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EUGENE M. Lavergne, Appellant, V. JO

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EUGENE M. Lavergne, Appellant, V. JO Case: 12-1171 Document: 003110873101 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/18/2012 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _________ No. 12-1171 _________ EUGENE M. LaVERGNE, Appellant, v. JOHN BRYSON, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, et al., Appellees. _________ On Appeal from a Final Order of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey _________ BRIEF OF APPELLEES JOHN A. BOEHNER AND KAREN L. HAAS, SPEAKER AND CLERK OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES _________ Kerry W. Kircher, General Counsel William Pittard, Deputy General Counsel Christine Davenport, Sr. Assistant Counsel Kirsten W. Konar, Assistant Counsel Todd B. Tatelman, Assistant Counsel Mary Beth Walker, Assistant Counsel OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 219 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 (202) 225-9700 (telephone) Counsel for Appellees John A. Boehner and Karen L. Haas April 18, 2012 Case: 12-1171 Document: 003110873101 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/18/2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES .................................................................. iv STATEMENT OF ISSUES .................................................................... 1 STATEMENT OF THE CASE ............................................................... 2 STATEMENT OF RELATED CASES AND PROCEEDINGS ........... 7 STANDARD OF APPELLATE REVIEW ............................................. 7 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .............................................................. 8 ARGUMENT .......................................................................................... 10 I. The District Court Correctly Dismissed Mr. LaVergne’s Complaint, as Against the House Defendants, for Lack of Article III Standing. ...................................................................... 10 A. MR. LAVERGNE HAS NOT BEEN INJURED BY THE NON-RATIFICATION OF “ARTICLE THE FIRST.” ................... 11 B. MR. LAVERGNE HAS NOT DEMONSTRATED ANY CAUSAL CONNECTION BETWEEN HIS ASSERTED INJURY AND THE HOUSE DEFENDANTS. .......................................................... 12 C. MR. LAVERGNE’S INJURY IS NOT REDRESSABLE AS AGAINST THE HOUSE DEFENDANTS. .................................... 14 II. This Court May, and Should, Affirm the District Court on Alternative Jurisdictional Grounds That Warrant Dismissal of Mr. LaVergne’s Claims as Against the House Defendants. ... 16 A. MR. LAVERGNE’S CLAIMS AS AGAINST THE HOUSE DEFENDANTS ARE BARRED ABSOLUTELY BY THE SPEECH OR DEBATE CLAUSE. .......................................................... 17 1. History and Purpose of the Clause. ............................... 18 2. Scope of the Clause. ...................................................... 19 3. The Protections of the Clause. ...................................... 23 i Case: 12-1171 Document: 003110873101 Page: 3 Date Filed: 04/18/2012 4. Application of the Clause to the House Defendants Here ............................................................................... 25 B. MR. LAVERGNE’S SUIT AGAINST THE HOUSE DEFENDANTS IS BARRED BY SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY. .......... 26 C. THE DISTRICT COURT LACKED PERSONAL JURISDICTION OVER THE HOUSE DEFENDANTS. ......................................... 28 1. The District Court Lacked General Personal Jurisdiction Over the House Defendants. ..................... 29 2. The District Court Lacked Specific Personal Jurisdiction Over the House Defendants. ...................... 30 D. MR. LAVERGNE’S REQUEST FOR AN ORDER DIRECTING THE SPEAKER TO SEAT 13 REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY IN THE NEXT CONGRESS IS NOT RIPE. ................................................................................... 33 E. MR. LAVERGNE’S CLAIMS SPECIFICALLY REGARDING RATIFICATION OF “ARTICLE THE FIRST” RAISE A NON-JUSTICIABLE POLITICAL QUESTION............................. 35 III. Mr. LaVergne’s Claims Regarding the Constitutionality of 2 U.S.C. § 2a Are Substantively Meritless. .................................. 38 A. 2 U.S.C. § 2a DOES NOT VIOLATE THE “SEPARATION OF POWERS DOCTRINE” OR THE “NON-DELEGATION DOCTRINE.” ......................................................................... 38 1. 2 U.S.C. § 2a Does Not Contravene the Doctrine of Separation of Powers. .................................................... 39 2. 2 U.S.C. § 2a Does Not Violate the Non-Delegation Doctrine. ........................................................................ 40 B. EVEN HAD “ARTICLE THE FIRST” BEEN RATIFIED, 2 U.S.C. § 2a STILL WOULD BE CONSTITUTIONAL. ............. 42 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................... 45 ii Case: 12-1171 Document: 003110873101 Page: 4 Date Filed: 04/18/2012 ADDENDUM Addendum. 