Opinion ID: 768089
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 The statutory provision at issue in this case, 21 U.S.C. sec. 862a, was enacted by Congress as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-193, sec. 115, 110 Stat. 2105, 2180-81 (1996). The statute was passed in response to growing concerns about the escalating costs of federal welfare programs. See 142 Cong. Rec. H9401 (daily ed. July 31, 1996) (statement of Rep. Smith); 142 Cong. Rec. S9390 (daily ed. Aug. 1, 1996) (statement of Sen. Helms). In particular, Section 862a was an attempt to address what many members of Congress regarded as increasing and costly incidences of fraud in the food stamp program. See H.R. Doc. No. 104-651 (1996), reprinted in 1996 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2183, 2201, 2202; Enforcement of the Food Stamp Program: Hearing Before the House Comm. on Agric., 104th Cong. (1995) (statement of Roger C. Viadero, Inspector General of the U.S. Dep't of Agric.). 3 Section 862a attempts to reach the problem of fraud by permanently disqualifying individuals convicted of certain drug-related felonies from receiving benefits under either the federal food stamp program or the TANF program. Although Congress did not specify where this provision was to be codified, the Office of Law Revision Counsel placed the statute in Title 21 of the United States Code. The statute applies to all convictions occurring on or after August 22, 1996. The law provides that states may exempt recipients from disqualification under Section 862a, but the State of Indiana has chosen not to provide such an exemption to its citizens. 4 The class representative, Henry Turner, is an Indiana resident and former recipient of food stamps. As part of an annual review of his food stamp eligibility, Turner was required to reapply for that program in January 1998. Subsequent to this reapplication, Turner was convicted of felony possession of heroin and cocaine based on conduct that occurred in April 1997. Solely because of this conviction, Turner's pending reapplication for food stamps was denied under Section 862a. 5 In August 1998, Turner commenced a class action suit for declaratory and injunctive relief in federal district court, challenging the constitutionality of Section 862a. Following a hearing on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court entered judgment for the defendants-appellees. The plaintiffs-appellants now appeal the decision of the district court, arguing that permanent disqualification from participation in the food stamp and TANF programs of those convicted of certain drug-related felonies violates the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.