Court Opinion

ID: 9426783
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:18:55.295432+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:03.135165
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Brennan,
with whom Mr. Justice Marshall joins, dissenting.
As was true three Terms ago with respect to another sensitive case brought to this Court, I can “find no justification for the Court’s straining to rid itself of this dispute.” DeFunis v. Odegaard, 416 U. S. 312, 349 (1974) (Brennan, J., dissenting). “Although the Court should, of course, avoid unnecessary decisions of constitutional questions, we should not transform principles of avoidance of constitutional decisions into devices for sidestepping resolution of difficult cases.” Id., at 350.
Pursuant to Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 23, the District Court, on April 29, 1974, certified appellee class consisting of persons 18 years of age or younger who are or may be committed to state mental facilities under Pennsylvania’s Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act of 1966. The State not only did not then oppose the certification, but to this day urges that this Court render a decision on the “important constitutional issues . . . that were briefed and argued before this Court.” Ante, at 127. Over a score of amici curiae organizations and parties similarly joined in presenting their views to us. Ordinarily of course, the defendant’s failure to object to a class certification waives any defects not related to the “cases or controversies” requirement of Art. Ill, cf. O’Shea v. Littleton, 414 U. S. 488, 494-495 (1974), and would require us to proceed to the merits of the dispute.
The Court pointedly does not suggest that the class definition suffers from constitutionally based jurisdictional deficiencies. Instead, its analysis follows a different route. We *138are first told that it is likely1 that the claims of the named class members are moot. After several pages in which the Court parses decisions like Sosna v. Iowa, 419 U. S. 393 (1975), and Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co., 424 U. S. 747 (1976), for selected clauses and phrases, thereby attempting to distinguish the present case from those earlier decisions where class claims were allowed to reach decision, the opinion ultimately concludes that in their present posture the legal claims of the class members “are so unfocused as to make informed resolution of them almost impossible,” ante, at 134, citing Fusari v. Steinberg, 419 U. S. 379 (1975). Accordingly, the Court “decline [s] to pass on the merits of appellees’ constitutional claims,” ante, at 134, and remands to the District Court for clarification of the class certification.
What does all this mean? Most importantly, the Court’s class-action analysis must be placed in proper perspective, for it is obvious that the Court’s extended discussion of Sosna, Franks, and like cases is a mere camouflage of dicta bearing no relationship to the disposition of this case. Those earlier cases merely recognized the continued existence of Art. Ill jurisdiction notwithstanding the subsequent mootness of the claims of the named parties to a class action. They said nothing about this Court’s discretionary authority to remand a class claim or any other claim to the lower courts for needed *139clarification. Thus, in the present case, the fact that the claims of the named plaintiffs may or may not be mooted, ante, at 128-129, is irrelevant, for, if the condition of the record so requires, a remand to clarify matters necessary to permit proper consideration of the issues in this appeal would be warranted regardless of whether the named parties remained in the case. Similarly, the Court’s various suggestions that these named plaintiffs “left” the class in a manner distinguishable from those in Sosna and Franks, ante, at 132, and that the issues presented herein are “not capable of repetition, yet evading review,” ante, at 133, are without meaning. This Court’s power to remand cases as in Fusari v. Steinberg is in no way dependent on these factors, and is not foreclosed by the existence of Art. Ill jurisdiction as found in Franks, Sosna, and their progeny.
Indeed, it is clear that for all the extraneous discussion of Sosna and Franks, the decision today follows those cases, for it recognizes that an Art. Ill “case or controversy” persists in this instance notwithstanding the apparent mootness of the claims of named plaintiffs, and, therefore, confirms that our jurisdiction is constitutionally viable. Otherwise, of course, the Court could not, as it does today, voluntarily “decline” to pass on the merits of the suit^ ante, at 134, but rather would be compelled to avoid any such decision. While, as shall be seen, I disagree that the modification of Pennsylvania law warrants even a clarifying remand in this instance, I think it particularly unwise to hide a purely discretionary decision behind the language of Art. Ill jurisdiction. After all, the action actually taken today by the Court — a remand for consideration in light of intervening law — is regularly ordered in one or two short paragraphs without such fanfare or gratuitous discussion. See, e. g., Philadelphia v. New Jersey, 430 U. S. 141 (1977); cf. Cook v. Hudson, 429 U. S. 165 (1976).
