Castellar v. McAleenan

388 F. Supp. 3d 1218
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedJune 7, 2019
DocketCase No. 17-cv-0491-BAS-BGS
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 388 F. Supp. 3d 1218 (Castellar v. McAleenan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Castellar v. McAleenan, 388 F. Supp. 3d 1218 (S.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

DISCUSSION

A. Fifth Amendment Due Process Claims

The Fifth Amendment provides that "[n]o person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law[.]" U.S. Const. amend. V. "The base requirement of the Due Process Clause is that a person" deprived of a protected interest "be given an opportunity to be heard 'at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner.' " Brewster v. Bd. of Educ. of Lynwood Unified Sch. Dist ., 149 F.3d 971, 984 (9th Cir. 1998) (quoting Armstrong v. Manzo , 380 U.S. 545, 552, 85 S.Ct. 1187, 14 L.Ed.2d 62 (1965) ). "[N]o process is due if one is not deprived of 'life, liberty, or property.' " Kerry v. Din , --- U.S. ----, 135 S. Ct. 2128, 2132, 192 L.Ed.2d 183 (2015) (Scalia, J., plurality opinion).

The Due Process Clause contains both a substantive and a procedural component. United States v. Salerno , 481 U.S. 739, 746, 107 S.Ct. 2095, 95 L.Ed.2d 697 (1987). Substantive due process "forbids the government to infringe certain 'fundamental' liberty interests at all, no matter what process is provided, unless the infringement is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest." Reno v. Flores , 507 U.S. 292, 301-02, 113 S.Ct. 1439, 123 L.Ed.2d 1 (1993) ; see also *1230Daniels v. Williams , 474 U.S. 327, 331, 106 S.Ct. 662, 88 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986) (explaining that substantive due process will "bar certain government actions regardless of the fairness of the procedures used to implement them."). Procedural due process "imposes constraints on governmental decisions which deprive individuals of 'liberty' or 'property' interests within the meaning of the Due Process Clause." Mathews v. Eldridge , 424 U.S. 319, 322, 96 S.Ct. 893, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976). Procedural due process does not forbid the government from depriving individuals of a protected interest, but rather requires the government to employ adequate procedures that ensure the fairness of any deprivation. See McNabb v. United States , 318 U.S. 332, 347, 63 S.Ct. 608, 87 L.Ed. 819 (1943).

At the heart of this case is Plaintiff-Petitioners' contention that "[t]he Due Process Clause does not permit the government to detain Plaintiff-Petitioners or other members of the [putative] class without promptly presenting them before a judge" as a matter of both substantive and procedural due process. (Compl.-Pet. ¶¶ 77-79.) The Court considers Defendant-Respondents' motion to dismiss both Plaintiff-Petitioners' substantive due process and procedural due process claims.

1. Substantive Due Process Claims

Substantive due process analysis entails two elements. First, "[a]s a threshold matter, 'to establish a substantive due process claim a plaintiff must show a government deprivation of life, liberty, or property.' " Squaw Valley Dev. Co. v. Goldberg , 375 F.3d 936, 948 (9th Cir. 2004) (punctuation omitted) (quoting Nunez v. City of Los Angeles , 147 F.3d 867, 871 (9th Cir. 1998) ); see also Vargas v. City of Philadelphia , 783 F.3d 962, 973 (3d Cir. 2015). Second, whether substantive due process is violated turns on the nature of the challenged government conduct. "[P]laintiffs must allege conduct that 'shock[s] the conscience and offend[s] the community's sense of fair play and decency.' " Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec ., 908 F.3d 476, 518 (9th Cir. 2018) (quoting Sylvia Landfield Tr. v. City of Los Angeles , 729 F.3d 1189, 1195 (9th Cir. 2013) ). Any "shock the conscience" analysis necessarily requires consideration of the justification the government offers, if any, for the alleged infringement. See Reno , 507 U.S. at 301-02, 113 S.Ct. 1439. The Court considers each here.

a. Plaintiff-Petitioners' Liberty Interest and Asserted Right

As a threshold matter, Plaintiff-Petitioners have identified a liberty interest implicating the Due Process Clause.

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388 F. Supp. 3d 1218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/castellar-v-mcaleenan-casd-2019.