Jay Nygard, et ux. v. City of Orono, Minnesota
DueProcess FirstAmendment
Can a homeowner prevail on a Papachristou-based pre-enforcement challenge to a municipal permitting law?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED Petitioners brought a pre-enforcement void-forvagueness challenge to a city permitting ordinance that is criminally enforceable for every type of home repair. The Eighth Circuit opined that facial vagueness challenges are not permitted outside the First Amendment cases, citing United States v. Orchard, 332 F.3d 1133 (8th Cir. 2003). There exists a split in the circuits and Supreme Court precedent. Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville, 405 U.S. 156 (1972). Under Desertrain v. City of Los Angeles, 754 F.3d 1147 (9th Cir. 2014), preenforcement actions challenging ordinances on vagueness grounds are allowed. The questions presented are: 1. Cana homeowner prevail on a Papachristou-based pre-enforcement challenge to a municipal permitting law? 2. Can a criminally enforceable city ordinance be challenged as unconstitutionally vague outside a First Amendment claim?