No. 12-1414 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE

113 Pages·2013·0.73 MB·English

Appellate Case: 12-1414 Document: 01019110450 Date Filed: 08/15/2013 Page: 1
No. 12-1414

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

CITIZEN CENTER,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
SCOTT GESSLER, in his official capacity as Colorado Secretary of State,
SCOTT DOYLE, in his official capacity as Larimer Cnty. Clerk & Recorder,
PAM ANDERSON, in her official capacity as Jefferson Cnty. Clerk & Recorder,
HILLARY HALL, in her official capacity as Boulder Cnty. Clerk & Recorder,
JOYCE RENO, in her official capacity as Cnty. Clerk & Recorder, and
TEAK SIMONTON, in her official capacity as Eagle Cnty. Clerk & Recorder,
Defendants - Appellees,
and
SHEILA REINER, in her official capacity as Mesa Cnty. Clerk & Recorder,
Defendant.

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
D. No. 1:12-cv-00370-CMA-MJW
Hon. Christine M. Arguello

OPENING BRIEF

Oral Argument Is Requested.

Robert A. McGuire, III
Jeffrey D. Baines
MCGUIRE BAINES LLC
1624 Market Street, Suite 202
Denver, Colorado 80202
[phone]
[email protected]

Counsel for Plaintiff-Appellant
Appellate Case: 12-1414 Document: 01019110450 Date Filed: 08/15/2013 Page: 2

CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. Rule 26.1(b), Plaintiff-Appellant Citizen Center
discloses that it is a nongovernmental corporate party, that it has no parent
corporation and that no corporation owns 10% or more of its stock.

Dated: August 15, 2013

By: S/ Robert A. McGuire, III
Robert A. McGuire, III
Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellant Citizen Center

MCGUIRE BAINES LLC
1624 Market Street, Suite 202
Denver, Colorado 80202
Telephone: [phone]
Email: [email protected],

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT ....................................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... ii
LISTING OF ATTACHMENTS............................................................................iv
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES .................................................................................vi
STATEMENT OF RELATED CASES ..................................................................xi
I. JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENT .............................................................. 1
A. District Court’s Subject-Matter Jurisdiction ........................................ 1
B. Appellate Jurisdiction ......................................................................... 1
C. Timeliness of Appeal .......................................................................... 1
II. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES .................................................................. 2
III. STATEMENT OF THE CASE ..................................................................... 3
A. Nature of the Case .............................................................................. 3
B. Course of Proceedings ........................................................................ 3
C. Disposition Below .............................................................................. 5
IV. STATEMENT OF THE FACTS ................................................................... 6
V. SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .................................................................. 11
VI. ARGUMENT ............................................................................................. 12
A. The district court erred by dismissing the case below for lack of
standing because the First Amended Complaint, First
Supplemental Complaint, and other “materials of record,” allege
facts – including injury-in-fact – that are more than sufficient to
plausibly establish Citizen Center’s associational standing at the
motion-to-dismiss stage. ................................................................... 12
ii
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1. Citizen Center’s allegations plausibly establish all of the
required elements of associational standing. ...........................14
a. Citizen Center’s individual members would have
standing to sue in their own right. .................................15
i. Citizen Center’s allegations demonstrate
injury-in-fact to its individual members. .............16
ii. Citizen Center’s allegations demonstrate that
members’ injuries are fairly traceable to the
defendants’ conduct. ...........................................19
iii. Citizen Center’s allegations demonstrate that
members’ injuries will be redressed by a
favorable decision. ..............................................20
b. The interests Citizen Center seeks to protect are
germane to the organization’s purpose. .........................20
c. Neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested
requires the participation of individual members in
the lawsuit. ....................................................................21
2. The district court erred as a matter of law by requiring a
subject-matter nexus between the alleged injury-in-fact
and the federal rights claimed. ................................................21
3. The district court erred by failing to consider “all materials
of record” in dismissing the case for want of standing. ...........22
B. The district court’s erroneous order of dismissal on standing
should not be affirmed on the alternate grounds of Rule 12(b)(6)
because Citizen Center’s First Amended Complaint and First
Supplemental Complaint properly state claims for declaratory
and injunctive relief under the First and Fourteenth
Amendments. .................................................................................... 23
1. The First Claim states a legally sufficient claim for relief
from violations of Citizen Center’s members’ fundamental
right to vote.............................................................................26
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2. The Second Claim states a legally sufficient claim for
relief from violations of Citizen Center’s members’ First
Amendment freedoms of speech and association. ...................30
3. The Third Claim states a legally sufficient claim for relief
from violations of Citizen Center’s members’ fundamental
right to vote using a secret ballot in public elections. ..............33
4. The Fourth Claim states a legally sufficient claim for relief
from violations of Citizen Center’s members’ right to
procedural due process. ...........................................................37
5. The Fifth Claim states a legally sufficient claim for relief
from violations of Citizen Center’s members’ right to
equal protection. .....................................................................43
VII. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 48
STATEMENT REGARDING ORAL ARGUMENT ............................................ 48
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 32(a) ..................................... 49
CERTIFICATE OF DIGITAL SUBMISSION ..................................................... 50
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE .............................................................................. 51

