People v. Mendiola

Opinion

$3°13 supER¢oR COURT 1 UF GUAM

2 2021 UV I 7 A H I I ¢ 3 5 3 CLERK OF COURT

4 By?

5 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF GUAM 6 PEOPLE OF GUAM, Criminal Case No. CF0343-20 7 GPD Report No. 20- 16054 8 v. DECISION AND ORDER 9 ANTHONY GREGORY MENDIOLA DENYING (aka Ton Mendiola), DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS 10 DoB: 12/30/1970 11 Defendant. 12

13 1_NTR0))UCTI_0)

14 This matter came before the Honorable Maria T. Cenzon for hearing on Defendant Anthony

15 Gregory Mendiola's (aka Ton Mendiola's) ("Defendant's") Motion to Dismiss ("Motion").

16 Assistant Attorney General Sean Brown represents the People, and Alternate Public Defender

17 Heather Zona represents Defendant. Having duly considered the parties' briefs and the applicable

18 law, the Court now issues the following Decision and Order and DENIES Defendant's Motion.

19 BACKGRQLND 20 Defendant is charged with Charge One: Possession of a Firearm Without a Valid Firearm

21 Identification Card (as a 3rd Degree Felony) and Charge Two: Possession of an Unregistered

22 Firearm (as a 3rd Degree Felony). Indictment (Dec. 21, 2020). Police found an unregistered hmm

23 Feather AT-9 Rifle inside Defendant's house after Defendant used it to defend himself against an

24 intruder. Magistrate's Complaint (Jun. 25, 2020).

25 On October 4, 2021, Defendant filed his Motion to Dismiss. Defendant requested dismissal

26 with prejudice on the grounds that his Second, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights have been

27 violated. Motion at 1 (Oct. 4, 2021). Defendant challenged both Guam's firearm identification

Decision and Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss CF0343-20, People of Guam v. Anthony Mendiola Page 1 of 9 1 card statute and its firearm registration statute, arguing they should be judged under strict scrutiny.

2 at 8.

3 The People filed their Opposition to Defendant's Motion on October 18, 2021 and their

4 Amended Opposition to Defendant's Motion ("Amended Opposition") on October 19, 2021.

5 Arguing for the statutes' constitutionality, the People highlighted Guam's ability to limit Second

6 Amendment rights and justified these limitations under a rational basis level of scrutiny. Amended

7 Opposition at 3-4.

8 On October 22, 2021, Defendant filed his Reply Brief in Support of Motion ("Defendant's

9 R e p ly") . Defendant argued the People applied an incorrect level of scrutiny in their analysis.

10 Defendant's Reply at 2-3. (Oct. 22, 2021).

11 After determining that oral arguments were unnecessary, the Court took the matter under

12 advisement on November 9, 2021, pursuant to Administrative Rule 06-001 and CVR 7.1(e)(6)(A)

13 of the Local Rules of the Superior Court of Guam.

14 DISCUSSION_

15 1. Defendant challenges the following statutory provisions as unconstitutional:

16 a. Identification Card Requirement

17 The Guam Code requires firearms identification cards as follows :

18 No person shall own, possess, use, can'y or acquire any firearm which is lawful under 19 § 60103 unless he shall have first obtained from the Department an identification card evidencing his right to such ownership, possession, use or carrying, concealed or 20 otherwise, as stated upon the face of the card, except that any person may use and possess a firearm at any shooting gallery licensed pursuant to § 60105, et seq., 21 without first obtaining a permit as otherwise required by this Section. Said card shall be in the possession of the holder and on his person whenever he is using or has in 22 his possession a firearm. 23 10 G.C.A. § 60106. This statute restricts an individual's ability to obtain an identification card in 24 25 the following relevant ways 1

26 (a) No identification card shall issue unless the Department is satisfied that the applicant may lawfully possess, use, carry, concealed or otherwise, own or acquire the type of firearm 27 stated in the application and upon the face of the identification card.

