Petition for Writ of Certiorari — Crump v. Christie (No. 07-1511)
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WU
a eme Court, U.S.
sapere Cont '
071511 MAR 27 2008
OFFICE OF THE CLERK
No.
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES ©
Thomas A. Crump
Petitioner
v.
Mark C. Christie, et al.
Respondents
On Petition for Writ of Certiorari
To The United States Court of Appeals
for the Fourth Circuit
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTORARI
Thomas A. Crump, pro se
8653 Rio Grande Road
Richmond, Virginia 23229
Phone No. (804) 740-7079
ag
Questions Presented for Review
z. As “poisonous tobacco plants” are used te
manufacture cigarettes, being used by consumers as
intended, causes them to become sick, disabled, or to
die, even many non-users exposed to the use of: is it
not unconstitutional for the Virginia State
Corporation Commission to allow to any company a
“charter” to be issued, renewed, or to hold, that
manufactures cigarettes?
2. Is it not unconstitutional for the Virginia
Department of Taxation Tobacco Unit to allow these
manufacturers of cigarettes, wholesalers, and
retailers to maintain and/or obtain a “Virginia
Stamping Agent Permit” in order to purchase and
affix “Virginia Cigarette Tax Revenue Stamps” on
each pack of cigarettes?
3. As Plaintiff at times, merely by the inherent act
of breathing, forced to become an involuntary smoker,
taken way choice and exposed to the cigarette’s
dangerous substance: because of these injuries does
not Plaintiff have: (A) 1st Amen. Right to petition for
a redress; (B) 14 Amen. Right to petition: (C) Article
III Starding to Petition; (D) Cause of Action in 42
U.S.C.A. Section 1983?
il
4, Due to Defendants being the cause of violation
of Plaintiffs fundam guaranteed rights, ——
oes this not preclude having prudential standing?
5. As Defendants claim Plaintiffs fight with
secondhand smoke is not with the state, which merely
license the sale and distribution of tobacco, it is with
those who smoke. Well, is it not the Defendant’s duty:
(A) to ensure that the interest of the consumers of the
Commonwealth is represented? (B) Other duties not
inconsistent with this (VA) Constitution? (C) Not to
violate the U.S. 14th Amendment?
6. If no cigarettes could be made or sold in
Virginia, stopping assaults on Plaintiffs liberties,
with Defendants complying with federal law, does this
not state a claim of action as in Federal Rule Civil
Procedure 12(b) (6)?
=. As Congress as granted in 42. U.S.C.A. Section
1983, similarly ruled by the Supreme Court that state
officers could be held subject to a federal court of
action: Defendant’s behavior causing injury to civil
rights of Plaintiff and having Art. III standing. Does
this not allow the Court constitutional jurisdiction
over the subject matter in Federal Rule Civil
Procedure 12(b)(1)?
ill
8. __As the state is responsible for cigarettes made—____—
and sold in Virginia and over half made and sold in
the U.S., causing over half of the approximately
440,000 deaths yearly in the U.S., including
approximately 11,000 in VA, of which approximately
950 being non-smokers, causing fetus and infant
deaths. If we look at this issue anew, does this not
demonstrate that the Commonwealth's conduct..was
and still is so outrageous as to shock the conscience of
the Court?
9. As Plaintiff is called te give estimates in
people’s homes, observes cigarette smoking with
babies and children present, even pregnant mothers
smoking, also in vehicles. As no one is protecting
these children, does not tne 1st Amendment allow
Plaintiff Third Party Standing for them before the
Court?
10. Asthe Surgeon General Report states that
twelve (12) million Americans are dead from smoking
in the last 40 years and as the federal and state
governments have taken no action to stop this scourge
on we the people, does not this Court see that this
petition should be for an “EXTRAORDINARY WRIT”
as exceptional circumstance warrant the exercise of
the Court’s discretionary power and that adequate
relief cannot be obtained in any other form or from
any other Court?
1V
a.
PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDING
Thomas A. Crump, Pro Se Petitioner
MARK C. CHRISTIE, in his personal capacity as
Commissioner, State Corporation Commission; and
THEAODORE V. MORRISON, JR., in his personal
capacity as Commissioner, State Corporation
Commission; and JUDITH W. JAGDMAN, in her
personal capacity as Commissioner, State Corporation
Commission.
Serve: Mark C. Christie, Theaodore V. Morrison, Jr.,
Judith W. Jagdman, State Corporation Commission,
Commissioner Office, 11‘ Floor, 1100 East Main
Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219
AND
LARRY E. DURBIN, in his personal capacity as
Assistant Commissioner, Customer Service
Department of Taxation, Tobacco Units, and
MICHAEL G. FOJTIK, in his personal capacity, as
Senior Auditor, Department of Taxation, Tobacco Unit
Serve: Michael G. Fojtik, Senior Auditor, Customer
Service, Tobacco Unit, Department of Taxation, 600
East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, and
Serve: Larry E. Durbin, Assistant Commissioner,
Customer Service, Tobacco Unit, Department of
Taxation, 600 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia
23219
Respondents
Oa dh clemaiaiadan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Questions Presented for Review
Parties To The Proceeding
Table of Contents
Table of Authorities
Opinions Below
Jurisdiction
Constitution and Statutory
Provisions Involved
Statement of the Case
Reasons for Granting the Writ
I. The Statement of the Case
II. U.S. Const. Amen. XIV. Sec. 1:
No state shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges
or immunities of citizens of the
United States: nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty,
or property, without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection
of the laws.
Vil
13
29
vl
TABLE OF CONTENTS--CONTINUED
Conclusion 31
‘Table of Contents to the Appendix 32
Opinion of United States Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, filed
December 28, 2008 App. 1
Formal Mandate of the
Fourth Circuit App. 3
Opinion of the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of
Virginia, Richmond Division App. 13
Cause No. 91-12.244(B)(W) filed the
11% day of May 1993. Jeanette Wilks
and Jessie Willie Bell v. American
Tobacco Company and New Deal
Tobacco and Candy Company, Inc.,
in the Circuit Court. Washington
County, Mississippi App. 25
From the 2004 Surgeon General’s
Report “The Health Consequences
Of Smoking” App. 27
vl
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES PAGE
Butchers Union Co. v. Crecent City Co., 22
11. U.S. 746.750-51
Greenwood v. Marginal Freight Co.,
105 U.S. 13 18-19.21 22
Jeanette Wilks and Jessie Willie Bell v.
The American Tobacco Company and 16
New Deal Tobacco Company and New
Deal Tobacco and Candy Company, Inc.,
Cause No. 91-12.2 44 (B)(W) May 11, 1993
Philadelphia Fire Association v. New York,
119 U.S. 110; National Council v. State
Council, 203 U.S. 151 23
Rohr. Fighting for the Rights of Others.
The Troubled Law of Third Party Standing
and Mootness in the Federal Courts, 35 U.
Miami L.Rev 393(1981) 26
Secretary of State v. Joseph H. Munson Co.,
Inc., 467 U.S. 947, 956,104 5. CT. 2839, 2847,
81 L.Ed. 2d 786, 795-96 (1984) 26
vill
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES--CONTINUED
Stone v. Mississippi, 101 U.S. 819-20 21
Thomas A. Crump v. Mark C. Christie, et al.
(3:07-CV-244): 07-7260 App. 1
Western Tort Association v. Greenberg
204 U.S. 359 22
Constitutional Provisions
U.S Const. Art. I Section 8 CL. 3 3
U.S Const. Art. III Section 2 3, 25
U.S Const. Amendment I 3
U.S Const. Amendment XIV
Section I 1,11,3,18,19,24,25
U.S Const. Amendment IX 4,19
VA Const. Article I Section 1 4, 18, 24
VA Const. Article I Section 3 4,18
VA Const. Article I Section 11 Clause 1 4,18
VA Const. Article I Section 15 Clause 1 5,18
VA Const. Article I Section 17 5
VA Const. Article [IX Section 1, Clause 1 5, 19, 24
VA Const. Article IX Section 2, Clause 1 5,19
VA Const. Article [IX Section 2, Clause 2 6,19
VA Const. Article IX Section 2, Clause 3 6, 20
VA Const. Article IX Section 6 6, 20
STATUTES AND RULES
Code of Va. Section 13.1-775 and 13.1-986 10
VIX
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES--CONTINUED
Chapter 28 Virginia Indoor Clean Act follows:
Code of Va. Section 15.1-291.2 11, 25
Code of Va. Section 15.1-291.2 C 11
Code of Va. Section 15.1-291.2 D 11
Code of Va. Section 58.1-1011 10
Code of Va. Section 58.1-1037 10
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) ii, 9, 26
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) 1, 9, 26
42 U.S.C. Section 1983 1,11,2,7,25
28 U.S.C. Section 2201 2,7,8,25
28 U.S.C. Section 2202 2,7,8,25
Act April 9, 1866 Ch. XXXI Stat.
