Opinion ID: 780589
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Justiciability of Plaintiff's Claim

Text: 29
30 The doctrine of standing is of both constitutional and prudential dimension. See Barrows v. Jackson, 346 U.S. 249, 255-56, 73 S.Ct. 1031, 97 L.Ed. 1586 (1953). The necessity to establish constitutional standing is rooted in the case or controversy requirement of the Constitution. See U.S. Const. art. III, § 2. [T]he standing question is whether the plaintiff has `alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy' as to warrant his invocation of federal-court jurisdiction and to justify exercise of the court's remedial powers on his behalf. Warth, 422 U.S. at 498-99, 95 S.Ct. 2197 (quoting Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 204, 82 S.Ct. 691, 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962)). 31 The burden to establish standing lies with the party invoking federal jurisdiction. Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 167-68, 117 S.Ct. 1154, 137 L.Ed.2d 281 (1997). A plaintiff must show: 32 that (1) he or she personally has suffered some actual or threatened injury as a result of the challenged conduct; (2) the injury can be fairly traced to that conduct; and (3) the injury likely will be redressed by a favorable decision from the court. 33 N.H. Right to Life, 99 F.3d at 13 (internal citations omitted); see Valley Forge Christian Coll. v. Ams. United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U.S. 464, 472, 102 S.Ct. 752, 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982). 34 A paradigm of a case or controversy under Article III is a challenge to a statute that imposes criminal penalties for constitutionally protected activities by a person likely to be subject to the statute. Diamond v. Charles, 476 U.S. 54, 64, 106 S.Ct. 1697, 90 L.Ed.2d 48 (1986). A party need not violate the statute and suffer the penalty in order to generate a conflict worthy of standing in federal court. Babbitt v. United Farm Workers Nat'l Union, 442 U.S. 289, 298, 99 S.Ct. 2301, 60 L.Ed.2d 895 (1979). In challenges under the First Amendment, two types of injuries may confer Article III standing without necessitating that the challenger actually undergo a criminal prosecution. The first is when the plaintiff has alleged an intention to engage in a course of conduct arguably affected with a constitutional interest, but proscribed by [the] statute, and there exists a credible threat of prosecution. Id. Plaintiffs may have standing even if they have never been prosecuted or threatened with prosecution. Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 188, 93 S.Ct. 739, 35 L.Ed.2d 201 (1973). The second type of injury is when a plaintiff is chilled from exercising her right to free expression or forgoes expression in order to avoid enforcement consequences. N.H. Right to Life, 99 F.3d at 13; see Virginia v. Am. Booksellers Ass'n, Inc., 484 U.S. 383, 393, 108 S.Ct. 636, 98 L.Ed.2d 782 (1988); Meese v. Keene, 481 U.S. 465, 473, 107 S.Ct. 1862, 95 L.Ed.2d 415 (1987). Plaintiffs need not place themselves between the Scylla of intentionally flouting state law and the Charybdis of forgoing ... constitutionally protected activity. Steffel v. Thompson, 415 U.S. 452, 462, 94 S.Ct. 1209, 39 L.Ed.2d 505 (1974). 35 A plaintiff's subjective and irrational fear of prosecution is not enough to confer standing under Article III for either type of injury. See Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1, 13-14, 92 S.Ct. 2318, 33 L.Ed.2d 154 (1972) ([A]llegations of a subjective `chill' are not an adequate substitute for a claim of specific present objective harm or a threat of specific future harm.). Both the injury based on threat of prosecution and the injury based on self-censorship depend on the existence of a credible threat that the challenged law will be enforced. N.H. Right to Life, 99 F.3d at 14. Put another way, the fear of prosecution must be objectively reasonable. R.I. Ass'n of Realtors, 199 F.3d at 31; see also N.H. Right to Life, 99 F.3d at 14. 36 As to whether a First Amendment plaintiff faces a credible threat of prosecution, the evidentiary bar that must be met is extremely low. [C]ourts will assume a credible threat of prosecution in the absence of compelling contrary evidence. Id. at 15. The Supreme Court has often found standing to challenge criminal statutes on First Amendment grounds even when those statutes have never been enforced. See, e.g., Babbitt, 442 U.S. at 302, 99 S.Ct. 2301; Doe, 410 U.S. at 188, 93 S.Ct. 739; see also R.I. Ass'n of Realtors, 199 F.3d at 32 (finding a credible threat of prosecution under a statute that had never been enforced, in part because it was enacted only twenty years ago). A finding of no credible threat of prosecution under a criminal statute requires a long institutional history of disuse, bordering on desuetude. See Poe v. Ullman, 367 U.S. 497, 501, 507, 81 S.Ct. 1752, 6 L.Ed.2d 989 (1961) (denying standing based on an eighty-year-old tacit agreement by the state not to prosecute). 37
