquiring the same citizenship. In Afroyim v. Rusk 387 U.S. 

253, 262 (1967), the Supreme Court adopted this view and made it abundantly clear, that the 

language of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was enacted about eighty years after the natural 

born requirement, was, “calculated completely to control the status of citizenship.” Simply put, the 

only way the Fourteenth Amendment can “completely control the status of citizenship” as the 

Supreme Court found, is if the natural born provision lost the control or power to relegate 

naturalized citizens to second-class status as it did prior to the Fourteenth Amendment. Further 

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powerful support for this conclusion emerges when the “complete control” finding is analyzed in 

the context of the following statement in Afroyim v. Rusk 387 U.S. 253, 262 (1967): 

‘(The naturalized citizen) becomes a member of the society, possessing all the rights 

of a native citizen, and standing, in view of the constitution, on the footing of a 

native” 

This statement is clear and sweeping and contains no exception as to presidential eligibility 

and we need not go further to show that the natural born provision is now moot. Nonetheless, the 

Afroyim Court’s statement that the Citizenship Clause should be interpreted to comport with the 

Fourteenth Amendment’s purpose of “equal justice to all that the entire Fourteenth Amendment was 

adopted to guarantee” (Afroyim, 387 U.S. at 267), the Supreme Court further reinforces the fact that 

the Citizenship Clause “remove[s] all legal distinctions among ‘all persons born or naturalized in 

the United States.” This mandate of “equal justice” for naturalized and natural born citizens in the 

Citizenship Clause is irreconcilable with the discrimination in the natural born provision and results 

in the abrogation/implicit repeal of the natural born provision. Likewise, the natural born provision 

is also abrogated/implicitly repealed because, as explained above, the Citizenship Clause was 

intended to “completely control the status of citizenship.” Similarly, defendants’ statute, Statement 

of Intent and denial which invidiously discriminate against naturalized citizens, are irreconcilable 

with and violate the Citizenship Clause. Moreover, as the Supreme Court pointed out in Afroyim, 

Fourteenth Amendment citizenship which plaintiff possesses, cannot be shifted, cannot be diluted, 

is not fleeting, and cannot be destroyed by governmental power. Afroyim, 387 U.S. at 262. Given 

these emphatic statements by the Supreme Court, the discrimination in the natural born requirement 

cannot operate and can no longer stand because it “creates indeed a second-class citizenship,” 

(Schneider, 377 U.S. at 169), and as such, dilutes, and partially but significantly destroys the 

citizenship of plaintiff – the very result prohibited by the Fourteenth Amendment. 

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4. THE NATURAL BORN PROVISION IS INVALID UNDER THE 

ABSURDITY DOCTRINE AND IN LIGHT OF THE 

CONSTITUTION’S LIBERTY AND JUSTICE GOALS AND THE 

CURRENT PUBLIC POLICY OF THE NATION

In Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc., 458 U.S. 564, 575 (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court, 

in addressing the well established Absurdity Doctrine, stated in relevant part that, “interpretations of 

a statute which would produce absurd results are to be avoided if alternative interpretations 

consistent with the legislative purpose are available.” Because it is much harder to remedy absurd 

results in the Constitutional context through legislative action than absurd results in the statutory 

context, the well-established Absurdity Doctrine applies with even greater force in the constitutional 

context. 

Justices of the United States Supreme Court have described the Supreme Court’s decision in 

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857), as a great “self-inflicted wound10.” See South Carolina 

v. Regan, 465 U.S. 367, 412 (1984). The Dredd Scott decision was handed down before the 

Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were adopted. Dredd Scott was wrongly decided 

because we now agree that the invidious discrimination based on race/ancestry that destroyed Dredd 

Scott’s right to citizenship was irreconcilable with Constitutional equality and was absurd and that 

this absurd result should have been avoided by choosing an alternative interpretation that was 

consistent with the Constitution’s liberty and justice, goals which are today embodied in the 

Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee and which at the time should have also been 

found in the Fifth Amendment’s liberty and due process clauses. Dredd Scott’s right to citizenship 

was destroyed because of his race and here, Hassan’s right to full citizenship is being destroyed 

because of his national origin – like Dredd Scott, Hassan is being relegated to second class status. 

