Opinion ID: 2807870
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Federal Community Defender was “acting

Text: under” a federal officer or agency The Federal Community Defender satisfies the next element because the injuries the Commonwealth complains of are based on the Federal Community Defender’s conduct while it was “acting under” the AO. See Feidt, 153 F.3d at 127. The words “acting under” describe “the triggering relationship between a private entity and a federal officer.” Watson, 551 U.S. at 149. The Supreme Court has stated that “the word ‘under’ must refer to what has been described as a relationship that involves ‘acting in a certain capacity, considered in relation to one holding a superior position or office.’” Id. at 151 (quoting 18 Oxford English Dictionary 948 (2d ed. 1989)). Furthermore, “precedent and statutory purpose make clear that the private person’s ‘acting under’ must involve an effort to assist, or to help carry out, the duties or tasks of the 20 federal superior.” Id. at 152. The Court has stressed that “[t]he words ‘acting under’ are broad, and . . . that the statute must be ‘liberally construed.’” Id. at 147 (quoting Colorado v. Symes, 286 U.S. 510, 517 (1932)). While the Court has not precisely determined “whether and when particular circumstances may enable private contractors to invoke the statute,” id. at 154, it has noted with approval that “lower courts have held that Government contractors fall within the terms of the federal officer removal statute, at least when the relationship between the contractor and the Government is an unusually close one involving detailed regulation, monitoring, or supervision.” Id. at 153. The Supreme Court cited by way of example Winters v. Diamond Shamrock Chem. Co., 149 F.3d 387, 398-400 (5th Cir. 1998), in which the Fifth Circuit determined that Dow Chemical was “acting under” color of federal office when it manufactured Agent Orange for use in helping to conduct a war pursuant to a contractual agreement with the United States. The Watson Court explained that in Winters and other similar cases, the private contractor acted under a federal officer or agency because the contractors “help[ed] the Government to produce an item that it need[ed].” 551 U.S. at 153. This is because, the “assistance that private contractors provide federal officers goes beyond simple compliance with the law and helps officers fulfill other basic governmental tasks.” Id. For example, in Winters, “Dow Chemical fulfilled the terms of a contractual agreement by providing the Government with a product that it used to help conduct a war. Moreover, at least arguably, Dow performed a job that, in the absence of a contract with a private firm, the Government itself would have had to perform.” Id. at 153-54. 21 The Court contrasted government contractors with other private parties lacking a contractual relationship with the government. See id. It concluded that “compliance (or noncompliance) with federal laws, rules, and regulations does not by itself [bring a party] within the scope of the statutory phrase ‘acting under’ a federal ‘official.’” Id. at 153. The factual scenario in Watson itself is illustrative. In that case, Phillip Morris could not remove a deceptive and unfair business practices suit filed against it based merely on a defense that it complied with Federal Trade Commission regulations governing its advertising. Id. at 156. The Court explained that Congress could not have meant for the statute to sweep so broadly, for if mere compliance with federal law were sufficient, then the meaning of “acting under” could include taxpayers who complete federal tax forms; airline passengers who obey prohibitions on smoking; or federal prisoners who follow the rules and regulations governing their conduct. Id. at 152. These types of relationships do not warrant removal because state court prejudice would not be expected. See id. We adopt the principles outlined in Watson to guide our understanding of whether the Federal Community Defender was “acting under” a federal agency. Cf. Jacks v. Meridian Res. Co., LLC, 701 F.3d 1224, 1231 (8th Cir. 2012) (relying on same); Bennett v. MIS Corp., 607 F.3d 1076, 1086-87 (6th Cir. 2010) (same). The relationship between the Federal Community Defender and the federal government is a sufficiently close one to conclude that the Federal Community Defender was “acting under” a federal agency— the Judicial Conference and its subordinate, the AO—at the time of the complained-of conduct. 22 The Federal Community Defender is a non-profit entity created through the Criminal Justice Act that is delegated the authority to provide representation under the CJA and § 3599. Its “stated purposes must include implementation of the aims and purposes of the CJA.” Guide, Vol. 7A, Ch. 4, § 420.20(a). It also must adopt bylaws consistent with representation under the CJA and a model code of conduct similar to those governing Federal Public Defender Organizations. See § 420.20(a) & (c). Through this relationship, the Federal Community Defender “assists” and helps the AO to “carry out[] the duties or tasks of a federal superior,” which is to implement the CJA and § 3599 through the provision of counsel to federal defendants and indigent federal habeas corpus petitioners. See Watson, 551 U.S. at 152. Unlike the companies in Watson, the Federal Community Defender provides a service the federal government would itself otherwise have to provide. See id. at 154; Isaacson, 517 F.3d at 137 (“Unlike the tobacco companies in Watson, Defendants received delegated authority; they were not simply regulated by federal law.”). Additionally, the nature of the Commonwealth’s complaints pertains to the “triggering relationship” between the Federal Community Defender and the AO, because the Commonwealth targets the manner in which the Federal Community Defender uses its federal money, not another aspect of its representation of clients in state court. See Watson, 551 U.S. at 149. As a condition of receiving federal grant money, the Federal Community Defender must maintain detailed financial records, submit an annual report of activities and expected caseload, and return unexpended balances to the AO. Additionally, the Federal Community Defender is prohibited from commingling CJA funds with its other funds. And “[u]nless otherwise authorized by the AO, 23 no employee of a grantee organization (including the federal defender) may engage in the practice of law outside the scope of his or her official duties with the grantee.” J.A. at 340. The scope of when the Federal Community Defender acts under the AO, whatever its limits, surely extends to whether it sufficiently complies with its obligations under its grant, specifically whether it is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, or is commingling funds in violation of the AO’s directives. The Commonwealth disagrees, contending that the Federal Community Defender must show not only that it “act[ed] under” color of federal office at the time of the complained-of conduct, but also that the Federal Community Defender acted pursuant to a federal duty in engaging in the complained-of conduct. The Commonwealth argues that because the Federal Community Defender cannot state a duty to appear in PCRA proceedings on behalf of its clients, it cannot be “acting under” a federal agency when it does so. Framing the inquiry in this manner essentially collapses the “acting under” inquiry into the requirement that the complained-of conduct be “for, or relating to,” an act under color of federal office. See In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (“MTBE”) Prods. Liab. Litig., 488 F.3d 112, 124-25 (2d Cir. 2007). Even if we were to address these requirements simultaneously, whatever causation inquiry we import could not be narrower than the one Congress has written into the statute. As discussed below, we disagree that the Federal Community Defender is required to allege that the complained-of conduct itself was at the behest of a federal agency. It is sufficient for the “acting under” inquiry that the allegations are directed at the relationship between the Federal Community Defender and the AO. 24 Given these considerations, we conclude that the Federal Community Defender satisfies this requirement.