Source: https://casetext.com/case/youghiogheny-and-ohio-coal-company-v-morton?resultsNav=false
Timestamp: 2018-11-21 05:59:47
Document Index: 575173022

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 801', '§ 813', '§ 2284', '§ 1331', '§ 1391', '§ 811', '§ 813', '§ 819', '§ 819', '§ 813', 'art, 429', '§ 828', '§ 451', '§ 801', '§ 201', '§ 374', '§ 7602', '§ 7602', '§ 814', '§ 816', '§ 801']

Youghiogheny and Ohio Coal Company v. Morton, 364 F. Supp. 45 | Casetext
364 F. Supp. 45 (S.D. Ohio 1973)
United States District Court, S.D. Ohio, E.DSep 19, 1973
364 F. Supp. 45•41 Ohio Misc. 6•
Brennan v. Gibson&apos;s Products, Inc. of Plano
…As such, they were deemed to have in some sense impliedly consented to unwarranted inspections. Next, citing…
United States v. Consolidation Coal Co.
…The issue as to the standing of Marks and Zitko to challenge the searches is mooted by our disposition of…
John C. Kinder, St. Clairsville, Ohio, for plaintiff.
Peter Berkfield, Dept. of Justice, L. Avrum Fingerett, Div. of Mine Health, Dept. of the Interior, Washington, D.C., for defendants.
This matter is before the Court on a motion for interlocutory injunction against the enforcement of those parts of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., [hereinafter the Act] which direct and require the Secretary of the Interior and his authorized representatives to make warrantless searches of coal mines. See 30 U.S.C. § 813(a), (b)(1), 814(b), (c)(1), 819(a)(1), (b), (c). A three judge court was convened in accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 2284 to hear argument on the constitutionality of there provisions.
Jurisdiction is asserted under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1331, 1343(4), and 1361. Venue is proper under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1391. The claim for relief is alleged under the provisions of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
The coal mine industry has been regulated since 1910 when the United States Bureau of Mines was established. In 1941 federal inspectors were first given the power to enter and inspect mines for health and safety hazards. However, full compliance with health and safety standards was not attained. Mining disasters in 1967 and 1968 led Congress to enact the comprehensive Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. 1969 U.S. Code Cong. Admin.News 2503. The Act contains the following relevant Congressional findings and declarations:
The Act empowered the Secretary of the Interior to develop, promulgate and revise mandatory safety standards and to promulgate health standards for coal mines. 30 U.S.C. § 811. To implement the mandatory health and safety standards the Act requires frequent mine inspections without advance notice. Underground coal mines must be inspected at least four times a year. 30 U.S.C. § 813. When a federal inspector finds a violation of any mandatory health or safety standard he is required to issue a notice of violation. 30 U.S.C. § 819(a)(1). Willful violations of mandatory health or safety standards are criminally punishable. 30 U.S.C. § 819(b). With this as background, we must now test the Act against the rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.
Section 813 provides, in relevant part:
§ 813. Inspections and investigations — Purposes.
There can be no question but that the right of government officials to enter privately owned mining property without notice or warrant constitutes a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. See Cady v. Dombrowski, 413 U.S. 433 at 442, 93 S.Ct. 2523, 37 L.Ed.2d 706 (1973). We further recognize that warrantless searches conducted without prior judicial approval are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, subject only to a few jealously limited and carefully guarded exceptions. See Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266, 93 S.Ct. 2535, 37 L.Ed.2d 596 (1973); Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 454-455, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971). It has been recently underscored that "the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against `unreasonable searches and seizures' is shaped by the warrant clause, and thus that a warrantless search of private property is per se `unreasonable' under the Fourth Amendment unless within one of the few specifically established and well delineated exceptions." Cady v. Dombrowski, supra, 413 U.S., at 451, 93 S.Ct., at 2532 (Brennan, J., dissenting); also see Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, supra, 413 U.S., at 269, 93 S.Ct. 2535; Id., at 277, 93 S.Ct. 2535 (Powell, J., concurring); United States v. United States District Court, 407 U.S. 297, 92 S.Ct. 2125, 32 L.Ed.2d 752 (1972); Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967); Camera v. Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 523, 87 S.Ct. 1727, 18 L.Ed.2d 930 (1967).