 

10 See http://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/speeches/sp_03-21-03.html - In reference to the Dredd Scott decision, 

then Chief Justice Rehnquist said in a 2003 speech that 'It was rightly referred to by a later Chief Justice as a "selfinflicted wound" from which it took the Court at least a generation to recover.' 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 25 of 33
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See Schneider, 377 U.S. at 169 (discriminating against citizens because of their naturalized status 

“creates indeed a second-class citizenship”). It should be noted that although Dredd Scott dealt with 

citizenship and race discrimination, as a matter of constitutional law, race and national origin 

discrimination are viewed as equally bad as evidenced by the fact that they are both subject to strict 

scrutiny. See for example United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515, 532 n. 6, (1996) (noting that 

“[t]he Court has thus far reserved most stringent judicial scrutiny for classifications based on race or 

national origin”). 

Simply put, because it is now universally accepted that it was incorrect and absurd for the 

Constitution to deny citizenship to Dredd Scott because of his race, it is also incorrect and absurd 

for the Constitution to deny plaintiff full citizenship because of his national origin. The lesson of the 

Dredd Scott case is that even if an absurd result has far greater constitutional support than a nonabsurd result, the courts should choose the non-absurd result over the absurd result. Here, there is 

much more constitutional support for the non-absurd result of equality under the Fifth Amendment 

that plaintiff seeks and there is little or no support for the absurd result of invidious national origin 

discrimination that defendants seek under the natural born provision. 

Almost a hundred years after Dredd Scott, the Supreme Court in Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 

497 (1954), was faced with a situation in which the U.S. Constitution prohibited the states from 

engaging in invidious discrimination but did not prohibit the federal government from doing the 

same - the federal government was subjecting African Americans to invidious discrimination but 

the Fifth Amendment contained no equal protection clause and was never intended by the Founding 

Fathers to protect African Americans from discrimination. In order to avoid another great selfinflicted wound like the one caused by its Dredd Scott decision, the Supreme Court characterized 

this situation as “unthinkable” or absurd and stated that, “In view of our decision that the 

Constitution prohibits the states from maintaining racially segregated public schools, it would be 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 26 of 33
23

unthinkable that the same Constitution would impose a lesser duty on the Federal Government.” 

Bolling, 347 U.S. at 500. Likewise, in light of the Supreme Court’s interpretation that the Fifth and 

Fourteenth Amendments prohibit national origin discrimination by the federal and state 

governments respectively, it would be unthinkable that the same Constitution nonetheless allows 

them to engage in national origin discrimination. The lesson from the unanimous decision in 

Bolling is that invidious discrimination is an absurdity and that the Constitution should not be 

interpreted in a manner that permits invidious discrimination. In Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 

672 (2009), the Supreme Court noted that it recognized an implied right of action because in 

essence, it would be illogical or absurd to have a right without a remedy in the equal protection 

context. Thanks to Bolling and its progeny, the jurisprudential framework is already in place for this 

Court to rule in plaintiff’s favor and it should do so without hesitation. 

5. DEFENDANT’S ARGUMENTS FAIL THE DRED SCOTT TEST 

 

Last but certainly not least, the best indication that defendants’ arguments are without merit 

is the fact that under defendants’ analysis, the notorious Dred Scott decision would be deemed to be 

a correct decision even though the Supreme Court now views said decision as a great “selfinflicted” wound – the post-civil war amendments did not exist at the time of Dredd Scott.

11

Defendant and the district court in Hassan v. USA as well as defendant in this case did not address 

the Dred Scott case even though Dred Scott is the most recent Supreme Court decision that deals 

with invidious citizenship discrimination in the Constitution itself. However, it was so obvious that 

the government’s arguments and the district court’s decision in Hassan v. USA were an 

endorsement of Dredd Scott, the government included the following remarkable disclaimer in its 

appellate brief, when forced to address the Dred Scott case on appeal (See USA Br. at 21, fn 10): 

 

11 11 See http://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/speeches/sp_03-21-03.html - In reference to the Dredd Scott decision, 

then Chief Justice Rehnquist said in a 2003 speech that 'It was rightly referred to by a later Chief Justice as a "selfinflicted wound" from which it took the Court at least a generation to recover.' See also South Carolina v. Regan, 465 

U.S. 367, 412 (1984). 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 27 of 33
24

In discussing Dred Scott, the United States by no means implies that this case was 

correctly decided. Nor should defendant’s discussion of Dred Scott be construed as 

tacit agreement with Chief Justice Taney’s reasoning therein. 

