Doe v. Putnam Cnty.

344 F.Supp.3d 518

John DOE NO. 1; and John Doe No. 2, Plaintiffs,

v.PUTNAM COUNTY; and Michael C. Bartolotti, in His Official Capacity of County Clerk for Putnam County, Defendants,State of New York Attorney General, Intervenor.

No. 16-CV-8191 (KMK)

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

Signed September 28, 2018

Filed September 29, 2018

Charles J. Cooper, Esq., David H. Thompson, Esq., Peter A. Patterson, Esq., Davis Cooper, Esq., Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, Washington, D.C., Counsel for Plaintiffs

Mark Eliott Klein, Esq., Monica Anne Connell, Esq., New York State Office of the Attorney General, New York, NY, Counsel for Intervenor State of New York Attorney General

OPINION & ORDER

KENNETH M. KARAS, District Judge

Plaintiffs John Doe No. 1 ("Doe No. 1") and John Doe No. 2 ("Doe No. 2," together, "Plaintiffs"), and the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. ("NYSRPA") filed the instant Complaint against Putnam County and the County Clerk for Putnam County (collectively, "Defendants"), alleging that New York Penal Law § 400.00(5)(a), which makes the names and addresses of all handgun permit holders a matter of public record, "(1) violates the due process right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment and (2) impermissibly chills the free and uninhibited exercise of fundamental Second Amendment rights." (Compl. ¶ 3 (Dkt. No. 1).)¹ Before the Court is Intervener New York Attorney General's ("NYAG") Motion To Dismiss (the "Motion"). (Notice of Motion (Dkt. No. 57).) For the following reasons, the Motion is granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

The following facts are drawn from Plaintiffs' Complaint and are taken as true for the purpose of resolving the instant Motion. (Compl.)

1. New York Penal Law § 400.00

New York State regulates the possession of firearms through a licensing scheme, N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00, and several criminal statutes, N.Y. Penal Law §§ 265.01 – 265.04, 265.20(a)(3).² Section 400.00"is the exclusive statutory mechanism for the licensing of firearms in New York State." Kachalsky v. Cty. of Westchester , 701 F.3d 81, 85 (2d Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted). Generally, New York State prohibits possession of a firearm without a license. Id. To obtain a firearms license under § 400.00, applicants must be over 21 years old, have "good moral character," have no history of crime or mental illness, and demonstrate no "good cause" to deny the license. Id. at 86 (citing N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00(1)(a)-(d), (g) ). Section 400.00(5)(a) provides that "the name and address of any person to whom an application for any license has been granted shall be a public record." The statute provides an opportunity to request an exception to the public disclosure requirement at the time of application or "after a license or recertification has been granted." Id. §§ 400.00(5)(b)-(c), (e)(ii). The grounds for seeking such an exception are:

(i) the applicant's life or safety may be endangered by disclosure because:

(A) the applicant is an active or retired police officer, peace officer, probation officer, parole officer, or corrections officer;

(B) the applicant is a protected person under a currently valid order of protection;

(C) the applicant is or was a witness in a criminal proceeding involving a criminal charge;

(D) the applicant is participating or previously participated as a juror in a criminal proceeding, or is or was a member of a grand jury; or

(E) the applicant is a spouse, domestic partner or household member of a person identified in this subparagraph or subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, specifying which subparagraph or subparagraphs and clauses apply.

(ii) the applicant has reason to believe his or her life or safety may be endangered by disclosure due to reasons stated by the applicant.

(iii) the applicant has reason to believe he or she may be subject to unwarranted harassment upon disclosure of such information.

Id. § 400.00(5)(b).³ Upon receiving a request for such an exception, "the licensing officer shall grant such exception, unless the request is determined to be null and void." Id. § 400.00(e)(i). If the exception is denied, the applicant or license holder may seek review of that denial under Article 78 of New York's Civil Practice Law and Rules. Id. § 400.00(5)(g). Disclosure of the permit holder's information cannot be made while the Article 78 proceeding is ongoing. Id. Those seeking an exception are warned on the application that, "upon discovery that an applicant knowingly provided false information, such applicant may be subject to penalties," of up to a year in jail. Id. § 400.00(5)(b) (citing § 175.30 (providing that furnishing false information to a public official in writing is a crime punishable by up to a year in jail) ).