27 Thirty-ninth Congress Sess. 8
Act April 20, 1871 Ch. XXII Sec. I
Stat. 13 Forty-Second Congress Sess. I 8
United States Supreme Court Rule 13(1) 2
Others
The 2004 Surgeon General’s Report App. 27
(The Health Consequences Of Smoking)
OPINIONS BELOW
The December 28, 2007 opinion of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
is herein sought to be reviewed, is reported at:
Thomas A. Crump v. Mark C. Christie, in his personal
capacity as Commissioner, State Corporation
Commission; Theaodore V. Morrison, Jr., in his
personal capacity as Commissioner, State Corporation
Commission; Judith Williams Jagdmann, in her
personal capacity as Commissioner, State Corporation
Commission; Larry E. Durbin, in his personal
capacity as Assistant Commissioner, Customer
Service, Department of Taxation; Michael G. Fojtik, in
his personal capacity as Senior Auditor, Department
of Taxation, Tobacco Unit, No. 07-7260 (3:07-CV-
00244-JRS) and is reprinted at page App. 1.
BASIS FOR JURISDICTION
Defendants being state officials can be sued in their
personal capacity, as they have no immunity from
federal action. As the officials are acting
unconstitutionally and beyond the scope of their
authority by allowing the license and sale of the
dangerous cigarettes that cause sickness and death
not only to the user, but to non-users as well. These
cigarettes are the cause of injury to Plaintiff's
fundamental liberties and due process.
The United States Court of Appeals
for the Fourth Circuit
Judgment was entered against Plaintiff
December 28, 2007.
This Court has jurisdiction in 42 U.S.C.A.
Section 1983 and Declaration Judgment is sought
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 2201 and 2202.
The above-captioned petition for a Writ of
Certiorari is timely pursuant to United States
Supreme Court Rule 13(1).
3
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
INVOLVED IN THE CASE (U.S.)
Article III Section 2: The judicial power shall extend
to all cases in Law and Equity, arising under this
Constitution. The Laws of the United States—
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3: The Congress shall have
Power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and
among the several states and with the Indian Tribes.
Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably
to assemble, and to petition the government for a
redress of grievance.
Amendment XIV, Section 1: All persons born or
naturalized in the United States and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States
and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States: nor shall any State deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor
deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the law.
Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution
of certain rights shal! not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS (VA STATE)
IN THE CASE
Article I, Section I Constitution of Virginia: That all
men are by nature equally free and independent and
have certain inherent rights, of which, when they
enter into a state of society, they cannot by any
compact, deprive or divest their posterity: namely, the
enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of
acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and
obtaining happiness and safety.
Section 3. That government is, or ought to be,
instituted for the common henefit, protection, and
security of the people, nation, or community; of all the
various modes and forms of government that is best
which is capable of producing the greatest degree of
happiness and safety, and is most effectually secured
against the danger of maladministration.
Section 11, Clause 1: That no person shall be deprived
of his life, liberty, or property without due process of
law.
Section 15, Clause 1: That no free government, nor
the blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people,
but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation,
temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by the
recognition by all citizens that they have duties as
well as rights, and that such right cannot be enjoyed
save 1n a society where law is respected and due
process is observed.
Section 17. The rights enumerated in this Bill of
Rights shall not be construed to limit other rights of
the people not therein expressed.
State Corporation Commission, Article [X: Section 1.,
Clause 1: There shail be a permanent Commission
which shall be known as the State Corporation
Commission and which shall consist of three
members. Members of The Commission shall be
elected by The General Assembly. . . Any
Commissioner may be impeached or removed in the
manner provided for the impeachment or removal of
judges of courts of record.
Section 2, Clause 1. Subject to the provisions of this
Constitution and to such requirements as may be
prescribed by law, the Commission shall be the
department of government through shall issue all
charters, and amendments or extensions thereof, of
domestic corporations and all licenses of foreign
corporations to do business in the Commonwealth.
6
Clause 2. Except as may be otherwise prescribed by
this Constitution or by Law, The Commission shall be
charged with the duty of administering the laws made
in pursuance of this Constitution for the regulation
and control of corporations doing business in this
Commonwealth. Clause 3. The Commission shall in
proceeding before it ensure that the interest of the
consumers of the Commonwealth is represented,
unless The General Assembly otherwise provides for
representation of such interest.
Section 6. The creation of corporations, and the
extension and amendment of charters whether
heretofore or hereafter granted, shall be provided for
by general law, and no charter shall be granted,
amended, or extended by special act, nor shall
authority in such matters be conferred upon any
tribunal or officer, except to ascertain whether
applicants have, by complying with the requirement
of law, entitled themselves to the charter,
amendment, or extension applied for and to issue or
refuse the same accordingly. Such general laws may
be amended, repealed, or modified by the General
Assembly. Every corporation charted in this
Commonwealth shall be deemed to hold its charter
and all amendments thereof under the provisions of,
and subject to all the requirements, terms, and
conditions of, this Constitution and any laws passed
in pursuance thereof. The police power of the
Commonwealth to regulate the affairs of corporations,
the same as individuals, shall never be abridged.
~]
STATUTORY PROVISIONS INVOLVED
IN THE CASE (U:S.)
42 U.S.C.A. Section 1983. Civil action for deprivation
of rights:
Every person who under color of any statue,
ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any state
or territory or the District of Colombia, subjects, or
causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United
States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof
to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or
immunities secured by the Constitution and Laws,
shall be liable to the party injured I an action at law,
suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress,
except that in any action brought against a judicial
officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s
judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted
unless a declaratory decree was violated or
declaration relief was unavailable. For the purpose of
this section, any Act of Congress applicable
exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be
considered to be a statue of the District of Columbia.
28 U.S.C. Section 2201. Creation of Remedy: (a) In a
case of actual controversy within its jurisdiction,
except with respect to federal taxes other than actions
brought under Section 2428 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, a proceeding under Section 505 or 1146
of Title 11, or in any civil action including an
8
antidumping or countervailing duty proceeding
regarding a class or kind of merchandise of free trade
area country (as defined in Section 516A(F)(10) of the
Tariff Act of 1930) as determined by the
administering authority, any court of the United
States, upon the filing of an appropriate pleading,
may declare the rights and other legal relations of any
interested party seeking such declaration, whether or
not further relief is or could be sought. Any such
declaration shall have the force and effect of a final
judgment or decree and shall be reviewable as such.
28 U.S.C. Section 2202. Further relief:
Further necessary or proper relief based on a
declaratory judgment or decree may be granted after
reasonable notice and hearing against any adverse
party whose rights have been determined by such
judgment.
Act April 9, 1866 Chap. XXXI Stat. 27: An act to
protect all persons in the United States in their Civil
Rights, and furnish the means of their vindication.
Act April 20, 1871 Chap. XXI Stat. 13: An act to
enforce the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment
to the Constitution of the United States and for other
purposes.
Be it enected by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, that any person who, under color
of any law, statue, ordinance, regulation, customer, or
usage of any state, shall subject, or cause to be
subjected, any person within the jurisdiction of the
United States to be deprivation of any rights,
privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution
of the United States, shall, any such law, statue,
ordinance, regulation, customer, or usage of the State
to the contrary notwithstanding, be liable to the party
injured in any action at law, suit in equity, or other
proper proceeding for redress; such proceeding to be
prosecuted in the several district or circuit courts of
the United States, with and subject to the same rights
of appeal, review upon error, and other remedies
provided in like cases in such courts, under the
provisions of the Act of the Ninth of April eighteen
hundred and sixty-six, entitled “An Act to Protect All
Persons in the United States in Their Civil Rights,
and to Furnish the Means of Their Vindication”; and
the other remedial laws of the United States which
are in their nature applicable in such cases.
FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
Rule 12. Defenses and Objections—when and how
presented—by pleading or motion—motion for
Judgment on the Pleadings.
