Court Opinion

ID: 9474355
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 04:55:25.753513+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:44:02.648727
License: Public Domain

J. SKELLY WRIGHT,
Circuit Judge, concurring in the result.
I agree with the decision to remand this case, but I would prefer to base it on the well-established rule that when a defendant voluntarily ceases an allegedly unlawful activity, the challenge to this activity is not rendered moot unless there is no reasonable expectation that the wrong will be repeated. County of Los Angeles v. Davis, 440 U.S. 625, 99 S.Ct. 1379, 59 L.Ed.2d 642 (1978); United States v. W.T. Grant Co., 345 U.S. 629, 73 S.Ct. 894, 97 L.Ed. 1303 (1953). This doctrine prevents the defendant from “return[ing] to his old ways” and preserves the “public interest in having the legality of the practices settled.” W.T. Grant Co., 345 U.S. at 632, 73 S.Ct. at 897. It is implicit in the decisions applying this doctrine that it subsumes many of our prudential concerns underlying ripeness. See, e.g., Doe v. Harris, 696 F.2d 109 (D.C.Cir.1982); Commonwealth of Va. ex rel. Coleman v. Califano, 631 F.2d 324 (4th Cir.1980). The fact that the alleged harm has already been threatened against the parties before us, and might occur again, is sufficient assurance that we are not deciding speculative questions. Concern with potential recurrence of the challenged activity also helps prevent a defendant from manipulating the judicial process to harass or exhaust a claimant.