We consider it equally well settled that the private commercial property of a businessman or corporation is, in general, protected by the Fourth Amendment. See v. Seattle, 387 U.S. 541, 87 S.Ct. 1737, 18 L.Ed.2d 943 (1967). The Court would not be candid, however, if it failed to recognize that Fourth Amendment rights have been considerably restricted as they apply to commercial property affected by certain validly enacted regulatory schemes. For example, an exception to the warrants requirement is now established where statutory regulation of businesses, pursuant to the government's police power, mandates warrantless entry. See United States v. Biswell, 406 U.S. 311, 315-317, 92 S.Ct. 1593, 32 L.Ed.2d 87 (1972); Colonnade Catering Corporation v. United States, 397 U.S. 72, 90 S.Ct. 774, 25 L.Ed.2d 60 (1970).
No violation of Fourth Amendment rights is deemed to occur in these and analogous situations because, as the Court has recently observed, businessmen ". . . engaged in such federally licensed and regulated enterprises accept the burdens as well as the benefits of their trade. . . . The businessman in a regulated industry in effect consents to the restrictions placed upon him." Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, supra, 413 U.S., at 271, 93 S.Ct., at 2538; also see Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973); United States v. Thriftimart, 429 F.2d 1006 (C.A.9, 1970), cert. den., 400 U.S. 926, 91 S.Ct. 188, 27 L.Ed.2d 185 (1971), reh. den., 400 U.S. 1002, 91 S.Ct. 453, 27 L.Ed.2d 454 (1971); United States v. Del Campo Baking Manufacturing Co., 345 F. Supp. 1371 (D.Del. 1972); United States v. Litvin, 353 F. Supp. 1333 (D.D.C. 1973).
Plaintiff does not, of course, argue that the coal industry is not a "regulated" one within the meaning of Almeida-Sanchez. Nor do we understand the plaintiff to contest the historicity of such regulation under the standard of Colonnade, where the Court noted that the liquor industry has ". . . long [been] subject to close [governmental] supervision and inspection." Id., 397 U.S., at 77, 90 S.Ct., at 777. Also see LaRue v. California, 409 U.S. 109, 93 S.Ct. 390, 34 L.Ed.2d 342 (1973). We believe the same is equally true of the coal industry which, as noted above, has long been held subject to the Congress' powers under the Commerce Clause. It would appear then that plaintiff at bar, a business in a pervasively regulated industry, has consented by implication at least, to reasonable intrusions by federal authorities.
See, The Bituminous Coal Act of 1937, 50 Stat. 75-90, 15 U.S.C. § 828 et seq. (expired 1943); Coal Mine Safety Act of 1941, 55 Stat. 177, 30 U.S.C. § 451 et seq. (repealed by 83 Stat. 803, December 30, 1969, and replaced by the Act which is the subject matter of the present litigation); Gray v. Powell, 314 U.S. 402, 62 S.Ct. 326, 86 L.Ed. 301 (1941); Sunshine Anthracite Coal Co. v. Adkins, 310 U.S. 381, 60 S.Ct. 907, 84 L.Ed. 1263 (1940); City of Atlanta v. National Bituminous Coal Commission, 26 F. Supp. 606 (D.D.C. 1939), aff'd, 308 U.S. 517, 60 S.Ct. 170, 84 L.Ed. 440 (1939); St. Mary's Sewer Pipe Company v. Bureau of Mines, 262 F.2d 378 (C.A.3 1959), collecting cases; also see, Katzenbach v. McClung, 379 U.S. 294, 85 S.Ct. 377, 13 L.Ed.2d 290 (1964); Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241, 85 S.Ct. 348, 13 L.Ed.2d 258 (1964); N.L.R.B. v. Good Coal Co., 110 F.2d 501 (C.A.6 1940), cert. den., 310 U.S. 630, 60 S.Ct. 978, 84 L.Ed. 1400 (1940); N.L.R.B. v. Louisville Refining Co., 102 F.2d 678 (C.A.6 1939), cert. den., 308 U.S. 568, 60 S.Ct. 81, 84 L.Ed. 477 (1939); Cincinnati Gas Electric Co. v. Federal Power Commission, 376 F.2d 506 (C.A.6 1967), cert. den. 389 U.S. 842, 88 S.Ct. 77, 19 L.Ed.2d 106 (1967); see, contra, Carter v. Carter Coal Co., 298 U.S. 238, 56 S.Ct. 855, 80 L.Ed. 1160 (1930) striking down as unconstitutional provision of The Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935, 49 Stat. 991, 15 U.S.C. § 801 et seq.