Like the district court and defendant in Hassan v. USA, the defendants in this case have 

adopted a legal position that if applied to the Dred Scott case, would lead to the same result reached 

by Justice Roger Taney even though the U.S. Supreme Court now views that result as grossly 

erroneous and shameful. This is conclusive proof that defendants’ legal position is wrong. Using an 

even clearer example, assume this Court was sitting in 1856 when slavery was still part of the 

Constitution. Assume that a slave from a slave state sues for his freedom by arguing that the slavery 

provision in the Constitution was irreconcilable with and therefore implicitly repealed by the due 

process/equality and liberty guarantees in the Fifth Amendment. Using the district court’s implicit 

repeal analysis in Hassan v. USA and of defendant in this case, this Court would have to rule 

against the slave because: 1) the slavery provision was very specific and the Fifth Amendment was 

more general; 2) there is a strong presumption against implicit repeal – despite the slave’s argument 

that such a presumption goes away when the subject is invidious discrimination; 3) the Fifth 

Amendment was never intended to repeal the slavery provision because when the Fifth Amendment 

was adopted, slavery was the only part of the Constitution specifically protected from repeal for 20 

years; and 4) the Founding Fathers did not see any conflict or irreconcilability between the slavery 

provision and the Fifth Amendment because of the preceding point and because many of them 

owned slaves before and after the Fifth Amendment was adopted. Thankfully, under plaintiff’s 

analysis, the slave would win his freedom. The slavery and invidious citizenship discrimination in 

Dred Scott and the invidious citizenship discrimination in this case are chilling reminders that the 

Absurdity Doctrine and the doctrine of implicit repeal are vital and necessary parts of Constitutional 

jurisprudence. 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 28 of 33
25

Unlike the district court and defendant in Hassan and the defendants in this case, this Court 

must be careful not to adopt legal reasoning which may, “impl[y] that [Dredd Scott] was correctly 

decided” or may be “construed as tacit agreement with Chief Justice Taney’s reasoning therein?” 

There is no way of avoiding the mistake of Dred Scott, unless this Court grants plaintiff the 

declaration he seeks and recognizes that there is no presumption against implicit repeal when 

dealing with invidious “strict-scrutiny” type discrimination such as race or national origin – a 

position the Second Circuit did not challenge. 

III. CONCLUSION

 Based on the foregoing, plaintiff kindly and respectfully request that this Honorable Court 

grant deny defendant’s motion in its entirety and issue the declaration(s) that plaintiff seeks in this 

action, together with such other, further and different relief, that the Court deems just and proper. 

Dated: Queens Village, New York 

 March 23, 2012 

Respectfully submitted, 

 

_/s/ Abdul Hassan___________ 

Abdul Karim Hassan, Esq. 

215-28 Hillside Avenue 

Queens Village, New York 11427 

Tel: 718-740-1000 - Fax: 718-468-3894 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 29 of 33
26

 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

 I certify that on the 23rd day of March 2012, I caused to be field electronically using this 

Court’s ECF system and sent via the ECF electronic notification system a true copy of plaintiff’s 

memorandum in opposition to defendant’s motion to dismiss, on defense counsel Greg J. Mueller, 

Federal Election Commission, 999 E. Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20463. 

Dated: Queens Village, New York 

 March 23, 2012 

_/s/ Abdul Hassan___________ 

Abdul Karim Hassan, Esq. 

215-28 Hillside Avenue 

Queens Village, New York 11427 

Tel: 718-740-1000 - Fax: 718-468-3894 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 30 of 33
 EXHIBIT 1 

TRANSCRIPT OF PLAINTIFF’S ORAL ARGUMENTS ON THE MERITS 

BEFORE THE SECOND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEAL ON JUNE 3, 2011 

JUDGE NEWMAN: And on the merits, I think you 

7 better focus on the argument that when there are two 

8 clauses of the Constitution in alleged conflict, the more 

9 precise governs. 

10 MR. HASSAN: The more precise governs. The 

11 argument that I made, Judge, and related to yours is that 

12 there's an exception to that rule when we're dealing with 

13 discrimination. That for example, under strict scrutiny 

14 framework -- and strict scrutiny is not just a legal 

15 framework, it's a factual framework, as well, a logical 

16 framework, that we -- as Justice O'Connor said in 

17 Adarand, "When the government discriminates against 

18 people, there is no good reason for doing so." 

19 JUDGE NEWMAN: Well you wouldn't say that a 

20 thirty-four year old has a Fourteenth Amendment claim; 

21 would you? 