28 (b) No person shall be issued an identification card:

Decision and Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss CF0343-20, People of Guam v. Anthony Mendiola Page 2 of 9 1 (1) Who has been convicted by any court of the United States, a state, territory, 2 possession, trust temltory or political subdivision thereof of any felony; or 3 (2) Who is an alien, except temporary permits may be issued to aliens for use only 4 at target ranges operated by persons possessing permits therefore and who are citizens, or only for use at authorized sporting events, and except for official 5 representatives of foreign governments in their official capacities, and except for aliens "lawfully admitted for permanent residence," which shall mean the status of 6 having been lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United 7 States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws, such status not having changed, as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act § lOl(a)(20), 8 8 U.S.C. § llOl(a)(20). Proofofpermanent residence shall be evidenced by presentation of an Alien Registration Card (also known as alien registration 9 certificate, Form 1-55 l or Green Card); or 10 (3) Who is presently charged by information or indictment with any crime stated in 11 (b)(1) above, or

12 (4) Who has been adjudicated incompetent, has been committed to any mental 13 institution, or

14 (5) Who is under the age of eighteen (18) years, or

15 (6) Who has been convicted of any violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act or any misdemeanor where personal injury or use of firearms was 16 an element or factor of the offense unless the Chief of Police has determined that 17 the offense was committed more than ten (10) years previously and that the applicant would not endanger the public safety by receiving an identification card, 18 or 19 (7) Who, in the determination of the Chief of Police appears to suffer from a 20 physical or mental disease or defect which would adversely affect the safe use of the firearm applied for, unless the person obtains a certificate from a licensed 21 physician stating that the physical or mental disease or defect would not adversely affect his safe operation of the firearm or the public safety.. 22 (c) An applicant for an identification card shall apply therefore on a form supplied by the 23 Department and shall provide such information as may be necessary to afford the 24 Department reasonable opportunity to ascertain the facts required to appear upon the card and facts relevant to the applicant's eligibility for a card, and facts necessary to determine 25 whether the applicant may carry a concealed weapon if such permission is sought. The applicant is required to submit to a national criminal background check conducted by the 26 Federal Bureau of Investigation to process such background cheeks. 27 A fingerprint card, or electronic fingerprint data, if so utilized, shall be transmitted to 28 Guam's State Identification Bureau as classified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing of fingerprints. Decision and Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss CF0343-20, People of Guam v. Anthony Men diola Page 3 of 9 1 (d) If the application is not denied, the identification card shall issue within thirty (30) 2 days, except where application has been made to carry a concealed weapon, in which case the card shall issue within sixty (60) days. 3

4 10 G.C.A. § 60108.

5 Anyone who purchases, possesses, uses, or carries a firearm without an applicable firearm

6 identification card shall be guilty of a felony and is punishable for a term of imprisonment of no less 7 than three (3) years aha a fine of no less than one thousand dollars ($l,000.00). 10 G.C.A. § 8 9 6 0 l2 l( e) .

10 b. Firearm Registration Requirement

11 The Guam Code requires registration of firearms as follows:

12 Any person purchasing, receiving by gift, device or otherwise, acquiring or otherwise coming into permanent possession of a firearm, the possession of which is permitted 13 by this chapter, shall register the same with the Department within three (3) working days after acquiring said firearm on the forms specified by the Department. Such 14 facts and information shall be given so as to enable the Department to record for 15 identification purposes the firearm so registered. It shall be unlawful for any person to own or possess any firearm which has not been registered. No firearm may be 16 registered by the Department unless the person presenting the firearm also displays current identification card evidencing his eligibility to own, possess, use or carry the 17 firearm presented for inspection as to the facts required for registration. Any firearm registration which expires on or after March l, 1988 or which is thereafter issued 18 under this chapter shall be permanent for as long as the registrant retains the firearm. 19 The Chief of Police shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing a permanent firearms identification card and a reasonable fee to cover the cost incurred. 20 21 10 G.C.A. § 60110.

22 Punishment for violation of the statute is imprisonment of imprisonment of no less than one

23 (1) year and a fine ono less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). 10 G.C.A. § 60l21(a).

24 11. Both Guam's firearm identification card statute and its firearm registration statute 25 are Constitutional.

26 a. The challenged statutes burden conduct protected by the Second Amendment.

27 The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that "the right of the people to

28 keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." U.S. Const., amend. II. The Second Amendment,

Decision and Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss CF0343-20, People of Guam v. Anthony Men diola Page 4 of 9 1 through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, applies against the states.

2 McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742, 750 (2010). Guam has also adopted the Due Process

3' Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, extending these same protections to all persons on Guam. 48

4 U.S.C. §l421b(u).

5 When the constitutionality of a firearm regulation is challenged, courts follow a two-prong

6 test. This inquiry "(1) asks whether the challenged law burdens conduct protected by the Second

7 Amendment and (2) if so, directs courts to apply an appropriate level of scrutiny." US. v. Chovan,

j 735 F.3d 1127, 1136 (9th Cir. 2013) (internal citations omitted).