The touchstone against which the instant legislative scheme must be tested is whether warrantless searches, in the context of mine safety investigations, are reasonable. As the Supreme Court has quite recently had the occasion to observe, the Fourth Amendment proscription against `unreasonable [searches and] seizures' . . . must not be read in a vacuum. A seizure reasonable as to one type of material in one setting may be unreasonable in a different setting or with respect to another kind of material." Roaden v. Kentucky, 413 U.S. 496 at 501, 93 S.Ct. 2796, at 2800, 37 L.Ed.2d 757 (1973). In Roaden the Court held that the seizure of an allegedly obscene motion picture, in the absence of a valid search warrant, was pregnant with First Amendment implications and therefore was unreasonable and unconstitutional under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.
The Court must, of course, assume in the context of a facial attack on the constitutionality of the Act that the searches conducted by the federal mining inspectors are directly related to ensuring compliance with the purpose of the legislation. We do not believe that the inspectors could validly use the powers granted them by Sections 813(a) and (b) to conduct a search of plaintiff's premises for the express purpose of finding illegal drugs, or adulterated food or fraudulently prepared income tax returns. Under this Act, and other legislative schemes which are similar to it, see for example, the Federal Food and Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, § 201, 21 U.S.C. § 374(a) (as amended 1962); United States v. Del Campo Baking Manufacturing Co., supra; United States v. Lewis, 431 F.2d 303 (9th Cir. 1970); Internal Revenue Code of 1954, § 7602, 26 U.S.C. § 7602; Donaldson v. United States, 400 U.S. 517, 91 S.Ct. 534, 27 L.Ed.2d 580 (1971), the inspectors' powers are valid only insofar as they are used to further the purposes of the Act. To the extent a given search does not satisfy this standard, a necessary predicate to its validity would be lacking and it would be plainly improper under settled Fourth Amendment law. See Coolidge v. New Hampshire, supra, 403 U.S. at 473-474, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564.
Nor do we think that there is any merit in the plaintiff's argument that the challenged portions of the Act interfere with any reasonable expectations of privacy it may have in its mines. Mine employees, whose interests are protected by the Act, enter such mines daily. They there perform work which is important to this nation's seemingly insatiable demands for energy. In essence then, the plaintiff's mines are open to representatives of the public and the public has every right to ensure that the working conditions of these same mines meet certain safety standards. It might be said that the plaintiff waives any rights to privacy it may otherwise have in these facilities by operating a business which requires the daily labor of large numbers of miners, who have understandably been characterized by Congress as the "most precious resource" of the coal industry. See, Congressional Finding (a) supra at 3. Federal inspectors do not, therefore, intrude into any zone of privacy which the mine owners reasonably expect to remain inviolate. The governmental interest in promoting mine safety, it might be concluded, far outweighs any interest the mine operators may have in privacy.
The mine operator, though, does have a general expectation of privacy in his offices on the mining property. There is, however, no expectation of privacy in the maps, books and records which are maintained for and in compliance with the Mine Safety Act. These must, of course, be produced upon demand to the federal inspector when he makes his unannounced entry. But the Act does not authorize these inspectors to rummage in any wholesale way or to initiate a general search of the mine operator's offices for such records. See n. 4, supra.