38 The district court correctly found that Mangual meets both the second prong of the standing test, causation, and the third prong, redressability. Mangual, 203 F.Supp.2d at 84. There is no question that if an injury exists, it is caused by the criminal libel statute. Redressability is also not in question; when a statute is challenged as unconstitutional, the proper defendants are the government officials whose role it is to administer and enforce it. See Diamond, 476 U.S. at 57 n. 2, 106 S.Ct. 1697. The district court incorrectly found, however, that Mangual fails the injury in fact requirement because there is no credible threat of prosecution. Mangual, 203 F.Supp.2d at 84 (quoting Babbitt, 442 U.S. at 298, 99 S.Ct. 2301). 39 We think it apparent that Mangual has standing to challenge Puerto Rico's criminal libel statute. In his complaint, Mangual asserts standing under both alternative prongs of the N.H. Right to Life standing rubric. First, Mangual faced and continues to face a real threat of prosecution. The existence of federal jurisdiction ordinarily depends on the facts as they exist when the complaint is filed. Newman-Green, Inc. v. Alfonzo-Larrain, 490 U.S. 826, 830, 109 S.Ct. 2218, 104 L.Ed.2d 893 (1989); see Becker v. FEC, 230 F.3d 381, 386 n. 4 (1st Cir.2000). At the time this action was brought, Mangual was under actual threat of prosecution by Officer Rivera, a threat that was surely a credible one; furthermore, the Department of Justice advanced the prosecution when it forwarded Rivera's complaint to the local police. There is no question Mangual had standing at that time. 40 Mangual also has standing based on other factors. He states an intention to continue covering police corruption and writing articles similar to those which instigated Rivera's threat of prosecution. He asserts that there are several other individuals who have been mentioned in published articles he has authored who are inclined to prosecute him for criminal libel. The investigations into these individuals are ongoing, and further articles will be written, exacerbating Mangual's exposure to a criminal libel prosecution. Thus, even discounting Rivera's threat of prosecution, Mangual has shown a credible threat of prosecution for continuing his work as a journalist. 41 Second, Mangual asserts the existence of a chilling effect of a very serious nature on his investigative reporting due to the possibility of prosecution. The effect of the statute, as alleged by Mangual, has been severe. While insurance is available to cover civil libel cases, none is available to cover the legal fees or fines resulting from criminal libel charges. As a result, there is nothing Mangual can do to limit his exposure other than to curtail his investigative and journalistic activities. Mangual also says there is a danger his sources will silence themselves if he is criminally prosecuted and forced to disclose his sources to prove the truth of his allegations. The threat of prosecution against Mangual, and the ensuing chilling effect, certainly exceed the low probability threshold required for First Amendment standing purposes. 42 Puerto Rico's criminal libel statute is not an antiquated and moribund statute; it is less than thirty years old. Although it has been amended four times since Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 85 S.Ct. 209, 13 L.Ed.2d 125 (1964), was decided, the amendments have not attempted to conform the statute to the requirements of the First Amendment. The most recent amendment was in December 1999; it increased the criminal penalties dramatically in order to deter anti-social acts, including increasing the maximum fine tenfold. When the Department of Justice was asked to comment on this change during the pendency of this litigation, it supported the increased penalty without raising any federal constitutional concerns. The only constitutional protection the Department of Justice raised was the constitutional protection that exists against attacks against honor and reputation. The defendants do not argue that the statute is not in current use; they cannot, for it has been recently used. 43 Nor does the libel statute carve out any exception for journalists. The prosecution of Betancourt in 1999, thwarted only by the judge in the probable cause hearing, belies the claim that journalists are immune from prosecution. The Secretary of Justice has not unequivocally stated a policy against prosecution of such cases, and the Secretary's actions gainsay any such avowal. Indeed, when Officer Rivera threatened to institute a criminal libel action against Mangual and notified the Department of Justice, the Department did not advise against it. 44 Even if the Department of Justice did disavow any intention to prosecute either any criminal libel cases or any cases against journalists, and