In re Fed. Bureau of Prisons' Execution Protocol Cases

485 F.Supp.3d 233

In the MATTER OF the FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS’ EXECUTION PROTOCOL CASES,

Lead Case: Roane, et al. v. Barr

This Document Relates to: All Cases

Case No. 19-mc-145 (TSC)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed August 27, 2020

Joshua Christopher Toll, King & Spalding, LLP, Paul F. Enzinna, Ellerman Enzinna PLLC, Washington, DC, for James H. Roane, Jr.

Brandon David Almond, Troutman Sanders LLP, Charles Anthony Zdebski, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC Telecommunications Law, Joshua Christopher Toll, King & Spalding, LLP, Washington, DC, Gerald Wesley King, Jr., Pro Hac Vice, Federal Defender Program, Inc., Atlanta, GA, for Richard Tipton.

Charles Frederick Walker, Donald P. Salzman, Steven M. Albertson, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Charles Anthony Zdebski, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC Telecommunications Law, Joshua Christopher Toll, King & Spalding, LLP, Washington, DC, Alex Drylewski, Pro Hac Vice, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, New York, NY, for Cory Johnson.

Celeste Bacchi, Craig Anthony Harbaugh, Jonathan Charles Aminoff, Federal Public Defender, Los Angeles, CA, for Julius Robinson.

David S. Victorson, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Danielle Desaulniers Stempel, Pro Hac Vice, Washington, DC, Elizabeth Hagerty, U.S. Attorney's Office, Denver, CO, John D. Beck, Pro Hac Vice, Pieter Van Tol, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells US LLP, New York, NY, for Daniel Lewis Lee.

Andres C. Salinas, Arin Hillary Smith, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, Washington, DC, Alan E. Schoenfeld, Pro Hac Vice, Ryan M. Chabot, Pro Hac Vice, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, LLP, New York, NY, for Wesley Ira Purkey.

Scott Wilson Braden, Federal Public Defender Eastern District of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR, Andrew Moshos, Pro Hac Vice, Jeffrey Lyons, Pro Hac Vice, Jennifer Ying, Pro Hac Vice, Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP, Stephen J. Kraftschik, Pro Hac Vice, Polsinelli PC, Wilmington, DE, for Norris G. Holder, Jr.

Dale Andrew Baich, Jennifer M. Moreno, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Phoenix, AZ, Brian J. O'Sullivan, Michael Robles, Pro Hac Vice, Harry P. Cohen, Pro Hac Vice, James K. Stronski, Pro Hac Vice, Crowell & Moring LLP, New York, NY, Kathryn Louise Clune, Crowell & Moring, LLP, Washington, DC, for Keith Nelson.

Ginger Dawn Anders, Brendan B. Gants, Jonathan S. Meltzer, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Washington, DC, for Brandon Bernard.

Michael F. Williams, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Washington, DC, Susan M. Otto, Federal Public Defender Organization, Oklahoma City, OK, for Christopher Andre Vialva.

Bradley P. Humphreys, Cristen Cori Handley, Jean Lin, Jonathan D. Kossak, Paul R. Perkins, Ethan Price Davis, Denise M. Clark, Johnny Hillary Walker, III, Alan Burch, Peter S. Smith, United States Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Karen Tandy.

Bradley P. Humphreys, Cristen Cori Handley, Jean Lin, Jonathan D. Kossak, Paul R. Perkins, Ethan Price Davis, Denise M. Clark, Johnny Hillary Walker, III, Alan Burch, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for Harley G. Lappin, John Does, Thomas Webster, Michael B. Mukasey, Alan R. Doerhoff, Michele Leonhart, Charles E. Samuels, Jr., John F. Caraway, United States Department of Justice, Paul Laird, Kerry J. Forestal, Charles L. Lockett.

Bradley P. Humphreys, Cristen Cori Handley, Jean Lin, Jonathan D. Kossak, Paul R. Perkins, Robert J. Erickson, Ethan Price Davis, U.S. Department of Justice, Denise M. Clark, Johnny Hillary Walker, III, Alan Burch, Peter S. Smith, United States Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Newton E. Kendig, II, Mark Bezy.

Bradley P. Humphreys, Cristen Cori Handley, Jean Lin, Jonathan D. Kossak, Paul R. Perkins, Ethan Price Davis, Denise M. Clark, Johnny Hillary Walker, III, Alan Burch, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Paul F. Enzinna, Ellerman Enzinna PLLC, Washington, DC, for Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Amy Gershenfeld Donnella, Billy H. Nolas, Joseph William Luby, Shawn Nolan, Federal Community Defender Office, Philadelphia, PA, Bradley P. Humphreys, Cristen Cori Handley, Jean Lin, Jonathan D. Kossak, Paul R. Perkins, Ethan Price Davis, Alan Burch, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for Chadrick Evan Fulks.

Bradley P. Humphreys, Cristen Cori Handley, Paul R. Perkins, Scott A.C. Meisler, U.S. Department of Justice, Johnny Hillary Walker, III, Alan Burch, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for William P. Barr, Jeffrey E. Krueger, Radm Chris A. Bina, T. J. Watson.