We further conclude that there is but minimal danger of any abuse of power flowing from the Act's authorization of warrantless entry. In Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 523, 87 S.Ct. 1727, 18 L.Ed.2d 930 (1967), the Court noted the important function a judicial officer plays in delimiting the scope of a search:
Id., at 532, 87 S.Ct., at 1732. The gun licensees were found not to be so handicapped in Biswell.
United States v. Biswell, 406 U.S., at 316, 92 S.Ct., at 1596. Also see Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, supra, 413 U.S. at 271, 93 S.Ct. 2535.
By enacting the legislation now before this Court, the Congress has, in effect, pursuant to its police powers, substituted a legislative pronouncement for case by case judicial determinations. It has, through this legislation, essentially determined that probable cause or exigent circumstances exist in the coal industry so as to make warrantless searching of its mines reasonable. Congress has further determined that the conditions that prevail in many mines endanger or potentially endanger the health and safety of the miners who work in this industry. While neither Congress nor public opinion are free to suspend constitutional protections by either statutory enactment or popular referendums, see Reitman v. Mulkey, 387 U.S. 369, 87 S.Ct. 1627, 18 L.Ed.2d 830 (1967); Alkire v. Cashman, 350 F. Supp. 360 (S.D.Ohio 1972), aff'd, 477 F.2d 598 (C.A.6, 1973), cert. pend. (1973), Congress may, through the valid exercise of its Commerce Clause powers, attempt to delineate and define the limits of these protections. In the Fourth Amendment area, where the essence of the right hinges on a concept of reasonableness, the Congressional definition is entitled to great weight. In the case at bar, as we conclude that there was some basis, both in fact and in law, for Congress' approach, we refuse to second guess its determination.
Our view might be entirely otherwise were we not dealing with a business context of a nearly inherently dangerous type. If Congress, for example, after taking note of the wide incidence of crime, authorized warrantless entry into private homes, we would be unable to reconcile such a statute with the command of the Fourth Amendment.
As we have noted above, this three-judge court was convened to adjudicate a facial attack on the constitutionality of the Act. We will not consider the reasonableness of individual searches nor the reasonableness of the frequency of inspection of plaintiff's mines. The Act itself mandates frequent inspections. When an inspection results in a notice of violation, the mine operator has a right of administrative review. 30 U.S.C. § 814, 815. Questions regarding the reasonableness of these entries must be raised in the first instance before the Secretary. It is not plain from the record now before us whether the numerous searches herein involved were justified by the existence of unusually unsafe conditions at the mine.
The Act further provides that if relief is denied administratively, the mine operator is entitled to judicial review in the United States District Court. 30 U.S.C. § 816. After the exhaustion of administrative remedies, a single-judge district court is the most appropriate forum in which to seek review of allegations of unreasonable searches in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. See Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 6 S.Ct. 1064, 30 L.Ed. 220 (1886). It, of course, goes without saying that ". . . [a]ny law which is nondiscriminatory on its face may be applied in such a way as to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 257, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 2735, 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972) (Douglas, J., concurring); also see Weber v. Aetna Casualty Surety Co., 406 U.S. 164, 172, 92 S.Ct. 1400, 31 L.Ed.2d 768 (1972); Yick Wo v. Hopkins, supra. The United States District Courts stand always ready in appropriate proceedings to remedy these abuses of official discretion or presumptions when they are shown to exist. See Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 31 L.Ed.2d 551 (1972) ( per White, J.).
For the reasons and on the grounds which more fully appear in the Opinion of this Court filed simultaneously herewith, it is concluded that the challenged portions of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., which authorize warrantless searches of coal mines, are without constitutional infirmity under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. Plaintiff's claims are therefore without merit; it is not therefore entitled to the requested injunctive relief.
(b)(1) For the purpose of making any inspection or investigation under this chapter, the Secretary or any authorized representative of the Secretary shall have a right of entry to, upon, or through any coal mine.