Final Exit Network, Inc. v. Ellison

370 F. Supp. 3d 995
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedFebruary 22, 2019
DocketCase No. 18-cv-01025 (NEB/ECW)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 370 F. Supp. 3d 995 (Final Exit Network, Inc. v. Ellison) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Final Exit Network, Inc. v. Ellison, 370 F. Supp. 3d 995 (D. Me. 2019).

Opinion

Nancy E. Brasel, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Final Exit Network, Inc. ("FEN") provides information, education, and emotional support to people who are considering whether to terminate irremediable suffering by ending their lives. [ECF No. 59 ("2d Am. Compl."), at ¶ 10.] The individual plaintiffs Fran Schindler ("Schindler") and Janet Grossman ("Grossman") are volunteer "Exit Guides" for FEN. (Id. , ¶¶ 17-18.) The Plaintiffs seek a declaratory injunction against defendants Keith Ellison in his official capacity as the Minnesota Attorney General1 ("Attorney General"), James C. Backstrom in his official capacity as the Dakota County Attorney ("Backstrom"), and John L. Fossum in his official capacity as the Rice County Attorney ("Fossum"), that Minnesota Statute § 609.215, subd. 1 is unconstitutional on its face "to the extent it ... makes a crime of First Amendment-protected speech in the absence of any physical assistance." (Id. , ¶ 2.)

This matter is before the Court on the Defendants' motions to dismiss. [ECF Nos. 22, 34, and 42.] Prior to the hearing on these motions, the Plaintiffs informed the Court that the parties agreed to strike portions of the Amended Complaint to correct *1004a misstatement of fact. [ECF No. 56.] At the hearing on November 20, 2018, the parties agreed that the Plaintiffs would file the Second Amended Complaint, and that the arguments presented would apply to the yet-to-be-filed Second Amended Complaint. Thus, per the parties' agreement, this Order applies to the Second Amended Complaint filed on December 4, 2018 [ECF No. 59 (2d Am. Compl.) ]. See Cartier v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. , 547 Fed. App'x 800, 803-04 (8th Cir. 2013) (holding that the district court acted within its discretion to treat the motion to dismiss the original complaint as a motion to dismiss a later filed amended complaint where parties did not object). For the reasons that follow, the Defendants' motions to dismiss are granted.

BACKGROUND

Minn. Stat. § 609.215, subd. 1 provides that that "[w]hoever intentionally advises, encourages, or assists another in taking the other's own life" may be sentenced to imprisonment, or to payment of a fine, or both. Minn. Stat. § 609.215, subd. 1.

In the Second Amended Complaint, the Plaintiffs describe the action as a "preenforcement challenge to the facial constitutionality of Minn. Stat. § 609.215, subd. 1... under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution." (2d Am. Compl., ¶ 1.) Though this action is a preenforcement action, two state court criminal cases have arisen from enforcement of the challenged statute, and explanation of those cases is necessary for a full understanding of the arguments made by the parties in this federal case. First is State v. Melchert-Dinkel , 844 N.W.2d 13 (Minn. 2014), in which the Minnesota Supreme Court struck down portions of the statute under the First Amendment, but left portions of it intact. Second is State v. Final Exit Network, Inc. , 889 N.W.2d 296, 302 (Minn. Ct. App. 2016), in which the Minnesota Court of Appeals considered FEN's constitutional challenge to certain remaining portions of the statute and followed the Melchert-Dinkel precedent.

State v. Melchert-Dinkel . In 2011, the Rice County Attorney successfully prosecuted William Melchert-Dinkel for violating the challenged statute. Melchert-Dinkel , 844 N.W.2d at 17-18. Posing as a depressed and suicidal young female nurse, Melchert-Dinkel responded to posts on suicide websites, feigning caring and understanding to win the trust of victims while encouraging them to hang themselves, while also attempting to persuade them to allow him to watch the hangings via webcam. Id. at 16. Melchert-Dinkel was tried in the Rice County District Court and convicted on two counts of aiding suicide under Minn. Stat. § 609.215, subd. 1. Id. at 17. The district court specifically found that Melchert-Dinkel " 'intentionally advised and encouraged ' [two victims] to take their own lives, concluding that the speech at issue fell outside the protections of the First Amendment." Id. at 17-18 (emphasis in original). On appeal, Melchert-Dinkel argued that the challenged statute violates the First Amendment on its face, and the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that the statute prohibits speech that is unprotected by the First Amendment. Id. at 18 (citing State v. Melchert-Dinkel , 816 N.W.2d 703, 714 (Minn. Ct. App. 2012) ). The Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the "assists" portion of the statute, even if "assists" consists only of speech. See Id. at 22-23. In upholding the "assists" prohibition as constitutional, the Minnesota Supreme Court interpreted "assists" to include "speech or conduct that provides another person with what is needed for the person to commit suicide." Id. at 23. The Court explained, "[t]his signifies a level of involvement in the suicide beyond *1005merely expressing a moral viewpoint or providing general comfort or support. Rather, 'assist,' by its plain meaning, involves enabling the person to commit suicide." Id. "While enablement perhaps most obviously occurs in the context of physical assistance, speech alone may also enable a person to commit suicide. Here, we need only note that speech instructing another on suicide methods falls within the ambit of constitutional limitations on speech that assists another in committing suicide." Id.

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Bluebook (online)
370 F. Supp. 3d 995, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/final-exit-network-inc-v-ellison-med-2019.