Opinion ID: 2974111
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: The amendments to Chapter 111 do not render the issues in this case moot. A case is only moot when a live controversy no longer exists such that a court is no longer able to affect the legal relations between the parties. See, e.g., Diaz v. Kinkela, 253 F.3d 241, 243 (6th Cir. 2001). As this Court explained when addressing mootness on a previous occasion: “[A] controversy does not cease to exist by mere virtue of a change in the applicable law.” Public Serv. Co. of Col. v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, 30 F.3d 1203, 1205 (9th Cir.1994). As the Supreme Court recognized in Northeastern Fla. Chapter of Associated Gen. Contractors of Am. v. City of Jacksonville, 508 U.S. 656, 113 S.Ct. 2297, 124 L.Ed.2d 586 (1993), where the new statute is substantially similar to the old statute and operates in “the same fundamental way,” the statutory change has not “sufficiently altered [the circumstances] so as to present a substantially different controversy,” and the case is not moot. Id. at 662 & n. 3, 113 S.Ct. 2297; see also Rosenstiel v. Rodriguez, 101 F.3d 1544, 1548 (8th Cir.1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1229, 117 S.Ct. 1820, 137 L.Ed.2d 1028 (1997). In other words, where the changes in the law arguably do not remove the harm or threatened harm underlying the dispute, “the case remains alive and suitable for judicial determination.” ShoshoneBannock Tribes, 30 F.3d at 1205. Hadix v. Johnson, 144 F.3d 925, 933 (6th Cir. 1998), overruled on other grounds, Miller v. French, 530 U.S. 327, 338-39 (2000). The amendments in the instant case did not completely remove the alleged harm. Plaintiffs’ primary objection to Chapter 111’s licensing provision is its failure to provide a mechanism for expedited judicial review of license denials, revocations, and suspensions, which Plaintiffs contend is required by First Amendment case law. Although the new statute now contains judicial review provisions, the new statute does not provide for an expedited judicial review process. Instead, it simply permits affected parties to appeal the license denials, revocations, and suspensions through the normal Kentucky court process. Thus, as Plaintiffs’ reply brief on appeal makes clear, Plaintiffs still believe that the statute is unconstitutional for the reasons set forth in their original complaint.