(b)(1) Lack of Jurisdiction over the subject matter
(b)(6) Failure to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted.
10
STATUTORY PROVISIONS INVOLVED
IN THE CASE (VA STATE)
Section 13.1-775 and 13.1-936 of the Code of Virginia:
Each assessed corporation shall pay the annual
registration fee required by law on or before the
corporation’s annual report due date determined in
accordance with Section 13.1-775 (stock corporations)
or Section 13.1-936 (non-stock corporations) of each
year.
Section 58.1-1011 of The Code of Virginia: only
manufacturers, wholesale dealers, and retail dealers
may be permitted as stamping agents. It shall be
unlawful for any person to purchase, possess, or affix
Virginia Revenue Stamps without first obtaining a
permit to do so from The Department in order to
purchase and affix Virginia Cigarette Tax Stamps on
each pack of cigarettes.
Section 58.1-1037: Seizure-cigarettes that are
acquired, held, owned, possessed, transported in,
imported into, or sold or distributed in the =
Commonwealth in violation of this chapter shall be
deemed contraband and shall be subject to seizure,
forfeiture, and destruction.
11
Section 15.1-291.2 Code of Virginia relating to
the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act: penalty, Chapter
28.
Section 15.1-291.2 C says, “Any restaurant
having a seating capacity of fifty or more persons
shall have a designated no-smoking area sufficient to
meet customer demand.”
Section 15.1-291.2 D says, “The proprietor or
other person in charge of a space subject to the
provisions of this chapter shall post signs conspicuous
to public view stating “smoking permitted” or “no
smoking” and in restaurants, signs conspicuous to
ordinary public view at or near each public entrance
stating “no smoking section available.”
The General Assembly in its 1996
Session amended and reenacted Section 15.1-291.2 of
The Code of Virginia, relating to the Virginia Indoor
Clean Air Act. (A) The Commonwealth or any agency
thereof and every court, city, or town shall provide
reasonable no-smoking areas. (B) Smoking shall be
prohibited in... ; provided, however, that smoking
may be allowed by a local school division in a
designated area which is not a common area, . . .. (C)
Any restaurant having a seating capacity of fifty or
more persons shall have a designated no-smoking
area sufficient to meet customer demand. (D) The
proprietor or other person in charge of an educational
facility, except any public elementary, intermediate,
12
or secondary school, health care facility, or retail
establishment of 15,000 square feet or more serving
the general public, including, but not limited to,
department stores, grocery stores, drug stores,
clothing stores, shoe stores, and recreational facilities
shall designate reasonable no-smoking areas,
considering the nature of the use and the size of the
building. (E)... and in restaurants signs conspicuous
to ordinary public view at or near each public
entrance stating “no-smoking section available.”
13
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Plaintiff filed a petition in the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Richmond Division case no. 3:07 CV244 on April 26,
2007: A hearing was held on July 25, 2007: The court
dismissed plaintiffs petition August 7, 2007: Plaintiff
filed appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for
the Fourth Circuit September 24, 2007 case no. 07-
7260; Plaintiff filed a supplement informa! brief
November 2, 2007: The Appeals Court affirmed the
judgment of the District Court on December 28, 2007;
The Appeals Court issued mandate January 22, 2008.
Petition is against three commissioners in the
state corporation commission in their personal
capacity: Mark E. Christie, Theodore V. Morrison, Jr.
, and Judith Williams Jagdmann, and two in the
Department of Taxation, Tobacco Unit: Larry E
Durbin, Assistant Commissioner, Customer Service
and Michael G. Fojtik, Senior Auditor.
The state corporation commissioners issue and
renew a “Charter” to companies that manufacture
cigarettes. Those in the Department of Taxation,
Tobacco Unit issue a “Virginia Stamping Agent
Permit,” to be qualified to purchase and affix a
“Virginia Cigarette Revenue Stamp” on each pack of
14
cigarettes, as can not be sold without a stamp in
Virginia.
This petition arises out of the continuing
arbitrary assault of injury to liberties of plaintiff from
secondhand smoke by the consumption of cigarettes,
merely by the inherent act of breathing in most places
we go near our home in Henrico County, Richmond,
VA., the state, in private home, that plaintiff is
requested to give estimates and do work, where also
observes pregnant women, babies, and children
breathing this dangerous smoke from cigarcttes.
The defendants have prior knowledge that the
poisonous tobacco plant is used to make cigarettes
and that the use of cigarettes causes people to become
sick, disabled or to die, as happens in most families
and is not something that just happened, but has been
happening for hundreds of years, with twelve million
Americans dead from smoking in the last 40 years.
Then, too, the State is collecting money yearly from
tobacco companies of the tobacco settlement that is
paying for some of the health care cost caused by
cigarettes.
The Defendants in the state corporation
commission know defense attorney’s are the states
Attorney Generals, which have lists and keep track of
all the cigarettes made and sold in Virginia including
interstate cigarettes and can prosecute for non-
15
compliance. The Defendants in the tobacco unit also
have prior knowledge of this dangerous cigarette and
keep information on the tobacco companies names of
permit holders (cannot buy “Virginia cigarette
revenue tax stamps’ to affix to each pack of cigarettes
without a “Virginia Stamping Agent Permit”) to buy
the tax stamps, as no cigarettes can be sold in
Virginia without a tax stamp on every pack.
The Plaintiff claims injury to his liberties by
the state, caused by the Defendants conduct of
allowing “charters” and “permits” to companies that
make and sell the defective and unusually dangerous
for human consumption cigarette, because when used
as intended, they cause cancer, emphysema, heart
disease, and other illness. The government licenses
other drug companies to make and sell their products.
But when a drug is found to kill a “small number’ of
users, the drug is pulled off the market and no longer
made. The injury to liberties is two-fold: first,
Plaintiff's choice of not to smoke cigarettes is taken
away whenever there is environmental tobacco smoke,
as Plaintiff is forced to be an involuntary smoker;
second, Plaintiff is exposed to a dangerous substance
and merely by the act of breathing. The only way to
stop environmental tobacco smoke is the enjoin
Defendants from issuing “charters” to manufacturers
of cigarettes and holders of those permits that sell
cigarettes.
16
A Mississippi court has ruled on the dangerous
cigarettes as following:
In Cause No. 91-12.244 (B) (W) filed the 11% day of
May 1993, Jeanette Wilks and Jessie Willie Bell v. The
American Tobacco Company and New Deal Tobacco
and Candy Company, Inc., in the Circuit Court,
Washington County, Mississippi, a ruling said,
“... the Court has considered this
matter anew and concludes that
cigarettes are, as a matter of law,
defective and unreasonably dangerous for
human consumption. Cigarettes are
defective because when used as intended,
they cause cancer, emphysema, heart
disease, and other illness . . . cigarettes
are the most lethal products that may be
legally sold in this country. According to
the affidavits of Dr. David Burns, Senior
Reviewer of several Surgeon General's
reports, cigarettes kill approximately
435,000 persons annually from cancer,
emphysema, and heart disease.
Cigarettes kill more Americans each year
than AIDS, automobile accidents, alcohol,
fire, heroin, morphine, cocaine, suicide,
and homicide combined . . . cigarettes kill
40% of the people who smoke them. The
health costs to the nation from cigarette
smoking exceed $50 billion per vear.. .”
17
So ORDERED, this the 11 day of
May 1993. Eugene Bogen Circuit Judge.
From the Surgeon General’s Report 2004, Twenty-
eight Reports. Since the first Surgeon General’s
Report on smoking and health in 1964 medical
experts have written 27 more reports for The Surgeon
General on tobacco use. In each report, leading
scientists have found that using tobacco causes people
to become sick, disabled, or to die. (A) Fetus and
Infant Deaths (970); (B) Heart Diseases (142.600); (C)
Respiratory Diseases (98,000); (D) Secondhand smoke
causing cancer or heart disease (38,000); (E) House
fires set by cigarettes (970); (F) Cancers (159,000)
causing 440,000 deaths each year by cigarette
smoking.