LISTING OF ATTACHMENTS
Native PDF Documents:
Tab No.
Citizen Center v. Gessler, 1:12-cv-00370-CMA-MJW,
D. ECF No. 125, Transcr. Sept. 21, 2012, Hr’g (Order) 1

Citizen Center v. Gessler, 1:12-cv-00370-CMA-MJW,
D. ECF No. 117, Minute Entry Proceedings, Sept. 21, 2012 2

Citizen Center v. Gessler, 1:12-cv-00370-CMA-MJW,
D. ECF No. 118, Final J. 3

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Native PDF Documents:
Tab No.
Citizen Center v. Gessler, 1:12-cv-00370-CMA-MJW,
D. ECF No. 142, Order Grant’g Pl.’s Mot. Clarify 4

Non-native PDF Documents:

Citizen Center v. Gessler, 1:12-cv-00370-CMA-MJW,
D. ECF No. 129, Order Taxing Costs $13.76 5

Citizen Center v. Gessler, 1:12-cv-00370-CMA-MJW,
D. ECF No. 136, Order Taxing Costs $654 6

Citizen Center v. Gessler, 1:12-cv-00370-CMA-MJW,
D. ECF No. 137, Order Taxing Costs $907.80 7

Citizen Center v. Gessler, 1:12-cv-00370-CMA-MJW,
D. ECF No. 138, Order Taxing Costs $4,526.34 8