Bradley P. Humphreys, Cristen Cori Handley, Paul R. Perkins, U.S. Department of Justice, Johnny Hillary Walker, III, Alan Burch, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for Joseph McClain.

Bradley P. Humphreys, Cristen Cori Handley, Johnny Hillary Walker, III, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Uttam Dhillon.

Bradley P. Humphreys, Cristen Cori Handley, Johnny Hillary Walker, III, Alan Burch, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Nicole English.

Jean Lin, Johnny Hillary Walker, III, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for U.S. Department of Justice.

Gregory Stuart Smith, Law Offices of Gregory S. Smith, Washington, DC, for William Emmett LeCroy.

Joshua Christopher Toll, Abigail Bortnick, King & Spalding, LLP, Washington, DC, Margaret O'Donnell, Frankfort, KY, William E. Hoffmann, Jr., King & Spalding, LLP, Atlanta, GA, for Anthony Battle.

Amy J. Lentz, Mark Joseph Hulkower, Matthew John Herrington, Robert A. Ayers, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Joshua Christopher Toll, King & Spalding, LLP, Washington, DC, for Orlando Hall.

Amelia J. Schmidt, Jonathan Jeffress, Kaiser Dillon, PLLC, Washington, DC, Shawn Nolan, Federal Community Defender Office, Eastern District of Penn, Philadelphia, PA, for Dustin Lee Honken.

Denise M. Clark, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for Richard Veach.

Gary E. Proctor, Law Offices of Gary E. Proctor, LLC, Baltimore, MD, Shawn Nolan, Federal Community Defender Office, Philadelphia, PA, Robert L. McGlasson, Pro Hac Vice, McGlasson & Associates, PC, Decatur, GA, Sean D. O'Brien, Pro Hac Vice, Public Interest Litigation Clinic, Kansas City, MO, for Jeffrey Paul.

Shawn Nolan, Federal Community Defender Office, Eastern District of Penn, Philadelphia, PA, for Dustin Higgs.

Evan D. Miller, William E. Lawler, III, Yousri H. Omar, Kathryn B. Codd, Jeanne Vosberg Sourgens, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Joshua Christopher Toll, Robert E. Waters, King & Spalding, LLP, Washington, DC, Eric Hernandez, Greenberg Traurig, P.A., Miami, FL, for Bruce Webster.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

TANYA S. CHUTKAN, United States District Judge Plaintiff Keith Nelson was sentenced to death on March 11, 2002. The government plans to carry out his execution on August 28, 2020 in accordance with the procedures set forth in the 2019 Bureau of Prisons Execution Protocol (hereinafter "the Protocol"). (ECF No. 99.) The focal point of the Protocol—and of this case—is the use of the drug pentobarbital sodium. (See ECF No. 39-1, Admin R. (AR) at 875.)

Before the court are Nelson's and the government's cross-motions for summary judgment as to the alleged violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) in Counts VIII, X, and XI of the Amended Complaint. (See generally ECF No. 92, Am. Compl.; ECF No. 170, Defs. Mot.; ECF No. 180, Nelson Cross-Mot.). All three counts are brought pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Nelson alleges that: (i) the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) acted arbitrarily and capriciously by failing to provide adequate justification for their failure to comply with the FDCA (Count VIII), (Am. Compl. ¶ 163); (ii) the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner acted arbitrarily and capriciously by refusing to exercise his enforcement authority under the FDCA (Count X), (id. ¶ 182); and (iii) the government's use of pentobarbital under the Protocol is contrary to law because it violates the FDCA (Count XI), (id. ¶ 188). Nelson also asks the court to enjoin the government from executing him using pentobarbital that has been acquired without a prescription or otherwise in violation of the FDCA.

In its July 15, 2020 Memorandum Opinion granting Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the court—and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on review—determined that Plaintiffs had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of at least some of their FDCA claims. (ECF No. 145, July 15 Mem. Op. at 7.); In re Fed. Bureau of Prisons’ Execution Protocol Cases , No. 20-5206, slip op. at 3 (D.C. Cir. July 15, 2020). The Supreme Court summarily vacated the court's injunction but did not address the merits of the FDCA claims. Barr v. Purkey , No. 20A10, ––– U.S. ––––, 141 S.Ct. 196, 207 L.Ed.2d 1128, (July 16, 2020).

For the reasons that follow, the court finds that Nelson is entitled to summary judgment as to Count XI. This finding is compelled by Circuit precedent which has not been reversed—or addressed—by the Supreme Court. The court grants the government's motion for summary judgment as to Count X in its entirety and Count VIII to the extent it concerns violations of the FDCA. Accordingly, both motions are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

I. BACKGROUND

The court has set forth the facts of this case in detail in prior opinions. Nelson, along with the other plaintiffs in the case, filed the operative Complaint on June 1, 2020, alleging that the Protocol is arbitrary and capricious under the APA, that it violates the FDCA and the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), that it violates Plaintiffs’ right to counsel in violation of the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, and that it is cruel and unusual in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

On July 13, 2020, the court preliminarily enjoined the executions of Plaintiffs Lee, Purkey, Honken, and Nelson. (ECF No. 135 at 22.) It found that these four Plaintiffs had...