Responsibilities of Defendants
Defendants claim they are not to blame for
secondhand smoke inhaled by Plaintiff, with the court
agreeing his fight is not with the state, which merely
licenses the sale and distribution of tobacco; it is with
those who smoke. The court further said the general
theory of the case is this: that tobacco could not be
sold within the state if the officials named within this
suit were enjoined from carrying out their
18
responsibilities; that if tobacco is not sold, it cannot be
smoked, and that if tobacco cannot be smoked it
cannot be inhaled by non-smoking bystanders. Well,
let the court see what Defendants responsibilities are
as a person being in Virginia and in their official duty
in the state government as stated in the Constitution
of Virginia and the 14th Amendment, as follows:
Article I, Section I Constitution of Virginia:
That all men are by nature equally free and
independent and have certain inherent rights, of
which, when they enter into a state of society, they
cannot by any compact, deprive or divest their
posterity: namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty,
with the means of acquiring and possessing property,
and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
Section 3. That government is, or ought to be,
instituted for the common benefit, protection, and
security of the people, nation, or community.
Section 11. That no person snall be deprived of
his life, liberty, or property without due process of
law.
Section 15: That no free government, nor the
blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but
by a firm adherence to justice and by the recognition
by all citizens that they have duties as well as rights.
19
Amendment 14, Section 1 Constitution of the
United States: No state shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities
of citizens of the United States, nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, hberty, or property without
due process of law, nor deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Plaintiff, as other citizens, has an inherent
power created by “God” and enforced by the above, of
self defense, liberty, pursuit of happiness, safety, and
self-preservation, and this inherent power U.S.
Constitution, Ninth Amendment may be regulated
but cannot be destroyed.
The Constitution of Virginia, Article IX: Section
1. Members of The Commission shall be elected by
The General Assembly . .. Any Commissioner may be
impeached or removed in the manner provided for the
impeachment or removal of judges of courts of record.
Section 2, Clause 1. Subject to the provisions of
this Constitution, the Commission shall be the
department of government through shall issue all
charters, and amendments or extensions thereof, of
domestic corporations. Clause 2. Except as may be
otherwise prescribed by this Constitution or by Law,
The Commission shall be charged with the duty of
administering the laws made in pursuance of this
Constitution for the regulation and control of
20
corporations doing business in this Commonwealth.
Clause 3. The Commission shall in proceeding before
it ensure that the interest of the consumers of the
Commonwealth is represented.
Section 6. Every corporation charted in this
Commonwealth shall be deemed to hold its charter
and all amendments thereof under the provisions of,
and subject to all the requirements, terms, and
conditions of, this Constitution and any laws passed
in pursuance thereof. The police power of the
Ccmmonwealth to regulate the affairs of corporations,
the same as individuals, shall never be abridged.
The State cannot contract away
some of its powers in corporate grants as
the United States Supreme Court says in
part: “No legislature can bargain away the
public health or the public morals. The
people themselves cannot do it, much less
their servants. The supervision of both
these subjects of governmental power is
continuing in its nature, and they are to be
dealt with as the special exigencies of the
moment may require. Government is
organized with a view to their preservation,
and cannot divest itself of the power to
provide for them . . . But the power of
governing is a trust committed by the
people to the government, no part of which
can be granted away. The people in their
21
sovereign capacity have established their
agencies for the preservation of the public
health and the public morals and the
protection of public and private rights.
These several agencies can govern
according to their discretion, if within the
scope of their general authority, while in
power; but they cannot give away nor sell
the discretion of those that are to come
after them, in respect to matters the
government of which, from the very nature
of things, must “vary with varying
circumstances”. They may create
corporations, and given them, so to speak, a
limited citizenship, but as citizens, limited
in their privileges, or otherwise, these
creatures of the government creation are
subject to such rules and regulatiens as
may from time to time be ordained and
established for the preservation of health
and morality.” [Stone v. Mississippi, 101
U.S. 819-20]
The United States Supreme Court says in part:
“While we are not prepared to say that the
legislature can make valid contracts on no
subject embraced in the largest definition
of the police power, we think that, in
regard to two subjects so embraced, it
cannot, by any contract, limit the exercise
22
of those powers to the prejudice of the
general welfare. These are the “public
health and public morals.” [Butchers Union
Co. v. Crescent City Co., 111 U.S. 746, 750-
51]
Power of States to Repeal Corporate Charters as
the United States Supreme Court says in part:
“One obvious effect of the repeal of a
statute is that it no longer exists. Its life is
at an end. Whatever force the law may give
to transactions into which the corporation
entered and which were authorized by the
charter while in force, it can originate no
new transactions dependent on the power
conferred by the charter.” [Greenwood v.
Marginal Freight Co., 105 U.S. 13, 18-
19.21] |
A state may determine absolutely what corporation
shall or shall not do business within the state and the
powers the corporation may exercise. Permission to do
business may be withdrawn at any time by the state.
It results that the liberty clauses of our constitutions
are scarcely applicable to corporations [Western Tort
Association v. Greenberg, 204 U.S. 359].
The requirement of the laws of equal protection
apphes only to persors “within the jurisdiction.” A
corporation cannot exist within the jurisdiction
without its permission, because the artificial
23
corporation entity has no existence except where
sustained by law. A state may thus arbitrarily exclude
corporations, or, when admitted, it may arbitrarily
put them out unless they submit to new conditions
[Philadelphia Fire Association v. New York, 119 U.S.
110; National Council v. State Council, 203 U.S. 151.
But see W. U. Tel. Co. v. Kansas 2i06 U.S.1; So. Ry.
Co. v. Greene, 216 U.S. 400).
Corporations have grant privileges in this
country, but their essential strength being economic
rather than legal.
The economic burden of cigarette use is
enormous as from 1995 to 1999, smoking-related costs
totaled $157.7 billion each year (U.S.) ($3.94 billion in
Virginia). This figure includes more than $75 billion
in direct medical cost for adults (ambulatory care,
hospital care, prescription drugs, nursing homes, and
other care), about $82 billion.in indirect cost from loss
productivity, and $366 million for neonatal care. This
equals an estimated $3,000 per smoker per year
(enclosed: 2004 Surgeon General’s Report).
Taxes v. Costs: Some officials working for the
state must think tobacco taxes help the state, but
tobacco taxes collected by the state is less than the
cost to the state, as the 2004 Surgeon General’s
Report has said the economic cost of smoking in the
United States each year from 1995 to 1999 was $157.7
24
billion. When one multiplies $157.7 billion by 2.5%
(Virginia’s part of population), it is $3.94 billion, but
all of the taxes collected from tobacco and the sale of
cigarettes is less than one billion.
As the rights and duties of people under Art. 1
(A) have shown that all people have inherent rights
(and as part of government) cannot by any compact
deprive—enjoyment of life; (B) government (officials)
is to—protection and security of the people, nation or
community; (C) no person deprived of his life, liberty,
without due process; (D) No free government, nor
liberty, can be preserved but by a firm adherence to
justice. . .all citizens have duties as well as rights; due
process is observed; (E) 14th Amen.: nor shall any
state deprive any person of life, liberty. . .without due
process. Art. IX; (F) The commission shall be charged
with the duty of administering the laws made in
pursuance of this constitution for the regulation and
control of corporations; (G) The police power of the
Commonwealth to regulate the affairs of corporations
shall never be abridged; H) This has clearly shown
that the state cannot constitutionally allow any
corporation “charter” to any company that makes
cigarettes or allow any “permits” to anyone or a
company to buy and affix tax stamps to packs of
cigarettes; (H) Therefore, if corporations that
manufacture cigarettes “charters” were to be repealed,
there would be no cigarettes made in Virginia, and if
the “permits” for cigarette makers, wholesalers, and
retailers were repealed, no cigarettes could be sold in
25
Virginia. That would stop the assaults on Plaintiff,
thus, in the future Defendants would be complying
with federal law.
Defendants are responsible for cigarettes being
made and sold being the cause of this action and the
state has made this issue even worse by code of
Virginia section 15.1-291.2 that puts people who
smoke and those who chose not to smoke in the same
atmosphere enclosures of restaurants: as all
atmosphere enclosures have central heat and air
condition that circulate the air, which goes
everywhere, therefore there is not a no smoking area
in the no smoking section, this is the same for homes
and vehicles.