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases
American Civ. Liberties Union of N.M. v. Santillanes, 546 F.3d 1313
(10th Cir. 2008) ..................................................................................... 17, 18, 47
Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780 (1983) ................................................. 26, 27
Anderson v. Mills, 664 F.2d 600 (6th Cir. 1981) ............................................. 32, 35
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) ..................................................................25
Bd. of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564 (1972) .........................................................38
Buckley v. Valeo, 519 F.2d 821 (D.C. Cir. 1975) ..................................................32
Burdick v. Takushi, 504 U.S. 428 (1992) .................................................. 26, 27, 31
Burson v. Freeman, 504 U.S. 191 (1992) ..............................................................35
Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000) .........................................................................45
Carrington v. Rash, 380 U.S. 89 (1964) ................................................................46
Commonwealth. Prop. Advocates, LLC v. Mortgage Elec. Registration
Sys., Inc., 680 F.3d 1194 (10th Cir. 2011) ................................................... 13, 25
Couture v. Bd. of Educ. of Albuquerque Pub. Schs., 535 F.3d 1243
(10th Cir. 2008) .................................................................................................38
D’Aurizio v. Borough of Palisades Park, 899 F. Supp. 1352 (D.N.J.
1995) .................................................................................................................32
Doe v. Reed, 130 S. Ct. 2811 (2010) ......................................................... 31, 32, 35
Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Envtl. Study Grp., Inc., 438 U.S. 59
(1978) ................................................................................................................22
Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330 (1972) ...............................................................46
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Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Services (TOC), Inc., 528
U.S. 167 (2000) .................................................................................................20
Gitlow v. People of State of New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925) .................................26
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) ..............................................................33
Greidinger v. Davis, 988 F.2d 1344 (4th Cir. 1993) .................................. 16, 29, 45
Harper v. Virginia Bd. of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966) .....................................45
Holt v. United States, 46 F.3d 1000 (10th Cir. 1995) ............................................13
Hunt v. Washington State Apple Adver. Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333 (1977) .... 14, 20, 21
Int’l Union, United Auto., Aerospace & Agr. Implement Workers v.
Brock, 477 U.S. 274 (1986) ......................................................................... 15, 21
Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs, Co. v. City of Lawrence, Kan., 927 F.2d
1111 (10th Cir. 1991) ........................................................................................47
Lippoldt v. Cole, 468 F.3d 1204 (10th Cir. 2006) ..................................................16
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992) ....................................... 14, 15
Mahaffey v. Barnhill, 855 P.2d 847 (Colo. 1993) ...................................... 40, 41, 42
Marks v. Koch, 284 P.3d 118 (Colo. Ct. App. 2011) .............................................41
Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319 (1976) ..................................................... 38, 42
Montero v. Meyer, 13 F.3d 1444 (10th Cir. 1994) .................................................38
NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449 (1958) ..................................31
Nova Health Sys. v. Gandy, 416 F.3d 1149 (10th Cir. 2005) .................................19
Pennell v. City of San Jose, 485 U.S. 1 (1988) ......................................................21
People ex rel. Barton v. Londoner, 22 P. 764 (Colo. 1889) ............................. 39, 41
Roth v. Wilder, 420 F. App’x 804 (10th Cir. 2011) ...............................................25
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Russell v. United States, 551 F.3d 1174 (10th Cir. 2008) ......................................24
Sandusky County Democratic Party v. Blackwell, 387 F.3d 565 (6th
Cir. 2004) ..........................................................................................................18
Seegmiller v. LaVerkin City, 528 F.3d 762 (10th Cir. 2008) ............................ 34, 35
Smith v. Dunn, 381 F. Supp. 822 (M.D. Tenn. 1974) ............................................46
Smith v. United States, 561 F.3d 1090 (10th Cir. 2009) .................................. 13, 25
Socialist Workers Party v. Hechler, 890 F.2d 1303 (4th Cir. 1989) .......... 29, 45, 46
Stewart v. Blackwell, 444 F.3d 843 (6th Cir. 2006) ......................................... 16, 45
Storer v. Brown, 415 U.S. 724 (1974) ....................................................... 27, 28, 31
Tandy v. City of Wichita, 380 F.3d 1277 (10th Cir. 2004) ............................... 14, 16
Taylor v. Pile, 391 P.2d 670 (Colo. 1964) .............................................................41
Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party, 520 U.S. 351 (1997) .............................32
Toone v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 716 F.3d 516 (10th Cir. 2013) .........................24
U.S. ex rel. Burlbaw v. Orenduff, 548 F.3d 931 (10th Cir. 2008) ..........................24
United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 751 v. Brown
Group, Inc., 517 U.S. 544 (1996) ................................................................ 14, 21
United States v. Colorado Supreme Court, 87 F.3d 1161 (10th Cir.
1996) .................................................................................................................13
Vacco v. Quill, 521 U.S. 793, 799 (1997) ..............................................................45
Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490 (1975) .................................................. 13, 14, 21, 22
Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party, 552
U.S. 442 (2008) .................................................................................................28
Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702 (1997)...................................................34
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Williams v. Stein, 38 Ind. 89 (1871) ......................................................................38
Statutes
1891 Colo. Sess. Laws 143 ...................................................................................39
1905 Colo. Sess. Laws 168 ...................................................................................39
1947 Colo. Sess. Laws 427 ...................................................................................39
28 U.S.C. § 1291.................................................................................................... 1
28 U.S.C. § 1331.................................................................................................... 1
28 U.S.C. § 1343(a)(3) ........................................................................................... 1
28 U.S.C. § 1343(a)(4) ........................................................................................... 1
42 U.S.C. § 1983.................................................................................................... 1
Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. §§ 24-72-200.1 to -206 (2012) .....................41
Rules
10th Cir. R. 28.2(C)(2) .................................................................................... 12, 23
56 F.R.D. 183, 249 (Advisory Committee’s Note to Rule 507) .............................36
8 Colo. Code Regs. § 1501-1 (Election Rule 10.8 Aug. 20, 2012) ........................23
Fed. R. App. P. 28(a)(9)(B)............................................................................. 13, 24
Fed. R. App. P. 3(a)(1) ........................................................................................... 1
Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A) ..................................................................................... 2
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) ............................................................................... 5, 11, 13
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) .................................................................................. passim
Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(d)(3)...........................................................................................33
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