The challenged statutes certainly burden conduct protected by the Second Amendment 10

11 because they impose additional hurdles to ownership of all firearms. See 10 G.C.A. § 60106 ("No

12 person shall own, possess, use, or acquire any firearm which is lawful under § 60103 unless he shall

13 have first obtained.; an identification card") (emphasis added), 10 G.C.A. § 60110 ("It shall be 14 unlawful for any person to own or possess any fireann which has not been registered) (emphasis 15 added). These additional hurdles include having to obtain an ID card, waiting for that card to amlve, 16 17 and paying fees to legally acquire and possess a fireann. Second Amendment protections apply to

18 weapons typically used by law=abiding citizens for lawful purposes. Chovan, 735 F.3d at 1133.

19 Thus, Guam's all-encompassing restrictions certainly burden conduct protected by the Second

20 Amendment. 21 b. The statutes are analyzed under an intermediate scrutiny standard. 22 Having found the first prong of the Chovan test met, the Court must now apply an

3; appropriate level of scrutiny. The level of scrutiny should depend on (1) how "close" the challenged

25 law comes to the core Second AmendMent right of law-abiding citizens to use arms in defense of

26 hearth and home and (2) the severity of the law's burden on the right. at 1138 (internal citations

27 omitted). "If a challenged law does not implicate a core Second AmendMent right, or does not place

28 a substantial burden on the Second Amendment right" the court may apply intermediate scrutiny.

Decision and Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss CF0343-20, People of Guam v. Anthony Mendiola Page 5 of 9 1 Jackson v. City and County of San Francisco, 746 F.3d 953, 961 (9th Cir. 2014). Strict scrutiny

2 applies if both questions are answered in the affirmative. Silvester v. Harris, 843 F.3d 816, 821 (9th 3 Cir. 2016). 4 The Court answers the first question in the affirmative. That is, the challenged laws closely 5 6 burden the core Second Amendment right of law-abiding citizens to defend their hearth and homes.

7 These laws apply to all persons, p with or without criminal convictions. See Chovan, 735 F.3d at 1138

8 (finding a law not to implicate the core Second Amendment right "because it regulates firearm

9 possession for individuals with criminal convictions" only). 10 However, the burden these statutes place on Second Amendment rights is quite minimal.

There is a substantial distinction between prevention the exercise of protected conduct, and 12 g P 13 regulating the form in which that conduct appears. See District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570

14 (2008) (finding a law which prohibited, rather than merely regulated, possession of handguns

15 unconstitutional), State v. Reid, 1 Ala. 612, 616-617 (1840) ("A statute which, under the pretence of

16 regulating, amounts to a destruction of the right. would be clearly unconstitutional. But a law 17 which is intended merely to promote personal security... does not come in collision with the 18 19 constitution."). The statutes here "merely regulate the manner in which persons may exercise their

20 Second Amendment rights", and "do not 'prevent [] an individual from possessing a firearm in his

21 home or elsewhere."' Chovan, 735 F.3d at 1138 (internal citations omitted). People are still flee to

22 own and possess firearms for defense of hearth and home under Guam's statutes. They are just 23 subject to additional regulations when doing so. These relatively minimal burdens justify applying 24 an intermediate level of scrutiny to the statutes in question. 25 c. The statutes pass analysis under an intermediate scrutiny standard. 26

Decision and Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss CF0343-20,People of Guam v. Anthony Men diola Page 6 of 9 1 Under an intermediate level of scrutiny, there must be (1) an "important government

2 interest" and (2) a substantial relationship between the challenged regulation and the asserted 3 objective. at 1139. 4 The People argue the government interest here is "ensuring that only those who are mature, 5 6 law abiding, competent citizens possess firearins.97 Amended Opposition at 4 (Oct. 19, 2021). This

7 is undoubtedly an important government interest, mirroring the already recognized important

8 government interests in Chovan of "keeping firearms away from those most likely to misuse them"

9 and "preventing gun violence." Chovan, 735 F.3d at 1139. 10 RequiriNg firearms identification cards and registration of firearms is also substantially

11 related to the broader interest of ensuring only mature, law-abiding, competeNt citizens possess

12 firearms. 10 G.C.A. § 60106 and 10 G.C.A. § 60108 collectively limit certain individuals from

13 obtaining firearm identification cards, and thus the ability to legally own, possess, or cony firearms.