22 MR. HASSAN: No, because age, there's a 

23 rational basis for that type of age discrimination. But 

24 national origin discrimination is equated with racial 

25 discrimination. It's considered -- it's a strict 

Transcription Plus II, Inc 

Proceedings 

10 

1 scrutiny characteristic, national origin. 

2 So the assumptions or the presumptions for 

3 national origin discrimination are much greater against 

4 it. 

5 So if you have a law that discriminates on the 

6 basis of national origin, there's a presumption under our 

7 existing constitutional jurisprudence that the law is 

8 invalid. The lower court -- and you know in all fairness 

9 to the lower court, the lower court said this is a rare 

10 challenge and the higher courts have not put forth a 

11 standard. So the lower court tried to create a standard 

12 and Judge Gershon is a very good judge. And when I 

13 mentioned in my brief the Dred Scott case, I in no way 

14 equate her to Justice Taney or whatever. She's a -- I've 

15 appeared before her many times. She's a wonderful judge. 

16 But this is a new case and whenever you come up 

17 with new standards and new cases, you are going to err. 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 31 of 33
18 And that's why there's the appellate court to fix those 

19 errors. So I think you -- Dred Scott, Justice Taney in 

20 Dred Scott said "As a matter of law, there is no 

21 difference between an article of merchandise and a human 

22 being held as slave property." He uses this tunnel 

23 vision approach that I think the lower court used here. 

24 He didn't make any distinction or any allowance for the 

25 fact that you were dealing with invidious discrimination 

Transcription Plus II, Inc 

Proceedings 

11 

1 against a human being. 

2 Today, a 160 years after that case, thank God 

3 we've made that recognition. Starting in the 1940s and 

4 '50s, Judge Newman I think you clerked for Chief Justice 

5 Warren during the '50s when there was a moment of truth 

6 in this country for the Fifth Amendment. He read equal 

7 protection into the Fifth Amendment, simply because we 

8 were dealing with discrimination. If we were dealing 

9 with the right to fish or something else, he would not 

10 have done that. 

11 But here we understand the importance that 

12 racial discrimination and prohibiting it has played in 

13 this country and we correctly have remedied a lot of the 

14 mistakes of the past, especially the Dred Scott case. 

15 The government relied tremendously on original 

16 intent; both the lower court and the government said 

17 well, the Fifth Amendment was not intended to repeal the 

18 discrimination that I'm challenging. Well the Fifth 

19 Amendment was not, as you told Charlie Rose in an 

20 interview two years back, it wasn't intended to prohibit 

21 slavery, racial discrimination, national origin 

22 discrimination or gender discrimination. 

23 But today, we take the approach that we cannot 

24 rely on original intent when it comes to issues of 

25 discrimination. That is how today we interpret the Fifth 

Transcription Plus II, Inc 

Proceedings 

12 

1 Amendment as prohibiting all these types of 

2 discrimination. And we had to do it, or else the 

3 Constitution would become a suicide pact. 

4 And so the mistake the government makes and the 

5 lower court has made is to rely so heavily on original 

6 intent. If you rely on original intent to issues of 

7 discrimination, you have to throw all the civil rights 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 32 of 33
8 cases for the last fifty years in a garbage can. And 

9 obviously, that's not something we can do. 

10 So this is a critical moment. This is a 

11 historical case for that reason. You don't see 

12 discrimination -- this is the last instance of 

13 discrimination in the constitution, invidious 

14 discrimination in the constitution. Dred Scott was the 

15 last one. That was in 1850s. We fixed that one. We 

16 fought a civil war. A lot of people died and the stain 

17 of that case still stays with us. 

18 And this case is an opportunity for the 

19 judiciary as well. This is the second time -- this is 

20 the first time since Dred Scott that the courts are 

21 facing a choice between invidious discrimination and 

22 equality. Dred Scott, Justice Taney chose 

23 discrimination. I'm asking you to choose equality. Also 

24 one -- 

25 JUDGE LIVINGSTON: That's a very good statement 

Transcription Plus II, Inc 

Proceedings 

13 

1 of your position and I think we understand it. The anti2 discrimination norm in the Constitution refers a 

3 different than usual interpretative principles. You've 

4 saved one minute for rebuttal. 

5 MR. HASSAN: Thank you, your Honor. 

Case 1:11-cv-02189-EGS Document 12 Filed 03/23/12 Page 33 of 33