These cigarettes being the cause of injury to Plaintiffs
basic fundamental civil rights: (A) Allows for petition
of the government for a redress of grievance in the 1:*
Amen.; (B) Allows action in 42 U.S.C.A. 1983; (C)
Allows action in 28 U.S.C. Section 2201 and 2202: The
right of “liberty and due process.” The principles for
which America’s founders put their fortune and lives
at state in 1776 by their Declaration of Independence:
(D) Allows for action in the 14t Amen.; (E) Allows for
standing under Article III of this case of Plaintiff's
constitutional fundamental civil rights, as the
Constitution does not give a right in one section and
take it away in another; (F) Because Plaintiff's
26
fundamental civil rights are violated, it precludes
prudential standing; (G) This case shows Plaintiff has
stated a claim upon which relief can be granted in
Rule 12(b); (6) Has shown Article II] standing and has
shown the Court had jurisdiction over the subject
matter in Rule 12(b)(1).
For the importance of protecting civil rights
under the 1st Amen. is to allow third-party standing
for this petition to assert the rights of pregnant
women, babies, and children not before this Court.
Without Plaintiff, there is no one. Upon weighting the
gravity of the connection between the litigant and the
third party and the ability of the litigant to justify his
own right and the risk that the rights of third parties
will be diminished if third-party standing is not
allowed, then this Court should allow Plaintiff third-
party standing as third party has no other remedy, as
the environmental tobacco smoke will continue to
assault with injury by 60 carcinogens (substances that
cause cancer), polluting the free oxygen that the
pregnant women, babies, and children have to breath
to live: (“It is better to tie a millstone around one’s
neck and drown in the deepest ocean than to hurt one
of the little ones.”). Secretary of State v. Joseph H.
Munson Co., Inc., 467 U.S. 947, 956, 104 S.CT. 2839,
2847, 81 L. 2d 786, 795-96 (1984); Rohr, Fighting for
the Rights of Others: The Troubled Law of Third
Party Standing and Mootness in the Federal Courts,
35 v. Miami, L. Rev. 393 (1981).
27
As the Governor of the State appoints board members
to tobacco boards (who raise tobacco) whose duty is to
promote the use and sale of tobacco, the State General
Assembly refuses to pass a law that could protect the
people from cigarettes, the Attorney General has lists
of companies that make and the number of cigarettes
made and number sold in the state. The state has
passed laws that put smokers and non-smokers
together in the same atmosphere enclosures. The
state collects money yearly from the _ tobacco
settlement fer some of the past costs of sickness
caused by cigarettes and gives part of that money
back to the tobacco farmers. The state pays disability
to state workers even if caused by cigarettes. The
state license the makers of cigarettes, knowing they
are made from the poison tobacco plant and license
the sale of cigarettes, -,hich are defected and
unreasonably dangerous for human consumption
because when used as intended, they cause cancer,
emphysema, heart disease, and other illness, made in
Virginia cigarettes causes over half of the 440,000
deaths yearly in the U.S. including 38,000 non-
smokers, being 11,000 in VA with 950 non-smokers,
knowing is the cause of preterm birth, stillborn and
infant death, even now a bill advances in Congress
that could put the Food and Drug Administration in
regulatory over tobacco products, but not to ban, and
the duty of the F.D.A. is to protect the public, not the
tobacco industry. The Sta.es Attorneys are the
Defendants lawyers, so much for keeping the status
28
quo. Chief Justice Marshall said, “The essence of civil
liberty required a legal remedy for a legal wrong.” (A)
Does not this demonstrate that the Commonwealth’s
conduct was and is “so outrageous as to shock the
conscience of the Court?” (B) If this Court looks at this
issue anew, does not this Court see that this petition
should be for an “EXTRAORDINARY WRIT” as
exceptional circumstances warrant the exercise of the
Courts discretionary power and that adequate rcelicf
cannot be obtained in any other form or from any
other Court?
ARGUMENT FOR ALLOWING OF THE WRIT
When a state is allowed the manufacturing and
selling of a product (cigarettes) made from a poison
plant (tobacco), when used by consumers as intended
causes sickness, disability, and death, and even to
non-consumers that are around the consumer. This
injury to the liberties and due process of Plaintiff, and
all non-consumers who have made a choice to not
consume cigarettes, and not be exposed to the lethal
cigarette much less be arbitrarily forced to breath the
smoke from the burning cigarettes (which is the same
as user is breathing, mainstream smoke) plus
secondhand smoke, what the user exhales from the
cigarette, and even pregnant women, babies, and
children included. Our own Surgeon General’s report
says 440,000 deaths each year caused by smoking: 12
million dead in 40 years, yet 4,000 young people
smoke their first cigarette each day and a study has
just shown many children are addicted by the very
first cigarette.
When in the course of human events, it
becomes necessary for an average citizen to bring this
message to the Courts of Justice, as in our
Constitution, as a fundamental civil right, but the
State motion to dismiss this message is granted by
the Courts. As the federal and state governments
have abdicated their duty to protect the public health
and life of its people on this issue, in reviewing the
determination of the compatibility of the assaults on
30
the liberty of Plaintiff (third parties) by actions taken
by the Defendants as officials in the state
government, go beyond any proper sphere of
governmental activity, as is incompatible with our
democratic system of government and individual
liberty, as any property, liberty, or life limited by such
action is taken without due process, because the
Constitution never granted the government officials
the ability to take such action that comes in conflict
with the fundamental law.
We are now in a war to give and preserve
liberties, that has taken 4,000 of our warriors lives in
the last five years, and many in our Congress and the
public are demanding that we bring our troops home.
Well, because we do not teach our holders of driving
permits correctly to drive safely, we are killing over
ten times as many of our men, women, children, and
babies (not troops) in one year and every year on our
public highways. Because of behavior of officials in
the state in allowing cigarettes to be made and sold,
the state is the cause of over half (cigarettes made in
Virginia are over half the cigarettes made yearly in
the U.S.) of the 440,000 deaths yearly caused by
cigarettes, as reported by Surgeon General’s Report
(The Health Consequences of Smoking), being over
100 times in one year of our war dead in five years,
and these deaths from cigarettes are preventable.
This Court by a reversal of judgment could begin the
saving of these thousands of lives yearly, millions in
31
the next forty years, without the loss of life of a single
warrior!
Being that no money is involved (only lives) in
this case, Plaintiff could not afford to hire attorneys to
prepare the Petition, nor could any law college be
secured, and Plaintiff being just an ordinary person,
has not the ability to present the quality of petition
this court is accustomed to, but due to the importance
of this issue, with Plaintiffs right of petition to do his
best as a messenger to this Court and pray that this
Court will take action that will result in halting this
scourge on we the people.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, statement of the case
and argument, Petitioner prays the Petition for Writ
of Certiorari be granted.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas A. Crump, Pro Se
8653 Rio Grande Road
Richmond, VA 23229
Phone No. (804) 740-7079
32
TABLE OF CONTENTS TO THE APPENDIX
Opinion of the United State Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, filed
December 28, 2008 App. l
MANDATE of the United States Court
of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit App. 11
Opinion of the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of
Virginia, Richmond Division,
Filed August 7, 2007 App. 13
Cause No. 91-12.244(B)(W) filed the
11th day of May 1993. Jeanette Wilks
and Jessie Wilhe Bell v. the American
Tobacco Company and New Deal
Tobacco and Candy Company, Inc., App. 25
From the 2004 Surgeon General’s
Report App. 27
APP. 1
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-7260
THOMAS A CRUMP
Plaintiff — Appellant
versus
MARK C. CHRISTIE, in his personal capacity as
Commissioner, State Corporation Commission;
THEODORE V. MORRISON, JR., in his personal
capacity as Commissioner, State Corporation
Commission; JUDITH WILLIAMS JAGDMANN, in
her personal capacity as Commissioner, State
Corporation Commission; LARRY E. DURBIN, in his
personal capacity as Assistant Commissioner,
Customer Service, Department of Taxation;
MICHAEL G. FOJTIK, in his personal capacity as
Senior Auditor, Department of Taxation, Tobacco Unit
Defendants - Appellees
APP. 2
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. James R.
Spencer, Chief District Judge. (3:07-cv-00244-JRS)
Submitted: ‘Jecember 20, 2007
Decided: December 28, 2007
Before MICHAEL and KING, Circuit Judges, and
HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
APP. 3
FILED: December 28, 2007
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-7260
(3:07-cv-00244-JRS)
THOMAS A CRUMP
Plaintiff — Appellant
v.
