Johnson v. Smith

104 F.4th 153
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided June 10, 2024·No. 23-3091·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

Appellate Case: 23-3091 Document: 010111062673 Date Filed: 06/10/2024 Page: 1 FILED

United States Court of Appeals PUBLISH Tenth Circuit

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS June 10, 2024

Christopher M. Wolpert

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court

SCOTT JOHNSON; HARLENE HOYT; COVEY FIND KENNEL, LLC,

Plaintiffs - Appellants, v. No. 23-3091

JUSTIN SMITH, D.V.M., in his official capacity as Animal Health Commissioner at the Kansas Department of Agriculture,

Defendant - Appellee.

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THE BUCKEYE INSTITUTE; PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION; NEW CIVIL LIBERTIES ALLIANCE; KANSAS PET ADVOCATES,

Amici Curiae.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Kansas (D.C. No. 6:22-CV-01243-KHV-ADM)

Samuel G. MacRoberts, Jeffrey S. Shaw, Kansas Justice Institute, Overland Park, Kansas, for Appellants.

Anthony J. Powell, Kurtis K. Wiard, Office of Attorney General Kris W. Kobach, Topeka, Kansas, for Appellee.

Appellate Case: 23-3091 Document: 010111062673 Date Filed: 06/10/2024 Page: 2

David C. Tryon and Alex M. Certo, The Buckeye Institute, Columbus, Ohio; filed a brief on behalf of Appellants, for Amicus Curiae The Buckeye Institute.

Daniel T. Woislaw, Alexander J. Smith, Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento, California; filed a brief on behalf of Appellants, for Amicus Curiae Pacific Legal Foundation.

Markham S. Chenoweth, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Washington, D.C.; filed a brief on behalf of Appellants, for Amicus Curiae New Civil Liberties Alliance.

Sheila Martinsen, Kansas Pet Advocates, Leawood State, Kansas (joined by Jason Petropoulos, Latham & Watkins LLP, New York, New York and Brittany M.J. Record, Latham & Watkins LLP, Washington, D.C.); filed a brief on behalf of Appellee, for Amicus Curiae Kansas Pet Advocates.

Before HARTZ, PHILLIPS, and CARSON, Circuit Judges.

HARTZ, Circuit Judge.

Seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, Plaintiffs Scott Johnson and his wife Harlene Hoyt raise a Fourth Amendment challenge to the constitutionality of a Kansas statute that permits warrantless inspections of their homestead, where Mr. Johnson owns and operates a business that houses and trains bird dogs for their owners. See Kan. Stat. Ann. (K.S.A.) § 47-1709(b). They also claim that their constitutional right to travel is infringed by a statutory requirement that they make the premises available for inspection within 30 minutes of the arrival of an inspector. See id. § 47-1721(d)(1). The United States District Court for the District of Kansas dismissed their complaint for failure to state a claim, and they appeal. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm the dismissal of their right-to-travel claim but remand for further proceedings to determine whether Mr. Johnson’s business is closely regulated and, if so, whether Page 2

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warrantless inspections are reasonable under the Fourth Amendment (as applied to the States under the Fourteenth Amendment).

We first describe the Kansas statute at issue and summarize the controlling Fourth Amendment law before applying that law to the Kansas statute. We then briefly explain why the statute does not violate Plaintiffs’ right to travel.

I. THE KANSAS PET ANIMAL ACT The Kansas Pet Animal Act (the Act) regulates those who house pet animals. It imposes licensing requirements, see K.S.A. §§ 47-1701–1737 and directs the Animal Health Commissioner of the Kansas Department of Agriculture (the Commissioner) to adopt rules and regulations for licensees regarding, among other things, reasonable treatment of animals, inspections of licensed premises, and recordkeeping, see id. § 47- 1712(a); id. § 47-1701(i) (defining Commissioner).

The Act distinguishes eight different types of licensees: (1) a boarding- or training-kennel-operator license is required for anyone, except a licensed veterinarian, “who operates an establishment where four or more dogs or cats, or both, are maintained in any one week during the license year for boarding, training or similar purposes for a fee or compensation,” id. § 47-1701(p); see id. § 47-1723(a); (2) an animal-distributor license is required for anyone who is “engaged in the business of buying for resale dogs or cats,” id. § 47-1701(z), (aa); see id. § 47-1702; (3) a pet-shop-operator license is required for anyone who operates premises where animals are sold at retail, see id. § 47- 1701(t), (u); id. § 47-1703; (4) a pound or animal-shelter license is required for anyone except a licensed veterinarian who operates a facility used to “house, contain, impound or Page 3

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harbor any seized stray, homeless, relinquished or abandoned animal or a person who acts as an animal rescuer, or who collects and cares for unwanted animals or offers them for adoption,” id. § 47-1701(g); see id. § 47-1704(a); (5) a research-facility license is required for anyone who operates “any place, laboratory or institution, except an elementary school, secondary school, college or university, at which any scientific test, experiment or investigation involving the use of any living animal is carried out, conducted or attempted,” id. § 47-1701(w); see id. § 47-1720; (6) a hobby-breeder license is required for anyone who operates “premises where all or part of three, four or five litters of dogs or cats, or both, are produced for sale or sold, offered or maintained for sale per license year,” if the total number of dogs and cats sold, offered, or maintained for sale is less than 30, id. § 47-1701(m), (n); see id. § 47-1719; (7) an animal-breeder license is required for anyone who operates premises “where all or part of six or more litters of dogs or cats, or both, or 30 or more dogs or cats, or both, are sold, or offered or maintained for sale, primarily at wholesale for resale to another,” id. § 47-1701(e), (f); see id. § 47-1733; and (8) a retail-breeder license is required for anyone who operates premises “where all or part of six or more litters or 30 or more dogs or cats, or both, are sold, or offered or maintained for sale, primarily at retail and not for resale to another,” id. § 47-1701(ff), (gg); see id. § 47-1736.

The Act has expanded its reach over time. As originally enacted in 1972, it covered only animal “dealers,” pet-shop operators, pounds or animal shelters, and research facilities. 1972 Kan. Sess. Laws Ch. 201 §§ 2–5. In 1991 the Act was amended to include kennel operators, see 1991 Kan. Sess. Laws Ch. 152 §§ 21, 22 (defining kennel Page 4

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operator as “any person who operates an establishment where animals are maintained for boarding or similar purposes for a fee or compensation”), and a 1996 amendment clarified that those who maintain dogs for training purposes (such as Mr. Johnson) are included in that definition, see 1996 Kan. Sess. Laws Ch. 151 § 6. Animal breeders, retail breeders, and hobby breeders were also added in 1996. See id. Ch. 151 §§ 2, 5, 19.

A number of regulations promulgated under the Act apply generally across licensees, such as those relating to record keeping, see Kan. Admin. Regs. (K.A.R.) § 9- 18-7, and certain standards for the housing, handling, and caretaking of animals, see id. §§ 9-18-10–9-18-15, 9-18-17–9-18-22, 9-18-31.

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Johnson v. Smith, 104 F.4th 153 (10th Cir. 2024).

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