1 ........................................................................................... Add. 001 Addendum 2 ............................................................................................ Add. 004 iii Case: 12-1171 Document: 003110873101 Page: 5 Date Filed: 04/18/2012 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Haworth, 300 U.S. 227 (1937)...................................................................... 10 Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737 (1984)...................................................................... 10 Apollo Techs. Corp. v. Centrosphere Indus. Corp., 805 F. Supp. 1157 (D.N.J. 1992) .................................................. 28 Babbitt v. United Farm Workers National Union, 442 U.S. 289 (1979)...................................................................... 34 Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962)...................................................................... 35, 36, 37 Barrett v. Catacombs Press, 44 F. Supp 2d 717 (E.D. Pa. 1999) ............................................... 32 Bowsher v. Synar, 478 U.S. 714 (1986)...................................................................... 39 Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. Williams, 62 F.3d 408 (D.C. Cir. 1995) ........................................................ 24 Browning v. Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, 789 F.2d 923 (D.C. Cir. 1986) ...................................................... 20 Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462 (1985)) .................................................................... 29, 31, 33 Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783 (1984)...................................................................... 30 Claude F. Atkins Enters., Inc. v. United States, 15 Cl. Ct. 644 (Cl. Ct. 1988) ........................................................ 27 Clemons v. U.S. Dep’t. of Commerce, 710 F. Supp. 2d 570 (N.D. Miss. 2010) ....................................... 43 iv Case: 12-1171 Document: 003110873101 Page: 6 Date Filed: 04/18/2012 CNN v. Anderson, 723 F. Supp. 835, 841 (D.D.C. 1989) ........................................... 20, 22 Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433 (1939)...................................................................... 36 Comm. on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives v. Miers, 558 F. Supp. 2d 53 (D.D.C. 2008) ................................................ 34-35 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. v. Periodical Correspondents’ Ass’n, 515 F.2d 1341 (D.C. Cir. 1975) .................................................... 20, 22 D’Elia v. Grand Caribbean Co., Ltd., No. 09–1707, 2011 WL 6153704 (D.N.J. Dec. 12, 2011) ........... 32 D’Jamoos v. Pilatus Aircraft Ltd., 566 F.3d 94 (3d Cir. 2009) ........................................................... 31 Dep’t of Commerce v. U.S. House of Representatives, 525 U.S. 316 (1999)...................................................................... 11, 13, Doctors, Inc. v. Blue Cross of Greater Phila., 490 F.2d 48 (3d Cir. 1973) ........................................................... 17 Doe v. McMillan, 412 U.S. 306 (1973)...................................................................... 18, 19, 24 Dombrowski v. Eastland, 387 U.S. 82 (1967) ........................................................................ 25 Dunleavy v. New Jersey, 251 F. App’x 80 (3d Cir. 2007) .................................................... 17 Eastland v. U.S. Servicemen’s Fund, 421 U.S. 491 (1975)...................................................................... passim Eaton Corp. v. Maslym Holding Co., 929 F. Supp. 792 (D.N.J. 1996) .................................................... 30 Electro–Catheter v. Surgical Spec. Instr. Co., 587 F. Supp. 1446 (D.N.J. 1984) .................................................. 28 v Case: 12-1171 Document: 003110873101 Page: 7 Date Filed: 04/18/2012 Erie Telecomms., Inc. v. City of Erie, 853 F.2d 1084 (3d Cir. 1988) ....................................................... 17 ESAB Group, Inc. v. Centricut, Inc., 126 F.3d 617 (4th Cir. 1997) ........................................................ 28 Eurofins Pharma US Holdings v. BioAlliance Pharma SA, 623 F.3d 147 (3d Cir. 2010) ......................................................... 28 FEC v. Wright, 777 F. Supp. 525 (N.D. Tex. 1991) .............................................. 21 Fields v. Office of Eddie Bernice Johnson, 459 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2006) .......................................................... 20, 21 Franklin v. Massachusetts, 505 U.S. 788 (1992)...................................................................... 15 Freytag v. Commissioner, 501 U.S. 868 (1991)...................................................................... 39 Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167 (2000).....................................................................
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