MARK C. CHRISTIE, in his personal capacity as
Commissioner, State Corporation Commission;
THEODORE V. MORRISON, JR., in his personal
capacity as Commissioner, State Corporation
Commission; JUDITH WILLIAMS JAGDMANN, in
her personal capacity as Commissioner, State
Corporation Commission; LARRY E. DURBIN, in his
personal capacity as Assistant Commissioner,
Customer Service, Department of Taxaticn:
MICHAEL G. FOJTIK, in his personal capacity as
Senior Auditor, Department of Taxation, Tobacco Unit
Defendants — Appellees
APP. 4
JUDGMENT
In accordance with the 4ecision of this Court,
the judgment of the District Court is affirmed.
This judgment shall take effect upon issuance
of this Court’s mandate in accordance with Fed. R.
App. P. 41
/s/Patricia S. Connor, Clerk
Thomas A. Crump, Appellant Pro Se. A. Ann
Berkebile, Philip Reed DeHass, STATE
CORPORATION COMMISSION OF VIRGINIA,
Richmond, Virginia; Flora Townes Hezel, OFFICE OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA,
Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in
this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Thomas A. Crump appeals the district court’s
order dismissing his 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 (2007)
complaint. We have reviewed the record and find no
reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm for the
reasons stated by the district court. Crump v.
Christie, No. 3:07-cv-00244-JRS (E.D. Va. Aug. 7,
2007). We deny Crump’s motion to recuse judges of
this court that smoke from this case. We dispense
with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials
before the court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
AFFIRMED
APP. 6
FILED: December 28, 2007
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-7260, Crump v. Christie, et.al
3:07-cv-00244-JRS
NOTICE OF JUDGMENT
Judgment was entered on this date in this case.
PETITION FOR REHEARING (FRAP 40)
PETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANC (FRAP 35)
FILING TIME: A petition must be received in the
Clerk’s Office within 14 days after judgment to be
timely. There are three exceptions to this rule:
(1) In all civil cases in which the United States or an
agency or officer thereof is a party, any petition for
rehearing must be received in the Clerk’s Office
within 45 days after entry of judgment.
(2) The Court may grant an extension of time or leave
to file a petition for rehearing out of time if the party
establishes that the delay resulted from the death or
serious illness of counsel or a family member (or of a
APP. 7
party or family member in pro se cases) or other
circumstances wholly beyond the control of counsel or
a party proceeding without counsel.
(3) Prison petitions are deemed files when delivered to
prison authorities.
If a petition for rehearing en banc is to be filed, it
must be filed at the same time and in the same
document as the petition for rehearing and must be
clearly identified in the title.
Each case number to which the petition applies must
be listed on the petition, even in companion or
consolidated cases, in order to identify the cases to
which the petition applies and to avoid companion
cases proceeding to mandate during the pendency of a
petition for rehearing in the lead case.
A timely filed petition for rehearing or petition for
rehearing en banc will stay for mandate and toll the
running of time for filing a petition for writ of
certiorari.
PURPOSE: A petition should only be made to direct
the Court’s attention to one or more of the following
situations:
1. A material fact or law overlooked in the decision.
APP. 8
2. A change in the law which occurred after the case
was submitted and which was overlooked by the
panel.
3. The opinion is in conflict with a decision of the
United States Supreme Court, this Court, or another
court of appeals, and the conflict is not addressed in
the opinion.
4. The proceeding involves one or more questions or
exceptional importance.
STATEMENT OF COUNSEL: A petition shall
contain an introduction stating that, in counsel’s
judgment, one or more of the situations exist as
described in the above “Purpose” section. The points
to be raised shall be succinctly listed in the statement.
FORM: The 15 page limit allowed by the Ruie shall
be observed. File 4 copies of a petition for rehearing. If
a petition for rehearing en banc is filed, 12 copies are
required.
BILL OF COSTS (FRAP 39)
FILING TIME: A party to whom costs are allowed,
who desires taxation of costs, shall file a bill of costs
within 14 calendar days of entry judgment.
APP. 9
MANDATE (FRAP 41)
ISSUANCE TIME: In original proceedings before this
Court, there is no mandate. Unless the Court shortens
or extends the time, in all other cases, the mandate
issues 7 calendar days after the expiration of the time
for filing a petition for rehearing. A timely petition for
rehearing, petition for rehearing en banc, or motion to
stay the mandate will stay the issuance. If the
petition or motion is denied, the mandate will issue 7
calendar days later. If a stay of mandate is sought, 4
copies of the motion must be filed.
STAY: A motion for stay of the issuance of the
mandate shall not be granted simply upon request.
Ordinarily the motion will be denied unless it would
not be frivolous or filed merely for delay and would
present a substantial question or otherwise set forth
good or probably cause for a stay.
CRIMINAL CASES (Local Rule 46(d), CJA Plan)
CRIMINAL: In criminal cases, counsel must inform
the defendant in writing of the right to file a petition
for writ of certiorari from an adverse decision of this
Court. If the defendant requests that a petition be
filed and counsel believes that a petition would be
frivolous, counsel may file a petition for certiorari.
Counsel appointed under the Criminal Justice Act
must file their vouchers within 60 days of the later of
APP. 10
entry of judgment, denial of a petition for rehearing,
or the grant or denial of a petition for writ of
certiorari.
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
(Sup. Ct. R. 13)
FILING TIME: Review on writ of certiorari is not a
matter of right, but of judicial discretion, and will be
granted only for compelling reasons. The petition
must be filed in the United States Supreme Court
within 90 days of this Court’s entry of judgment. The
time does not run from the issuance of the mandate. If
a petition for panel or en banc rehearing is timely
filed, the time runs from the denial of that petition.
APP. 11
FILED: January 22, 2008
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-7260
(3:07-cv-00244-JRS)
THOMAS A CRUMP
Plaintiff — Appellant
V.
MARK C. CHRISTIE, in his personal capacity as
Commissioner, State Corporation Commission;
THEODORE V. MORRISON, JR., in his personal
capacity as Commissioner, State Corporation
Commission; JUDITH WILLIAMS JAGDMANN, in
her personal capacity as Commissioner, State
Corporation Commission; LARRY E. DURBIN, in his
personal capacity as Assistant Commissioner,
Customer Service, Department of Taxation;
MICHAEL G. FOJTIK, in his personal capacity as
Senior Auditor, Department of Taxation, Tobacco Unit
Defendant-Appellees
APP. 12
MANDATE
The judgment of this Court, entered December
28, 2007, takes effect this date.
This constitutes the formal mandate of this
Court issued pursuant to Rule 41(a) of the Federal
Rules of Appellate Procedure.
/s/Patricia S. Connor, Clerk
APP. 13
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
RICHMOND DIVISION
THOMAS A. CRUMP,
Plaintiff,
v. Civil Action No.: 3:07-CV-244
MARK C. CHRISTIE, et ad,
Defendants
FINAL ORDER
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the
Motions to Dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(1) & (6) by Defendants
Commissioners of the State Corporation Commission,
filed as Docket Entry No. 4, and by Defendants Larry
Durbin and Michael Fojtik, filed as Docket Entry No.
7. Hearing upon the Motions was held by July 25,
2007. Upon due consideration of the briefs submitted
and the arguments presented, and for the reasons
stated in the Memorandum Opinion that accompanies
this Order, the Defendants’ Motions shail be
APP. 14
GRANTED. Mr. Crump’s action shall be dismissed
for lack of standing and for the failure to state a claim
for which relief may be granted.
The Court understands that the Plaintiff is
proceeding on his own behalf, and so shall take this
opportunity to advise Mr. Crump of his right to appeal
this decision. To do so, the Plaintiff must file notice of
appeal with the Clerk of Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia within thirty (30) days of the date
of this Order’s entry. Fed. R. App. P. 3(a)(1),
4(a)(1)(B). The notice of appeal must set forth the
name of the party taking the appeal, the judgment for
which appeal is sought, and the court to which appeal
is taken. Fed. R. App. P. 3(c)(1). Failure to file timely
notice may result in the forfeiture of the right to
appeal.
Let the Clerk send a copy of this Order and
accompany Memorandum Opinion to all counsel of
record and to Mr.-Crump, who is without counsel.
It is SO ORDERED.
James R. Spencer
Chief United States District Judge
ENTERED this 7‘ day of August 2007
APP. 15
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
RICHMOND DIVISION
THOMAS A. CRUMP,
Plaintiff,
v. Civil Action No.: 3:07-CV-244
MARK C. CHRISTIE, et a/,
Defendants
MEMORANDUM OPINION
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the
Motions to Dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(1) & (6) by Defendants
Commissioners of the State Corporation Commission,
filed as Docket Entry No. 4, and by Defendants Larry
Durbin and Michael Fojtik, filed as Docket Entry No.
