No. 19-6436

Bharanidharan Padmanabhan v. Drug Enforcement Administration

Lower Court: District of Columbia
Docketed: 2019-10-29
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: 10th-amendment administrative-law agency-deference controlled-substances controlled-substances-act due-process federal-agencies individual-rights liberty-interest property-interest state-authority state-law tenth-amendment
Key Terms:
AdministrativeLaw ERISA DueProcess Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2019-12-06
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Are federal agencies exempt from complying with the Tenth Amendment such that they can deem State law 'irrelevant' and violate the individual rights of Massachusetts persons?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED , The DEA relied exclusively on an internal agency precedent to declare that because private market actors on the Massachusetts medical board suspended the Petitioner’s medical license, he lost “state authority to dispense” controlled substances and so his Drug Enforcement Administration registration must be revoked. Petitioner responded that DEA was required to comply with § 824 (a)(3) of the federal Controlled Substance Act (CSA), which requires DEA to comply with State law (Massachusetts General Laws ch. 94C § 7(f)) to determine whether the physician had indeed lost his “state authority to dispense.” State law divorces “state authority to dispense” from medical licensure and requires a specific statutory action by the Public Health Commissioner before a physician loses his “state authority to dispense.” The DEA agreed that the Commissioner has not taken any action, then countered that a new state regulation (105 CMR 700.120) “automatically voided” Petitioner’s “state authority to dispense,” that “the automatic effect of the regulation is identical to that of an individualized proceeding” and State law is “irrelevant” prior to a taking of his liberty / property interest. The court of appeals agreed that an “automatic” taking of a liberty / property interest is in “harmony” with State law and the Fifth Amendment. The questions presented are: 1. Are federal agencies exempt from complying with the Tenth ) Amendment such that they can deem State law “irrelevant” and violate the individual rights of Massachusetts persons? 2. Are “automatic” deprivations of liberty / property interests slipped in by a state agency’s regulation truly in “harmony” with the plain text of State law, the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process clause, and the ban against bills of attainder, and can DEA rely on one to defy the plain text of the federal Controlled Substance Act which requires compliance with State law itself?

Docket Entries

2019-12-09
Petition DENIED.
2019-11-14
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/6/2019.
2019-11-05
Waiver of right of respondent DEA to respond filed.
2019-10-25
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due November 29, 2019)
2019-10-01
Application (19A357) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until October 26, 2019.
2019-08-20
Application (19A357) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 27, 2019 to October 26, 2019, submitted to The Chief Justice.

Attorneys

Bharanidharan Padmanabhan
Bharanidharan Padmanabhan — Petitioner
Bharanidharan Padmanabhan — Petitioner
DEA
Noel J. FranciscoSolicitor General, Respondent
Noel J. FranciscoSolicitor General, Respondent