Opinion ID: 73705
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Intervention by the Attorney General

Text: The appellants argue that the Attorney General did not possess the standing to intervene and file a motion to terminate the 1994 consent decree because the Attorney General was not a party to the decree. As an initial matter, we note that this circuit has held that “a party seeking to intervene need not demonstrate that he has standing in addition to meeting the requirements of Rule 24 as long as there exists a justiciable case and controversy between the parties already in the lawsuit.” Chiles v. Thornburgh, 865 F.2d 1197, 1213 (11th Cir. 1989).2 See also 2 Citing Diamond v. Charles, 476 U.S. 54, 106 S. Ct. 1697, 90 L.Ed.2d 48 (1986), the appellants argue that the Supreme Court has decided that intervenors are required under Article III to possess standing as a matter of constitutional law. This is not so. In Diamond, the Court stated that an intervenor, unless otherwise demonstrating Article III standing, may not initiate an 4 Cox Cable Communications, Inc. v. United States, 992 F.2d 1178, 1181 (11th Cir. 1993). We, therefore, need not inquire into the Attorney General's standing to seek intervention in this case. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24, a party may seek to intervene of right3 or with the permission of the district court.4 A movant must establish the following requirements to intervene as of right: (1) his application to intervene is timely; (2) he has an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject of the action; (3) he is so situated that disposition of the action, as a practical matter, may impede or impair his ability to protect that interest; and (4) his interest is represented inadequately by the existing parties to the suit. Chiles, 865 F.2d at 1213. No party has challenged the timeliness of the Attorney General's intervention. We focus instead on whether the Attorney General has sufficient appeal if the party on whose side he intervened has decided not to appeal. Id. at 68, 106 S. Ct. at 1706. The Court left open the question of “whether a party seeking to intervene before a District Court must satisfy not only the requirements of Rule 24(a)(2), but also the requirements of Art. III.” Id. at 68-69, 106 S. Ct. at 1707. Here, appellants, not the State, initiated the appeal of the district court's order terminating the consent decrees. While ambivalent about their position, the county defendants have remained active in opposing the appeal of the district court's order terminating both consent decrees and the permanent injunction. See Brief of (County Defendant) Appellees, at 6-8. Accordingly, there is an existing “case or controversy.” 3 “Upon timely application anyone shall be permitted to intervene in an action . . . when the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject of the action and the applicant is so situated at the disposition of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede the applicant's ability to protect that interest, unless the applicant's interest is adequately represented by existing parties.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a)(2). 4 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(b). 5 “interest” in the existing suit to make intervention proper. The intervenor must be “at least a real party in interest in the transaction which is the subject of the proceeding. This interest has also been described as a direct, substantial, legally protectable interest in the proceedings.” Worlds v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 929 F.2d 591, 594 (11th Cir. 1991) (per curiam) (footnotes, citations, and quotation marks omitted). Here, the 1994 consent decree states in Section D, titled “Population,” that: Inmates in the Jackson County Jail who have been sentenced to imprisonment in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections shall be transferred from the existing and new jail, and accepted by the Department of Corrections, on a timely basis. A timely basis shall be defined as within 30 days of the time the necessary documents associated with the inmate's sentence and transfer have been completed and forwarded to the Department of Corrections. The Jackson County Sheriff shall enlist the assistance of