7. The arguments raised in both Motions are
substantially similar and so shall be considered at
once. For the reasons set forth below, both Motions to
Dismiss shall be GRANTED.
I.
On April 26, 2007, Thomas Crump filed this
action to enjoin the State of Virginia from allowing
the further sale or distribution of tobacco products,
claiming violations of the Fourth, Fifth, and
Fourteenth Amendments to the United States
Constitution. To be concise, Mr. Crump is tired of
inhaling secondhand smoke, and he is concerned that
his continued exposure to such smoke will impair the
quality of his life, if not the duration.
To that end, Mr. Crump has sued several
officers of the state government, including the
Commissioners of the State Corporation Commission.
The Commissioners are the Honorable Mark C.
Christie, the Honorable Theodore V. Morrison, Jr.,
and the Honorable Judith W. Jagdmann. The
Commission is responsible for issuing, amending, or
extending all charters of domestic corporations and all
licenses of foreign corporations to do business in the
Commonwealth. Va. Const. art. IX, Section 2. Mr.
Crump has also sued two officers of the Virginia
Department of Taxation: (1) Larry E. Durbin,
Assistant Commissioner, Customer Services, Tobacco
Unit; and (2) Michael G. Fojtik, Senior Auditor,
Tobacco Unit. The Plaintiff alleges that these
gentlemen are responsible for issuing permits to
cigarette manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers so
that they may affix Virginia cigarette tax stamps to
APP. 17
packs of cigarettes sold within the state, as required
by state law. The general theory of the case is this:
that tobacco could not be sold within the state if the
officials named within this suit were enjoined from
carrying out their responsibilities; that if tobacco is
not sold, it cannot be smoked: and that if tobacco
cannot be smoked, it cannot be inhaled by non-
smoking bystanders.
H.
Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction:
therefore, the existence of jurisdiction must
necessarily be the threshold requirement in every
federal case. Collectively, the Defendants assert that
the Court is without jurisdiction to hear the case, and
have moved to dismiss, in part, for lack of subject
matter jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(1). When challenged, it is the burden
of the non-moving party to prove the existence of
subject matter jurisdiction by a preponderance of the
evidence. Evans v. B.F. Perkins Co., 166 F.3d 642, 647
(4*» Cir. 1999)({citation omitted); see also Luckett v.
Bure, 290 F.3d 493, 496-97 (2d Cir. 2002)(“[T]he
plaintiff asserting subject matter jurisdiction has the
burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence
that it exists.”). A motion to dismiss for lack of subject
matter jurisdiction may be granted “only if the
maternal jurisdictional facts are not in dispute and the
moving party is entitled to prevail as a matter of law.”
APP. 18
Evans, 166 F.3d at 647 (internal quotation and
citation omitted).
The existence of subject matter jurisdiction
depends to some extent on whether the plaintiff has
standing to sue. Very simply, “the question of
‘standing’ is whether the litigant is entitled to have
the court decide the merits of the dispute or of
particular issues.” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498
(1975). “The core goal of the standing inquiry is to
ensure that a plaintiff bringing an action has enough
of a stake in the case to litigate it properly.” Pye v.
U.S., 269 F.3d 459, 466 (4th Cir. 2001). Dismissal is
necessary in cases where standing is not established.
The doctrine of standing is comprised of two
analytical strains. See, e.g., Elk Grove Unified Sch.
Dist. V. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1, 11 (2004). The first
regards Constitutional limitations on the Court’s
adjudicative capacity and is rooted firmly in Article
III. There, the judicial power of the United States is
said to extend only to a limited class of “cases” and
“controversies.” U.S. Const. art. III, Section 2. To
establish Article III standing, it must be shown: (1)
that the plaintiff suffered the invasion of a legally
protected interest; (2) that there is a fairly traceable
causal connection between the injury alleged and the
conduct challenged; and (3) that there is a reasonable
likelihood that the injury alleged could be redressed
by a favorable decision from the court. See, e.g., Lujan
v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992). The
elements of standing are not mere pleading
APP. 19
requirements; instead, they are “an indispensible part
of the plaintiffs
case. . [and] must be supported in the same way as
any other matter on which the plaintiff bears the
burden of proof.” Id. At 561.
There is also prudential standing. Though it
contours are far from certain, it is clear that
“prudential standing encompasses the general
prohibition on a litigant’s raising another persen’s
legal rights, the rule barring adjudication of
generalized grievances more appropriately addressed
in the representative branches, and the requirement
that a plaintiff's complaint fall within the zone of
interests protected by the law invoked.” Elk Grove,
542 U.S. at 12 (internal quotation and citations
omitted).
Article III and prudential standing are equally
necessary to a federal adjudication. Mr. Crump’s
claim, however, is lacking both. The Defendants have
identified two ways in which Mr. Crump has failed to
establish Article III standing. The first is that Mr.
Crump has not demonstrated a “fairly traceable
connection” between the conduct complained—the
execution of government functions with respect to the
sale of tobacco, and the injury alleged—the inhalation
of secondhand smoke. Mr. Crump’s theory pays no
mind to the fact that secondhand smoke is the product
of smoking, and that those who smoke—who are
therefore producing the smoke that he inhales—are
APP. 20
not before the Court. “When a plaintiff is not the
direct subject of government action, but rather when
the asserted injury arises from the government’s
allegedly unlawful regulation (or lack of regulation),
satisfying standing requirements lis] substantially
more difficult.” Frank Krasner Enters. v. Montgomery
County, Md., 401 F.3d 230, 234—35 (4th Cir.
2005)(citing Lujan, 504 U.S. 555, and Allen v. Wright,
468 U.S. 737 (1984)Gnternal quotations omitted). It is
more difficult because Article II] requires a
reasonable causal nexus between offensive conduct
and resultant harm. “Speculative,” “indirect,” or
“attenuated” connections are not sufficient. See Allen,
468 U.S. at 757, 758.
But that is precisely the type of causal
connection Mr. Crump has stated. His fight with
secondhand smoke is not with the state, which merely
licenses the sale and distribution of tobacco; it is with
those who smoke. And to the extent it is stated, Mr.
Crump’s theory of causation can only be described as
attenuated.
There is also a failure of Article III standing
due to the inability of this Court to order competent
redress. First, there is neither evidence nor allegation
that any Defendant has performed his state-
mandated responsibilities unlawfully. Second, even if
the Court were to issue an injunction against these
state officers from performing their official duties, Mr.
Crump’s secondhand smoke problem would not simply
blow away. Visitors and Virginians alike could
APP. 21
continue to smoke within the Commonwealth, so long
as their tobacco was purchased somewhere else.
Granted, the incidence of smoking would decline
dramatically if tobacco could not be sold within the
state. But this Court cannot offer the final solution
Mr. Crump is seeking.
For these reasons, Article III standing is found
wanting. And for similar reasons, prudential standing
is also lacking. Prudential standing “embodies
judicially self-imposed limits on the exercise of federal
jurisdiction.” Elk Grove, 542 U.S. at 11. Among the
situations contemplated by this principle are those in
which a plaintiff seeks adjudication of a generalized
grievance whose resolution is better suited for the
representative branches. See id. Everywhere, state
and local legislatures are debating the very issue for
which Mr. Crump seeks a decision. His private war on
public smoking is better suited for those fora.
IIT.
The Defendants have also moved to dismiss for
the failure to state a claim upon which relief may be
granted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
12(b)(6). Mr. Crump claims a violation of due process
pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment of the United
APP. 22
States Constitution,! and he seeks relief pursuant to
the Declaratory Judgment Act? and Title 42, United
States Code Section 1983. The Fourteenth
Amendment guarantees that “[nJo State. . .shall
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law.” U.S. Const. amend. XIV. As an
intellectual convention, “due process” consists of both
procedural and substantive components. Here, we
concern ourselves only with substantive due process.
Among the liberty interests secured by substantive
due process is the right to bodily integrity free from
unjustifiable governmental interference. See
Washington v. Glucksburg, 521 U.S. 702, 720
(1997)(citing Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa.
v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), and Rochin v.
California, 342 U.S. 165 (1952)).