it adhered to that policy, Mangual would still have a credible fear of having criminal charges filed against him by the local police, whom he has accused of corruption, and other government officials similarly accused. Under Puerto Rico law, if the crime is a misdemeanor, individuals may file a complaint with the police or pro se; it is after probable cause is shown and the matter is set for trial that the Justice Department steps in to prosecute the case. The Secretary exercises no control over whom the local police choose to prosecute for misdemeanors; indeed, as the history of Betancourt's prosecution indicates, at least one local police department prosecuted despite a federal court injunction ordering it not to prosecute. The plaintiff's credible fear of being haled into court on a criminal charge is enough for the purposes of standing, even if it were not likely that the reporter would be convicted. 45 The defendants do not raise separate prudential standing concerns, and we see none. [A] realistic risk of future exposure to [a] challenged policy ... is sufficient to satisfy prudential as well as constitutional standing concerns. Berner v. Delahanty, 129 F.3d 20, 24 (1st Cir.1997). Mangual's complaint makes a sufficient showing of a credible threat of prosecution to secure standing under Article III.
46 The district court also found that Mangual's claim was not ripe. Like standing, the doctrine of ripeness has roots in both the Article III case or controversy requirement and in prudential considerations. See R.I. Ass'n of Realtors, 199 F.3d at 33 (citing Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Wycoff Co., 344 U.S. 237, 242-44, 73 S.Ct. 236, 97 L.Ed. 291 (1952)). Determining ripeness requires the evaluation of both the fitness of the issues for judicial decision and the hardship to the parties of withholding court consideration. Abbott Labs. v. Gardner, 387 U.S. 136, 149, 87 S.Ct. 1507, 18 L.Ed.2d 681 (1967). 47 The inquiry into fitness is both a constitutional and a prudential one. The constitutional inquiry, grounded in the prohibition against advisory opinions, is one of timing. Reg'l Rail Reorganization Act Cases, 419 U.S. 102, 140, 95 S.Ct. 335, 42 L.Ed.2d 320 (1974). [I]ts basic rationale is to prevent the courts, through avoidance of premature adjudication, from entangling themselves in abstract disagreements. Abbott Labs., 387 U.S. at 148, 87 S.Ct. 1507. The prudential concern is whether resolution of the dispute should be postponed in the name of judicial restraint from unnecessary decision of constitutional issues, Reg'l Rail Reorganization, 419 U.S. at 138, 95 S.Ct. 335; if elements of the case are uncertain, delay may see the dissipation of the legal dispute without need for decision. By contrast, the inquiry into hardship is wholly prudential. See generally 1 L. Tribe, American Constitutional Law § 3-10 (3d ed.2000). 48 The district court found that Mangual's claim is unripe, because he is under no immediate or direct dilemma of facing a prosecution, and because he has not described a concrete plan to engage in libel. Mangual, 203 F.Supp.2d at 87. The district court did not make clear under which prong of the ripeness determination it was operating, or whether its concerns were constitutional or prudential. It appears that the district court was making a prudential determination based on fitness. The reasoning seems to be that because Mangual might not in fact engage in activities that run afoul of the statute, or because he might never be prosecuted, the court should decline to consider the merits of the constitutional challenge. 49 The district court's analysis has two errors. First, its analysis under the ripeness doctrine that Mangual does not face a credible threat of prosecution is simply a repetition of its standing decision, one that is mistaken. Mangual has averred an intention to continue his work as an investigative journalist, and the recent prosecutions under the criminal libel law indicate a real threat of prosecution for his work. Ripeness does not require that he wait for such a prosecution. 50 Second, the district court failed to consider Mangual's alternative ground for standing: the chilling effect that the statute has on his work as a journalist. If that effect emanates from a credible threat of prosecution, as it does here, Mangual need not either describe a plan to break the law or wait for a prosecution under it. The purpose of the alternative ground for standing in such cases is so that plaintiffs need not break the law in order to challenge it. [T]he doctrine of ripeness ... asks whether an injury that has not yet happened is sufficiently likely to happen to warrant judicial review. Gun Owners Action League, Inc. v. Swift, 284 F.3d 198, 205 (1st Cir.2002) (internal quotation omitted). Here, that injury, the chilling effect, is not only likely but has already come to pass. We find that Mangual's claim is ripe for resolution.