14 These limitations include, among others, convicted felons, aliens, those adjudicated mentally

15 incompetent, and minors. 10 G.C.A. § 60l08(b). Restricting gun ownership to individuals proven

16 not to be of age, law-abiding, or competent, substantially relates to the govemlhent's interest in

17 keeping guns only in the hands of those who are. 10 G.C.A. § 60110 also substantially relates to the

18 goverrunent's interest, because gun registration requires a fireann identification card (and thus Proof

19 that the owner does not fall into one of the categorically excluded groups).

20 The challenged statutes thus pass an intermediate level of scrutiny, as they substantially 21 relate to the important government interest of ensuring only mature, law-abiding, competent citizens 22 possess firearms. 23 III. The statutes pass the vagueness doctrine of the Due Process Clause. 24 Lastly Defendant challenges the statutes under the Due Process Clause of the 14'*' 25 Amendment for being "vague". Motion at 8 (Oct. 4, 2021). Defendant claims the statutes give the 26 Chief of Police unconstitutional discretion in articulating rules and deciding who may possess 27 firearms. at 8, Defendant's Reply at 3 (Oct. 22, 2021). 28

Decision and Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss CF0343-20, People of Guam v. Anthony Mendiola Page 7 of 9 1 "It is a basic principle of due process that an enactment is void for vagueness if its

2 prohibitions are not clearly defined." Grained v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 108 (1972). If a

3 "law impermissibly delegates basic policy matters to policemen... for resolution on an ad hoc and

4 subjective basis" there is a danger of "arbitrary and discriminatory application." at 108-109.

5 The specifically challenged provisions are 10 G.C.A. § 60108(b)(6) and (7), which prohibit

6 the following groups from obtaining firearm identification cards:

7 Who has been convicted of any violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act or any misdemeanor where personal injury or use of firearms was 8 an element or factor of the offense unless the CniefofPolice has determined that the offense was committed more than ten (10) years previously and that the 9 applicant wouldnot endanger the public safety by receiving an identification card, 10 10 G.C.A. § 60108(b)(6) (emphasis added). 11 Who, in the determination of the ChiefofPolice appears to suffer frorn a physical 12 or mental disease or defect which would adversely affect the safe use ofthefrearm 13 applied for, unless the person obtains a certificate from a licensed physician stating that the physical or mental disease or defect would not adversely affect his safe 14 operation of the firearm or the public safety.

15 10 G.C.A. §60108(b)(7) (emphasis added).

16 The Court does not find either of these statutes to be unconstitutionally vague. "We can

17 never expect mathematical certainty from our language", so the Court must "extrapolate" the

18 statutes' "allowable meaning". Grained, 408 U.S. at 110 (1972). It is clear what these two statutes

19 do and do not prohibit. 10 G.C.A. § 60108(b)(7) does not permit the Chief of Police to ban any

20 individual he/she chooses from owning a firearm identification card. Rather, there must be a

21 demonstrated physical or mental defect interfering with that individual's ability to safely

22 own/operate a firearm. Given how 10 G.C.A. § 60l08(b)(7) is specifically tailored to individuals

23 with demonstrated physical or mental defects, it gives "fair notice to those to whom the statute is

24 directed" and is not unconstitutionally vague. American Communications Assn. v. Douds, 339 U.S.

25 382, 412 (1950). 26 The same can be said about 10 G.C.A. § 60l08(b)(6). This statute gives "fair notice" to

27 those it covers, and is specifically directed towards convicts of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous

28 Substances Act or misdemeanors involving personal injury or use of firearms. at 412.

Decision and Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss CF0343-20,People of Guam v. Anthony Mendiola Page 8 of 9 1 Furthermore, the Chief of Police is not allowed to simply issue firearm identification cards out to

2 anyone who is otherwise prohibited firm owning one. The Chief of Police must first have a

3 demonstrated reason why that individual would not endanger the public safety before he/she may

4 issue the card out. Neither statute is unconstitutionally vague, as they both contain explicit

5 standards for the Chief of Police to follow, and each gives fair notice to the specific individuals they

6 cover.

7 CONCLUSION

8 For the reasons stated above, the Court DENIES Deflendant's Motion. Both the challenged

9 firearm identification card statute and the challenged firearm registration statute are constitutional,

10 having passed an intermediate level of scrutiny. Furthermore, neither statute is unconstitutionally

11 vague.

14 IT IS SO ORDERED this wav 16 sum

17 N 18 HONG BLE MARIA T. CENZON Judge, Superior Court of Guam 19

Decision and Order Denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss CF0343-20,People of Guam v. Anthony Mendiola Page 9 off