Due process establishes an affirmative proscription on
the power of state governments. It commands states
to refrain from engaging in conduct when that
conduct would offend traditional notions of individual
1 Mr. Crump also claims violations of the Fourth and Fifth
Amendments. The Fourth Amendment protects against
unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fifth Amendment
prohibits only the federal government from denying due process
of law. These Amendments are not implicated on the facts
alleged. To the extent the Complaint attempts to state claims
predicated on these Amendments, those claims are dismissed.
228 U.S.C. Sections 2201—02.
APP. 23
liberty. That door, however, does not swing both ways.
Due process doe not require the states to act in an
affirmative manner in order to prevent the occurrence
or to mitigate the effect of some harm to an
individual’s liberty interest When the state otherwise
would not act. “[Nlothing in the language of the Due
Process Clause itself requires [a state] to protect the
life, liberty, or property of its citizens against invasion
by private actors. The Clause is phrased as a
limitation on the State’s power to act, not asa
guarantee of certain minimum levels of safety and
security.” DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dep't of
Soc. Servs., 489 U.S. 189, 195 (1989). Accordingly, the
fact that the Plaintiff on occasion inhales secondhand
smoke does not itself establish a violation of the
Fourteenth Amendment.
Affirmative conduct is necessary to sustain an
action for a violation of due process. In this case, the
only conduct that has been alleged is the officers’
performance of their official responsibilities. Enough
attention has already been given to the attenuated
connection between the offensive conduct and the
harm suffered. Suffice to say that the Court is as
equally concerned now by the remote causation as it
was previously with respect to standing. In addition,
to prevail in his due process action, Mr. Crump must
demonstrate that the Commonwealth’s conduct was
“so outrageous as to shock the conscience of the
court.” U.S. v. Osborne, 935 F.2d 32, 36 (4 Cir.
1991)(citing Rochin, 342 U.S. 165). There is an
APP. 24
absolute dearth of facts in this case that could
support such a proposition.
Despite Mr. Crump’s contentions, he has
suffered no constitutional violations. Without that
predicate, there is no basis on which to sustain an
action for declaratory or injunctive relief.
IV.
For the foregoing reasons, it is the judgment of
the Court that Mr. Crump’s claims shall be
DISMISSED for lack of subject matter jurisdiction
and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may
be granted.
An appropriate Order shall issue.
James R. Spencer
Chief United States District Judge
ENTERED this 7*» day of August 2007
APP. 25
A Mississippi court has ruled on the dangerous
cigarettes as following:
In Cause No. 91-12.244 (B) (W) filed the 11* day of
May 1993, Jeanette Wilks and Jessie Willie Bell v. The
American Tobacco Company and New Deal Tobacco
and Candy Company, Inc., in the Circuit Court,
Washington County, Mississippi, a ruling said,
“.. the Court has considered this
matter anew and concludes that
cigarettes are, as a matter of law,
defective and unreasonably dangerous for
human consumption. Cigarettes are
defective because when used as intended,
they cause cancer, emphysema, heart
disease, and other illness. . . cigarettes
are the most lethal products that may be
legally sold in this country. According to
the affidavits of Dr. David Burns, Senior
Reviewer of several Surgeon General’s
reports, cigarettes kill approximately
435,000 persons annually from cancer,
emphysema, and heart disease.
Cigarettes kill more Americans each year
than AIDS, automobile accidents, alcohol,
fire, heroin, morphine, cocaine, suicide,
and homicide combined . . . cigarettes kill
40% of the people who smoke them. The
APP. 26
health costs to the nation from cigarette
smoking exceed $5¢ billion per year .. .”
So ORDERED. this the 11 day of May 1993. Eugene
Bogen Circuit Judge.
APP. 27
From the Surgeon General’s Report 2004 (Exhibit A)
1. Twenty-eight Reports
Since the first Surgeon General’s Report on smoking
and health in 1964 medical experts have written 27 more
reports for The Surgeon General on tobacco use. In each
report, leading scientists have found that using tobacco causes
people to become sick, disabled, or to die.
2. Promote and Protect
The Surgeon General is appointed by the President of
the United States to help promote and protect the health of our
citizens. AS the nation’s highest-ranking public health officer,
the Surgeon General can direct studies on health risks such as
smoking.
3. Top Scientist
The 2004 Surgeon General’s Report on The Health
Consequences of Smoking was prepared by 19 of the
country’s top scientists, doctors, and public health experts.
The full report is nearly 1,000 pages long and took more than
3 years to complete. it is written for a scientific audience.
However, the Surgeon Gencral believes that the findings are
very important to everyone and asked that this booklet be
created. This booklet explains what the report says and what it
means to you:
4. Smoking harms nearly every organ of your body. It causes
diseases and worsens your health.
5. The list of diseases that we know are caused by smoking
now includes cancers of cervix, pancreas, kidneys, and
stomach, aortic aneurysms, leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia,
APP. 28
and gum disease. Cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases,
reproductive effects, and other harmful health effects.
6. Smoking causes cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx(voice
box), lung, esophagus, pancreas, kidney, and bladder.
7. Smoking causes cancers of the stomach, cervix, and acute
myeloid leukemia, which is cancer of the blood.
8. Certain agents in tobacco smoke can damage important
genes that control the growth of cells and lead to cancer.
9. Heart disease and stroke are cardiovascular (heart and
blood vessel) diseases caused by smoking. Heart disease and
stroke are also the first and third leading causes of death in the
United States.
10. More than 61 million people in the United States suffer
some form of heart and blood vessel disease. In 2003, heart
disease and stroke cost the United States an estimated $351
billion in health care cost and lost productivity from death and
disability. Even with treatment, 25 percent of men and 38
percent of women die within one year of a heart attack.
11. Smoking harms your lungs. Your lungs cannot fight
infection well and this causes injuries to lung tissues. Tissue
injury leads to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), sometimes called emphysema, and other respiratory
diseases. People with COPD slowly start to die from lack of
alr.
12. Effects of smoking on lung development can begin before
birth. When mothers smoke during pregnancy, it hurts their
baby’s lung. Children and teens who smoke are less physically
fit and have more breathing problems. Smoking at this age can
slow lung growth.
13. Cigarettes are not the only dangerous kind of tobacco.
Even smokeless tobacco can lead to heart and blood vessel
disease. Cigarette smoking can increase your risk of dangerous
APP. 29
blood clots, both because of swelling and redness and by
causing blood platelets to clump together.
14. Smoking harms every phase of reproduction. Women who
smoke have more difficulty becoming pregnant and have a
higher risk of never becoming pregnant. Women who smoke
during pregnancy have a greater chance of complications,
premature birth, low birth weight infants, still birth, and infant
mortality. Low birth weight is a leading cause of infant deaths.
15. Women who smoke have more complications. One
complication is placenta previa, a condition where the placenta
(the organ that nourishes the baby) grows too close to the
opening of the womb. This condition frequently requires
delivery by Caesarean section. Pregnant women who smoke
are aiso more likely to have placental abruption. In this
condition, the placenta separates from the wall of the womb
earlier than it should. This can lead to preterm delivery, still
birth, and early infant death. Also at a higher risk that your
waier will break before labor begins.
16. Babies of mothers who smoke have lower birth weights,
often weighing less than 5.5 pounds. Low birth weight babies
are at a greater risk of childhood and adult illnesses and even
death. Nicotine causes the blood vessels to constrict in the
umbilical cord and womb. This decreases the amount of
oxygen to the unborn baby.
17. Babies exposed to secondhand smoke after birth have
double the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Babies who mothers smoke before and after birth are three to
four times more likely to die from SIDS. .
18. Smokers are less healthy overall than nonsmokers.
Smoking harms your immune system and increases your risk
of infections. The toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel
throughout your body. For example, nicotine reaches your
APP. 30
brain within 10 seconds after you inhale smoke. It has been
found in every organ of t) = body, as well as in breast milk. If
you smoke, you cells will not get the amount of oxygen
needed to work properly. This is because carbon monoxide
keeps red blood cells from carrying a full load of oxygen.
Carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, poisons in tobacco smoke
bind to cells in your airways and throughout your body.
19. Smoking harms our whole body. It increases your risk of
fractures, dental diseases, sexual problems, eye discascs, and
peptic ulcers. Your illnesses last longer and you are more
likely to be absent from work. In a study of U.S. military
personnel, those who smoked were hospitalized 28 percent to
55 percent longer than nonsmokers.
20. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable
disease and death in the United States, causing 12 million
deaths since the First Surgeon General’s Report on smoking in
1964. The 2004 Surgeon General’s Report is attached as
Exhibit A.
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.