I do not express this objection to the Court’s opinion due to a concern for craft alone. Jurisdictional and procedural mat*140ters regularly dealt with by the Court often involve complex and esoteric concepts. An opinion that is likely to lead to misapplication of these principles will cost litigants dearly and will needlessly consume the time of lower courts in attempting to decipher and construe our commands. Consequently, I have frequently voiced my concern that the recent Art. Ill jurisprudence of this Court in such areas as mootness and standing is creating an obstacle course of confusing standardless rules to be fathomed by courts and litigants, see, e. g., Warth v. Seldin, 422 U. S. 490, 519-530 (1975) (Brennan, J., dissenting); DeFunis v. Odegaard, 416 U. S., at 348-350 (Brennan, J., dissenting), without functionally aiding in the clear, adverse presentation of the constitutional questions presented. As written, today’s opinion can only further stir up the jurisdictional stew and frustrate the efforts of litigants who legitimately seek access to the courts for guidance on the content of fundamental constitutional rights.
In this very case, for example, we deny to the parties and to numerous amici intervenors an authoritative constitutional ruling for a reason that at best has only surface plausibility. In truth, the Court’s purported concern for the “lack of homogeneity” among the children in the class is meaningless in the context of this appeal. The District Court’s judgment established and applied a minimum threshold of due process rights available across the board to all children who are committed to mental facilities by their parents pursuant to Pennsylvania law. The core of the mandated rights, essentially the nonwaivable appointment of counsel for every child and the convening of commitment hearings within specified time periods,2 applies equally to all Pennsylvania children who are subject to parental commitment. In reviewing the propriety of these *141threshold constitutional requirements, our inquiry is not to any meaningful extent affected by the intervening change in Pennsylvania law.3 Indeed, we are informed by Pennsylvania officials that the 1976 amendment, by abolishing parental commitment of mentally ill children over 14, merely serves to eliminate 20% of the members of the certified class from the lawsuit. Reply Brief for Appellants 1. The amendment, however, bears no relationship whatever to the District Court’s judgment insofar as it pertains to the remaining 80% of the class — that is, to those children who can still be committed by their parents.4 The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania itself *142acknowledges that “[o]ver three-fourths of the plaintiff class . . . are subject to the very statutes which the lower court examined, declared unconstitutional, and enjoined.” Id., at 3. The Court’s disposition of this case, therefore, ensures nothing but an opportunity for the waste of valuable time and energy. At most, the District Court on remand realistically can be expected to confirm that 20% of the children no longer are members of the class, while reaffirming its carefully considered judgment as to the remaining 80%. I do not understand why we do not spare the District Court this purely mechanical task of paring down the class, for nothing would now prevent us from excluding 20% of the children from our consideration of the merits and evaluating the District Court’s judgment as it affects the remaining 80%. See, e. g., Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co., 424 U. S., at 755-757.
Nor can the Court’s action be justified by its order to the District Court that new class representatives with live claims be substituted to press forward with the suit. For, again, in the posture of this case, this is purely a matter of form. Franks, Sosna, and Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U. S. 103, 110-111, n. 11 (1975), plainly recognize and act upon the premise that, given the representative nature of class actions,5 the elimination of named plaintiffs ordinarily will have no effect on the “concrete adverseness which sharpens the presentation of issues upon which the Court so largely depends for illumination of difficult constitutional questions.” *143Baker v. Carr, 369 U. S. 186, 204 (1962). Certainly, in this appeal there can be no question of adequate adversity and cogency of argument. Attorneys for the class continue diligently to defend their judgment in behalf of the children who are still within the purview of Pennsylvania’s parental commitment law. Pennsylvania equally diligently resists the District Court’s judgment and pressures for a controlling constitutional decision. And a vast assortment of amici curiae ranging from sister States to virtually all relevant professional organizations have submitted briefs informing our deliberations from every perspective and orientation plausibly relevant to the case. In brief, the Court’s assertion of its inability “to make informed resolution of” the issues is, in this instance, pure fancy.
I do not believe that we discharge our institutional duty fairly, or properly service the constituencies who depend on our guidance, by issuing meaningless remands that play wasteful games with litigants and lower courts.6 Therefore, I re*144spectfully dissent from the Court’s disposition of this case. Because the Court does not address the important constitutional questions presented, I too shall defer the expression of my views, pending the Court’s inevitable review of those questions in a later case.

