DocketNumber: CIVIL ACTION NO. 18-10578-RGS
Citation Numbers: 327 F. Supp. 3d 242
Filed Date: 8/7/2018
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/25/2022
A person suffering legal wrong because of agency action ... is entitled to judicial review thereof. An action in a court of the United States seeking relief other than money damages and stating a claim that an agency or an officer or employee thereof acted or failed to act in an official capacity or under color of legal authority shall not be dismissed nor relief therein be denied on the ground that it is against the United States or that the United States is an indispensable party.
Section 701(a)(2) is applicable "in those rare instances where 'statutes are drawn in such broad terms that in a given case there is no law to apply.' " Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe ,
The DNA Information Act, in relevant part, states the following with respect to the storage of information in CODIS:
The index described in subsection (a) shall only include information on DNA identification records and DNA analyses that are -
(1) Based on analyses performed by or on behalf of a criminal justice agency ... in accordance with publicly available standards that satisfy or exceed the guidelines for a quality assurance program for DNA analysis, issued by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under section 12591 of this title ....
(3) Maintained by Federal, State, and local criminal justice agencies ... pursuant to rules that allow disclosure of stored DNA samples and DNA analyses only ....
c. For criminal defense purposes, to a defendant, who shall have access to samples and analyses performed in connection with the case in which such defendant is charged.
NDIS' structure and purpose further support the conclusion that Congress intended for the gathering of samples under the DNA Information Act to be wholly discretionary. NDIS' mission is to "identif[y] serial criminals by linking DNA evidence" from disparate crime scenes. FBI's Mem. at 3. The integrity of the NDIS is of paramount importance in attaining that goal. The Director of the FBI has accordingly been given the sole responsibility of guarding the integrity of the index. If this court were to compel the Director to abandon that mission by entering a condom profile into NDIS that he has determined to be ineligible, the door would be open to further challenges to the Director's authority, leaving NDIS vulnerable to the forced inclusion of contaminated and, possibly, falsely incriminating evidence. It follows that plaintiffs are precluded by Section 701(a)(2) of the APA from seeking either injunctive or declaratory relief in this court for violation of the DNA Information Act.
Constitutional claims, on the other hand, may be precluded by statute only when the "intent [of Congress] to do so [is] clear." Webster ,
*251Fifth Amendment Due Process
Plaintiffs claim that the FBI's refusal to upload the DNA profile into NDIS or perform a keyboard search violates their procedural and substantive rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment, "including their right to present evidence of third-party guilt in their upcoming retrial." Compl. ¶ 57. The FBI argues that plaintiffs fail to state a claim under either form of due process, as they have failed to allege that they have been deprived of a liberty interest or a property right by any action of the federal government or its officials.
When assessing a due process claim, the court undertakes a two-step analysis: "[T]he first asks whether there exists a liberty or property interest which has been interfered with by the [government]; the second examines whether the procedures attendant upon that deprivation were constitutionally sufficient." Harron v. Town of Franklin ,
Plaintiffs also fail to state a claim for a violation of substantive due process. To make out such a claim, plaintiffs must show "that they suffered the deprivation of an established life, liberty, or property interest, and that such deprivation occurred through governmental action that shocks the conscience." Clark v. Boscher ,
[T]he Constitution does not guarantee due care on the part of state officials; liability for negligently inflicted harm is *252categorically beneath the threshold of constitutional due process.... It is, on the contrary, behavior at the other end of the culpability spectrum that would most probably support a substantive due process claim; conduct intended to injure in some way unjustifiable by any government interest is the sort of official action most likely to rise to the conscience-shocking level.4
Substantive due process is a doctrine reserved for egregious official conduct trenching on the most fundamental of civil liberties. "As a general matter, [we have] always been reluctant to expand the concept of substantive due process because guideposts for responsible decisionmaking in this uncharted area are scarce and open-ended." Collins v. City of Harker Heights ,
I would be hard pressed to find that the discretionary refusal of the Director of the FBI to undertake a task that he has reasonably deemed to be potentially destructive to his duty to protect the NDIS is a decision so arbitrary and cruel that it shocks the judicial conscience. The substantive due process claim consequently fails as well.
Sixth Amendment Compulsory Process
Finally, plaintiffs contend that the FBI's refusal to include the DNA profile in NDIS or to perform a keyboard search contravenes their Sixth Amendment rights, "including their rights under the Compulsory Process Clause." Compl. ¶ 57. The Compulsory Process Clause of the Sixth Amendment provides: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor." U.S. Const. amend. VI. As with the Fifth Amendment, the Compulsory Process Clause "guarantees criminal defendants a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense." Holmes , 547 U.S. at 324,
The Compulsory Process Clause does not confer upon a defendant a right to compel DNA testing during discovery; it rather protects a defendant's right to present evidence and testimony at trial. See DiBenedetto v. Hall ,
ORDER
For the foregoing reasons, the defendants' motion to dismiss is ALLOWED with prejudice. The Clerk will enter judgment accordingly and close the case.
SO ORDERED.
While plaintiffs contend that the NDIS Manual operates to create a standard for judicial review when read with the DNA Information Act, just the opposite is true. The Manual unequivocally declares the FBI's broad discretion to manage NDIS as it sees fit: "The FBI ... is responsible for determining issues of policy in its administration of [NDIS]." NDIS Manual at 6. Moreover, the Manual, like the Act itself, offers no direction as to when a sample must be included in NDIS.
Even assuming, arguendo , that plaintiffs did have standing to bring their DNA Information Act claim, this court is doubtful that they would prevail. A reviewing court may "hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law."
While a criminal defendant certainly possesses the "right to have 'a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense,' " including presenting evidence of third-party guilt, this right pertains to the admissibility of evidence during trial, and not the gathering of evidence during discovery. Holmes v. South Carolina ,
Id. at 849.