51 The doctrine of mootness enforces the mandate that an actual controversy must be extant at all stages of the review, not merely at the time the complaint is filed. Steffel, 415 U.S. at 460 n. 10, 94 S.Ct. 1209. Thus, mootness can be viewed as `the doctrine of standing set in a time frame.' United States Parole Comm'n v. Geraghty, 445 U.S. 388, 397, 100 S.Ct. 1202, 63 L.Ed.2d 479 (1980) (quoting H.P. Monaghan, Constitutional Adjudication: The Who and When, 82 Yale L.J. 1363, 1384 (1973)). If events have transpired to render a court opinion merely advisory, Article III considerations require dismissal of the case. See County of Los Angeles v. Davis, 440 U.S. 625, 631, 99 S.Ct. 1379, 59 L.Ed.2d 642 (1979). The burden of establishing mootness rests squarely on the party raising it, and [t]he burden is a heavy one. United States v. W.T. Grant Co., 345 U.S. 629, 633, 73 S.Ct. 894, 97 L.Ed. 1303 (1953). It must be absolutely clear that the allegedly wrongful behavior could not reasonably be expected to recur. United States v. Concentrated Phosphate Export Ass'n, 393 U.S. 199, 203, 89 S.Ct. 361, 21 L.Ed.2d 344 (1968). We exercise de novo review when determining whether a case is moot. Verhoeven v. Brunswick Sch. Comm., 207 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir.1999). 52 The district court found that Mangual's claim is moot, because the one-year statute of limitations has expired as to an action based on the newspaper articles about which Officer Rivera threatened prosecution. Mangual, 203 F.Supp.2d at 89; see 33 P.R. Laws Ann. § 3412(b). This mootness determination is incorrect. A pending prosecution is not required for a party to have standing, even if standing is asserted on the basis of a party's intent to engage in potentially law-breaking activity. If events have transpired to render a court opinion merely advisory, Article III considerations require dismissal of the case. See County of Los Angeles v. Davis, 440 U.S. 625, 631, 99 S.Ct. 1379 (1979). The doctrine of mootness enforces the mandate that an actual controversy must be extant at all stages of the review, not merely at the time the complaint is filed. Steffel, 415 U.S. at 460 n. 10, 94 S.Ct. 1209. Thus, mootness can be viewed as `the doctrine of standing set in a time frame.' United States Parole Comm'n v. Geraghty, 445 U.S. 388, 397, 100 S.Ct. 1202 (1980)(quoting H.P. Monaghan, Constitutional Adjudication: the Who and When, 82 Yale L.J. 1363, 1384 (1973)). The Supreme Court has qualified this description and made clear that standing and mootness are not completely analogous doctrines: there are circumstances in which the prospect that a defendant will engage in (or resume) harmful conduct may be too speculative to support standing, but not too speculative to overcome mootness. Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 190, 120 S.Ct. 693 (2000). This is because the burden of establishing mootness rests squarely on the party raising it, and [t]he burden is a heavy one. United States v. W.T. Grant Co., 345 U.S. 629, 633, 73 S.Ct. 894 (1953). It must be absolutely clear that the allegedly wrongful behavior could not reasonably be expected to recur. United States v. Concentrated Phosphate Export Ass'n, 393 U.S. 199, 203, 89 S.Ct. 361 (1968). We exercise de novo review when determining whether a case is moot. Verhoeven v. Brunswick Sch. Comm., 207 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir.1999). 53 Mangual's claims are not moot. The district court erred in dismissing the case on that basis.