 The statutory modification upon which the Court principally relies for mootness pertains solely to mentally ill children 14 or older, whereas the class consists of all children who are mentally ill and retarded. Since this distinction was irrelevant when the action commenced, the complaint does not inform us whether the named class members, while older than 14, are mentally ill or mentally retarded. Thus, it is accurate for the Court to state that “insofar as the record indicates,” all the named children are mentally ill and consequently fall within the purview of the 1976 statutory amendment. Ante, at 128. But, since the record barely scratches the surface in this regard, it is possible that some of the children have been committed because of retardation. If so, the Court’s supposition that the claims of the named parties are mooted is inaccurate and presumably can be corrected by the District Court on remand.

 In brief, the District Court mandated a probable-cause hearing within 72 hours of the initial detention followed by a complete postconxmitment hearing within two weeks thereafter. 402 P. Supp. 1039, 1049 (ED Pa. 1975).

 The September 1, 1973, regulations, on which the Court additionally places some reliance, are even less relevant to the proper disposition of this case. Under these regulations, the procedural rights of juveniles 13 or older underwent change following commencement of this suit. These older juveniles now must be informed of their rights within 24 hours of commitment and must be given the'telephone number of an attorney. Should the retarded or mentally ill child be capable and willing to take the initiative, he may object to this commitment, contact his lawyer, and request a hearing. The hospital then can file an involuntary commitment petition, whereby the child remains in the institution pending the hearing on his commitment; the regulations fix no time period in which this hearing must be held. In its consideration of this case, the District Court was fully aware of these regulations, but concluded that they do not resolve the constitutional infirmities that it found to inhere in Pennsylvania’s statutory scheme. Id., at 1042-1043, n. 5. In particular, the regulations fall far short of satisfying the lower court’s judgment in its failure to guarantee to every child the nonwaivable guidance of an attorney and a prompt commitment hearing within a specified time period. For this reason, the Court’s concern that the class is subdivided into “a bewildering lineup of permutations and combinations,” ante, at 130, actually is of no constitutional significance to the decision of this suit. For even taking the regulations into account, all the children who can be committed by their parents continue to be held pursuant to procedures as to which plaintiffs complain, and as to which the District Court concluded, constitutional standards are not satisfied.

 The 1976 Act does provide that, with respect to all children, a “responsible party” may step forward and challenge a child’s commitment by filing a petition in the juvenile court requesting the appointment *142of an attorney and the convening of a hearing. Mental Health Procedures Act §206 (b) (1976). Given that the most likely “responsible party,” the child’s parents, are the persons seeking his institutionalization, Pennsylvania itself recognizes that this amounts to “no real change in the law” and to no “additional procedural protections.” Reply Brief for Appellants 1-2, n. 3.

 See, e. g., Craig v. Boren, 429 U. S. 190, 194 (1976); Singleton v. Wulff, 428 U. S. 106, 117-118 (1976) (opinion of Blackmun, J.).

 On several occasions, the Court complains that my position, in characterizing today’s action as meaningless and wasteful, fails to give due consideration to the requirements of Art. Ill and Rule 23. Ante, at 131 n. 12, 134 n. 15. This contention is seriously misleading. When the class was duly certified in 1974, both Rule 23 and Art. Ill were properly complied with — as I agree they must be. The Rule 23 issue is no longer before us, for we cannot, some three years later, sua sponte and over the objection of all parties, challenge compliance with a Rule of-Civil Procedure, unless, of course, noncompliance or some intervening circumstance serves to undercut our jurisdiction. That is not the case here, however, for both the majority and I are in agreement that no jurisdictional defect is to be found. In sum, therefore, the inquiry applicable to this case is the following: Does this Court properly exercise its discretion through its remand to the District Court when (1) our Art. Ill jurisdiction is sound, and (2) the class plaintiff was properly certified pursuant to Federal Rule, and (3) no party objected or today objects to the certification, and (4) the class continues to possess live claims and a District Court judgment that are unaffected by any constitutionally relevant changes in state law, and (5) the substance of the constitutional con*144tentions continue to be litigated cogently by both parties? When these factors are fairly taken into account, the conclusion is plain that today’s action can be justified neither by the quasi-jurisdictional language which the Court needlessly includes in its opinion, nor by sound, practical considerations of discretion.