Zedonis v. Lynch

233 F. Supp. 3d 417, 2017 WL 511234, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17417
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 8, 2017
DocketCASE NO. 1:15-CV-1863
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 233 F. Supp. 3d 417 (Zedonis v. Lynch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zedonis v. Lynch, 233 F. Supp. 3d 417, 2017 WL 511234, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17417 (M.D. Pa. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

William W. Caldwell, United States District Judge

I. Introduction

Before this court is Defendants’ motion to dismiss (Doc. 8) Plaintiff Eric Zedonis’s complaint (Doc. 1), which asserts an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Plaintiff alleges that, due to a prior conviction in Pennsylvania for driving under the influence (DUI), § 922(g)(1) prohibits him from possessing a firearm, and he seeks a declaration that § 922(g)(1), as applied to him, violates the Second Amendment. (Doc. 1 at 3, 6). Defendants assert that Plaintiffs complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. (Doc. 9 at 12). Defendants argue that the complaint does not implicate conduct protected by the Second Amendment because Plaintiffs DUI conviction, being punishable by more than two years’ incarceration, presumptively disqualifies him from exercising his right to bear arms. (Id.) Plaintiff maintains that he has alleged sufficient facts under the Third Circuit’s recent decision in Binderup v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 836 F.3d 336 (3d Cir. 2016) (en banc), petition for cert. filed, 83 U.S.L.W. 947 (U.S. Jan. 5, 2017) (No. 16-847), to rebut the presumption that he is disqualified from possessing a firearm. (Doc. 16 at 9-12). No court in this district has yet applied Bind-erup or its standards for maintaining an as-applied Second Amendment challenge to § 922(g)(1). For the reasons that follow, we will deny Defendants’ motion to dismiss.

II. Background

Federal law generally prohibits persons from possessing a firearm if they have been convicted in any court of “a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term [421]*421exceeding one year.” 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Individuals are excluded from this ban if they have been convicted of “any State offense classified by the laws of the State as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less.” Id. § 921(a)(20)(B). Together, these statutes prohibit individuals from possessing firearms if they are convicted of State misdemeanors punishable by more than two years’ imprisonment. See Binderup, 836 F.3d at 342.

On September 28, 2015, Plaintiff filed a complaint in this court against Defendants, the Attorney General of the United States and the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. (Doc. 1 at 1-2). The complaint alleges that Plaintiff was convicted in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania on January 12, 2005, of one count of DUI—highest rate of alcohol content, second offense ( “DUI conviction”). (Doc. 1 at 3); see 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3802(C) (classifying individuals with 0.16% or greater alcohol concentration within two hours of driving as “highest rate”). The criminal complaint forming the basis for the DUI conviction alleges that on August 21, 2004, at about 2:30 a.m., Plaintiff failed to stop a vehicle at a stop line while approaching a red light. (Doc. 9-2 at 3). After being stopped by police, Plaintiff allegedly admitted to drinking and submitted to a blood test that revealed a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .302%. (Id.) Plaintiff pleaded guilty to the 2005 DUI charge, and was sentenced to three to six months’ confinement, sixty months’ Intermediate Punishment, and 500 hours of community service. (Doc. 1 at 3); (Doc. 9-1 at 6).

Plaintiff asserts that his 2005 DUI conviction was his second DUI offense, and was labeled a first degree misdemeanor under Pennsylvania law. (Doc. 1 at 3); see 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3803(b)(4). Such an offense is punishable by an imprisonment term of up to five years. (Doc. 1 at 3); 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1104(1). Because his 2005 DUI conviction was allegedly punishable by more than two years’ imprisonment, Plaintiff asserts that he is prohibited under § 922(g)(1) from possessing a firearm. (Doc. 1 at 3). Plaintiff maintains that he has not been arrested or convicted for a misdemeanor or felony since his 2005 DUI conviction, and he desires to purchase and possess a firearm for self-defense, but is allegedly unable to do so out of fear of Defendants’ enforcement of § 922(g)(1). (Id. at 5). He contends that he is a responsible, law-abiding citizen, and does not have a history of violent behavior or conduct that would suggest that he would pose any more danger possessing firearms than the average, law-abiding citizen. (Id.) Given the nature of, and passage of time since, his 2005 DUI conviction, Plaintiff seeks a declaration that § 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional, as applied to him, under the Second Amendment. (Id. at 5-6).

On December 4, 2015, Defendants filed the instant motion to dismiss Plaintiffs complaint, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. (Doc. 8). On September 26, 2016, this court ordered further briefing from the parties on the application of the Third Circuit’s recent decision in Binderup. (Doc. 15). The motion is now ripe for disposition.

III. Discussion

A. Motion to Dismiss Standard

As a preliminary matter, we note the standard governing Defendants’ motion and evaluate which exhibits we may consider in deciding it. “In considering a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, courts must ‘accept all factual allegations as true, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether, under any reasonable reading of the complaint, [422]*422the plaintiff may be entitled to relief.’” Bruni v. City of Pittsburgh, 824 F.3d 353, 360 (3d Cir. 2016) (quoting Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 210 (3d Cir. 2009)), “While ‘accept[ing] all of the complaint’s well-pleaded facts as true,’ the district court ‘may disregard any legal conclusions.’ ” Id. (quoting Fowler, 578 F.3d at 210-11). “[District courts are bound not to ‘go beyond,the facts alleged in, the Complaint and the documents on which the claims made therein [are] based.’” Id. (quoting In re Burlington Coat Factory Sec. Litig., 114 F.3d 1410, 1425 (3d Cir. 1997)). Courts may, however, “consider matters of public record, exhibits attached to the'complaint, and undisputedly authentic documents attached to a motion to dismiss.” Delaware Nation v. Pennsylvania, 446 F.3d 410, 413 (3d Cir. 2006); In re Rockefeller Center Properties, Inc. Sec. Litig., 184 F.3d 280, 287 (3d Cir. 1999). If “matters ■ outside the pleadings are presented to and- not excluded by the court, the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure] 56.” Fed. R. Civ. P.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
233 F. Supp. 3d 417, 2017 WL 511234, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17417, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zedonis-v-lynch-pamd-2017.