Campos v. Bonta

1

MAURO CAMPOS et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. ROB BONTA, as Attorney General, etc. et al., Defendants and Appellants.

D081134

California Court of Appeals, Fourth District, First Division

November 21, 2023

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County No. 37-2020-00030178-CU-MC-CTL John S. Meyer, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Thomas S. Patterson, Assistant Attorney General, Mark Beckington, and Megan A.S. Richards Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendants and Appellants.

Benbrook Law Group, Bradley A. Benbrook and Stephen M Duvernay, for Plaintiffs and Respondents.

BUCHANAN, J.

The California Department of Justice, the Attorney General of California, and the Director of the Bureau of Firearms (collectively, the Department) appeal from the trial court's judgment granting a writ petition brought by Mauro Campos and other individuals and organizations (collectively, Campos). In the petition, Campos claimed that the Department used the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to undermine and restrict access to firearms by delaying purchases beyond what was authorized by law. The petition sought to require the Department to complete all background checks on applications to purchase a firearm within the 10-day waiting period described in Penal Code^[1] sections 26815 and 27540, unless there is a statutory basis for the delay. (§ 28220, subd. (f)(1)(A).) In granting the petition, the trial court directed the Department to cease its purported policy and practice of delaying firearm transactions.

In its appeal, the Department argues that the petition should have been dismissed as moot because the delays occurred for only three months in 2020 due to a confluence of extraordinary events at the beginning of the pandemic, and there were no further delays in firearms transactions by the time Campos filed the petition. The Department also contends we should not exercise our discretion to decide the moot issue because these unusual events are unlikely to recur. We agree that the petition was already moot when filed, and that the circumstances here do not warrant invoking any discretionary exception to the mootness doctrine. Accordingly, we reverse the court's judgment and remand with directions to dismiss the petition as moot.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Firearms Background Check

1. Application and Automated Initial Review

California imposes a 10-day waiting period on most firearm purchases so that the Department can conduct a background check and notify dealers if the prospective buyer is prohibited from purchasing a firearm. (§§ 26815, subd. (a), 27540, subd. (a).) Dealers use a computerized verification system to submit firearm applications to the Department. Upon submission, the Department "examine[s] its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request" to determine whether the buyer purchased a firearm in the previous 30 days or is otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm. (§ 28220, subd. (a).) Throughout the review, the Department communicates with dealers through the computerized verification system. (See Cal. Code Regs., tit. 11, § 4230, subd. (b).)

The Department's process for completing the background check starts with an automated screening, in which the computerized verification system compares the applicant's information against Department of Motor Vehicle records and sends inquiries to various state and federal electronic databases based on the applicant's name and date of birth. (See Silvester v. Harris (9th Cir. 2016) 843 F.3d 816, 825 [describing the process].) The computerized system compiles matching database entries for further review. The application is approved automatically if there are no matches or no disqualifying information. (Ibid.) About 14 percent of all applications are approved automatically.

2. Manual Review by an Analyst

Applications that are not approved automatically are reviewed manually by an analyst. An analyst reviews database entries and approves the application if the records indicate the applicant is not prohibited from purchasing a firearm. Conversely, the analyst denies the application if the records indicate the applicant is prohibited from purchasing a firearm and no further research is needed.

3. Additional Time to Review Some Applications

Occasionally, the Department is unable to determine a person's eligibility during the 10-day waiting period. (See § 28220, subd. (f).) For example, there could be partial information in the record that makes it difficult to determine whether the buyer has a disqualifying mental health hold or criminal conviction. (Ibid.) The Department has up to 30 days to conduct additional investigation in the following situations:

(i) The purchaser has been taken into custody and placed in a facility for mental health treatment or evaluation and may be a person described in [the statute] and the [D]epartment is unable to ascertain whether the purchaser is a person who is prohibited from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm, pursuant to [the statute], prior to the conclusion of the waiting period ....

(ii) The purchaser has been arrested for, or charged with, a crime that would make [him or her], if convicted, a person who is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm, and the [D]epartment is unable to ascertain whether the purchaser was convicted of that offense prior to the conclusion of the waiting period ....

(iii) The purchaser may be a person [who has purchased a handgun in the prior 30-day period], and the [D]epartment is unable to ascertain whether the purchaser, in fact, is a person [who has purchased a handgun in the prior 30-day period], prior to the conclusion of the waiting period ....

(§ 28220, subd. (f)(1)(A).)

In these instances, analysts may need to investigate the disposition of a criminal arrest or review mental health records to determine whether the purchaser is eligible to own and possess a firearm. (See Silvester v. Harris, 41 F.Supp.3d 927, 951-952.) They may contact listed reporting agencies, such as courts, police departments, hospitals, and military tribunals, for disposition information regarding noted arrests and mental health holds. If the Department is unable to determine the "final disposition of the arrest or criminal charge, or the outcome of the mental health treatment or evaluation, or the purchaser's eligibility to purchase a firearm" within 30 days from the date of purchase, it must "immediately notify" the dealer that it can transfer the firearm. (§ 28220(f)(4).)

B. The Department Temporarily Failed to Complete Timely Background Checks at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

1. The Department Faced Increased Firearms Sales and Office Closures During the Pandemic

There were about 2,000 firearms sales per day at the beginning of 2020, which was relatively low compared to the previous year. Sales increased dramatically by the middle of March, however, as the COVID-19 pandemic got underway. On March 17, 18, and 19, for example, the Department received over 9,000 applications per day. For the entire month of March 2020, the Department received approximately 140,000 applications, compared to 85,000 in March 2019. Sales were up through the rest of 2020.

Additionally, in early June 2020, analysts could not process applications because some of the Department's offices were closed due to social unrest. At the same time, the Department again received unusually high volumes of applications. For example, on the first two days of June, the Department received 4,685 applications and 6,683 applications respectively.

2. The Department Temporarily Failed to Process Applications Within the 10-Day Waiting Period

During the early months of the pandemic, the Department's staffing and ability to conduct background checks efficiently were hindered by illness, quarantines, shutdown orders, school closures and employees taking leaves of absence. To counteract staffing issues, the Department redirected staff from other units within the Department and instituted a combination of voluntary and mandatory overtime, flexible schedules, and alternative schedules. It also expedited ongoing hiring efforts to increase the staff available to process applications.

While making these adjustments, the Department continued to process background checks every day of the pandemic (apart from when its offices were closed in early June). Even so, background checks took longer because other entities, including the courts and law enforcement agencies, were slower to respond to requests for information. Facing the large increase in applications, pandemic-related operational and staffing difficulties, and office closures, the Department took longer than 10 days to complete the manual review of many applications.

Meanwhile, the Department posted on its website a notice to dealers and firearms purchasers that the pandemic could lead background checks to take longer than 10 days but that it would continue to strive to complete checks as quickly as possible:

"Under Penal Code section 28220(f)(4), the Department . . . has up to 30 days to complete background checks on firearms purchasers. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, [the Department] typically completed these checks within [the statute's] 10-day waiting period. COVID-19 protective measures have impacted the ability to increase the personnel resources in [the Department] to address the recent sustained increase in firearms and ammunition transactions without compromising the health and safety of our employees and the community. As a result, firearms and ammunition dealers and purchasers...