2. The Journal News Request

On December 17, 2012, The Journal News, a local newspaper in the suburban New York counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam, filed a request under the New York Freedom of Information Law ("FOIL") with the Putnam County Clerk, seeking the names and addresses for all handgun permit holders in Putnam County. (Compl. ¶ 14.) On January 18, 2013, the Clerk of Putnam County denied the FOIL request, believing such a disclosure "would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." (Id. ¶¶ 2, 14.)⁴

On May 13, 2013, the Journal News filed a second FOIL request for the information, which Putnam County again denied. (Id. ¶ 15.) The Journal News then brought an action in the New York State Supreme Court, Westchester County, in 2013 to obtain the names and addresses of all handgun permit holders in Putnam County. (Id. ) In 2014, the trial court ruled against Putnam County, and ordered the Clerk of Putnam County "to comply with [The Journal News'] request for the names and addresses of all pistol permit holders in Putnam County who had not qualified ... to exempt themselves from disclosure." (Id. (quoting Gannett Satellite Info. Network, Inc. v. Cty. of Putnam , 142 A.D.3d 1012, 37 N.Y.S.3d 299, 302 (2016).) On appeal, the Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's order requiring disclosure. (Compl. ¶ 16 (quoting Gannett , 37 N.Y.S.3d at 305 ).) The Appellate Division noted FOIL contained certain exceptions to disclosure, but concluded Putnam County "failed to sustain their burden of demonstrating the applicability of the asserted exemption." Id. at 304.

Since then, The Journal News has stated it is no longer seeking the names and addresses of handgun permit holders in Putnam County. (Letter from William J. Taylor, Jr., Esq. to Court (Nov. 30, 2016) ("NYAG Letter") 3 & n.3 (Dkt. No. 39).) Putnam County decided not to appeal the Appellate Division's decision, and intends to comply with the Appellate Division's order. (Letter from James. A. Randazzo, Esq. to Court (Dec. 9, 2016) ("Defs.' Letter") 1–2 (Dkt. No. 40).)

3. Doe No. 1 and Doe No. 2

Plaintiffs are residents of Putnam County. (See Compl. ¶¶ 4–5.) Doe No. 1 has a permit and owns a handgun, and objects to disclosure of his name and address as a handgun permit holder. (See id. ¶¶ 20–22.) Doe No. 1 alleges he does not qualify for and thus has not applied for an exception to disclosure pursuant to § 500.00(5)(b), because "[h]e does not have reason to believe that his life or safety may be endangered or that he may be subject to unwarranted harassment if his name and address as a permit holder is disclosed publicly." (Id. ¶ 21; see also Pls.' Mem. Law in Supp. of Prelim. Inj. ("Pls.' Prelim. Inj. Mem.") Ex. C ("Decl. of John Doe No. 1") ¶ 9 (Dkt. No. 12).) However, Doe No. 1 has privacy objections to disclosure of his name, address, and status as a permit holder, because "[h]e believes that his status as a handgun owner and permit holder is a private, personal matter, and that public disclosure of that information will subject him to unwanted public attention and censure by those in the community who are hostile to guns and gun owners." (Compl. ¶ 22; see also Decl. of John Doe No. 1 ¶ 10.)

Doe No. 2 claims that he desires to own a handgun, and would satisfy the requirements under § 400.00(1) to obtain a firearm permit, but has refrained from doing so because of privacy objections to disclosure of his name and address. (See Compl. ¶ 23–25.) Doe No. 2 is a law-abiding and responsible former police officer and a former member of the United States Coast Guard, and is highly trained in the proper and responsible use and maintenance of handguns. (Compl. ¶ 23.) Doe No. 2 alleges he does not qualify for any of the exceptions to disclosure listed in § 400.00(5)(b), because he "does not face specific threats that differentiate him from the typical, law-abiding citizen," and "[h]e does not have reason to believe that his life or safety may be endangered or that he may be subject to unwarranted harassment if his name and address as a permit holder is disclosed publicly." (Compl. ¶ 24; see also Pls.' Prelim. Inj. Mem Ex. C ("Decl. of John Doe No. 2") ¶ 9 (Dkt. No. 12).) Doe No. 2 has privacy objections to disclosure of his name, address, and status as a permit holder, because "[h]e believes that one's status as a handgun permit holder is a private, personal matter and that public disclosure of that information would subject the permit holder to unwanted public attention and censure by those in the community who are hostile to guns and gun owners." (Id. ¶ 25; Decl. of John Doe No. 2 ¶ 9.)

Plaintiffs seek a declaration that the public disclosure requirement in § 400.00(5)(a) is facially unconstitutional, as well as a permanent injunction prohibiting Putnam County from disclosing the names and addresses of handgun permit holders. (See Compl. 10).

B. Procedural History

Plaintiffs filed the Complaint on October 19, 2016. (Dkt. No. 1.) On October 21, 2016, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, seeking to restrain Defendants from disclosing the names and addresses of residents of Putnam County who have obtained handgun permits under N.Y. Penal Law §...