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# D o e v . W i lmin g t on H ou sin g Author it y

P r e c e de n t i al or N on-P r e c e de n t i al : N on-P r e c e de n t i al

D ock e t N o . 12-3433

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. e du/thir dc ir c uit_2014/544NOT PRECEDENTIAL

U NITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

_____________

No. 12

- 3433

____________ JANE DOE; CHARLES BOONE, Appellant s

v.

WILMINGTON HOUSING AUTHORITY; FREDERICK S. PURNELL, SR., in his official capacity as executive director of the Wilmington Housing Authority

On Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of Delaware (District Court No.: 1

- 10

- cv

- 00473) District Judge: Honorable Leonard P. Stark

Argu ed May 23, 2013

Before: RENDELL and GREENAWAY

, JR., Circuit Judges

,

and ROSENTHAL *

, District Judge

(Opinion filed : June 6, 2014 )

* The Honorable Lee H. R osenthal, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, sitting by designation.2

Francis G.X. Pileggi, Esq. [ARGUED] Penelope B. O’Connell, Esq. Jill K. Agr o, Esq. Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott, LLC 222 Delaware Avenue, 7th Floor Wilmington, DE 19801

Counsel for Appellants

Barry M. Willoughby, Esq. [ARGUED] Lauren E.M. Russell, Esq. Young, Conway, Stargatt & Taylor, LLP 100 No rth King Street Rodney Square Wilmington, DE 19801

Counsel for Appellees

Adam K. Levin Hogan Lovells US 555 Thirteenth Street, N.W. Columbia Square Washington, D.C. 20004

C ounsel for The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Amicus Appellee

_____________3 O P I N I O N

_____________

ROSENTHAL , District Judge :

Appellants Jane Doe and Charles Boone sued the Wilmington Housing Authority

(WHA)

, challeng ing parts of its revised f irearm s p olicy under the Second Amendment of

the United Stat es Constitution and Article I, Section 20 of the Delaware Constitution.

The United States District Court for the District of Delaware held that the Common Area

Provision (paragraph 3) and the Reasonable Cause Provision (paragraph 4) of the revised

po licy did not offend either the Second Amendment or Article I, Section 20

. Doe v.

Wilmington Hous. Auth. , 880 F. Supp. 2d 513 , 536

– 39 (D. Del. 2012). Appell ants did not

appeal the Second Amendment ruling but did appeal the ruling on the Delaware

Constitut ion. 1

Because the appeal raise d unresolved questions of Delaware constitutional law , o n

July 18, 2013, we asked the Delaware Supreme Court to accept certification under Article

IV, Section 11(8 ) of the Delaware Constitution and Delaware Supreme Court Rul e 41 to

answer the following questions :

(1) Whether, under Article I, § 20 of the Delaware Constitution, a public housing agency such as the WHA may adopt a policy prohibiting its residents, household members, and guests from displaying or carrying a firearm o r other

1 A ppellants also argued, and the District C ourt dis agreed, that state law preempted the WHA’s actions and that the WHA acted outside of the scope of its

au thority. Appellants appealed those conclusions

. W e expressly declined to certify those issues to the Delaware Supreme Court and need not consider them in light of the Delaware Supreme Court’s answer to the certified questions.4

weapon in a common area, except when the firearm or other weapon is being transported to or from a resident’s housing unit or is being used in self

- defense.

(2) Whether, under Article I, § 20 of the Delaware Constitution, a public housing agency such as the WHA may require its residents, household members, and guests to have available for inspection a copy of any permit, license, or other documentation required by state, local, or federal law for the ownership, possession, or transportation of any fir earm or other weapon, including a license to carry a concealed weapon, as required by 11 Del. C. § 1441, on request, when there is reasonable cause to believe that the law or policies have been violated.

On July 30, 2013, the Delaware Supreme Court acce pted certification of the se

questions

. After considering the parties’ brief s and argument s , on March 18, 2014, the

Court issued an opinion answering both questions in the negative

. Doe v. Wilmington

Hous. Auth.

, 88 A.3d 654 (Del. 2014)

.

The Delaware Su preme Court held t hat the interpretation of Article I, Section 20

did not depend on the Second Amendment; that, under Delaware law, the right to bear

arms was not absolute ; and that an intermediate

- scrutiny analysis applied , allowing a

court “ to consider p ublic safety and other important governmental interests.” Id. at 667.

Applying intermediate scrutiny, the Delaware Supreme Court held that the Common Area

Provision “burden[ed] the right to bear arms more than is reasonably necessary” and that

the Reason able Cause Provision that enforced the Common Area Provision was also

overbroad

. Id

. at 668

– 69

. As a result, these provisions were unconstitutional under

Article I, Section 20. Id. at 670.

We adopt the Delaware Supreme Court’s opinion in Doe v. Wilmingt on Hou s.

Auth.

, 88 A.3d 654 (Del. 2014)

. We will reverse and remand the District C ourt’s5

judgment under the Delaware Constitution for entry of judgment consistent with the

guidance that the Delaware Supreme Court has provided.