665 F. App'x 49
2d Cir.2016Background
- Plaintiff Adam Heller, a former public school teacher, engaged in month-long online chats expressing delusional beliefs and statements like “I want to kill people” shortly after the Sandy Hook shooting; an anonymous tip and FBI monitoring followed.
- In Dec 2012–Jan 2013 Heller purchased or obtained multiple firearms and considered another purchase in a short time span.
- Pound Ridge police stopped Heller after learning of his online statements and gun activity; he was taken to a hospital, psychiatrically committed briefly, and released.
- The Bedford Central School District later charged Heller in disciplinary proceedings for failing to cooperate with a fitness-for-duty evaluation and being mentally unfit to teach; a hearing officer sustained the charges.
- Heller sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging First Amendment retaliation and expressive-conduct claims, Fourth Amendment unlawful arrest/detention, substantive due process violations from his commitment, and a Second Amendment claim regarding firearm restrictions following commitment.
- The district court dismissed the claims under Rule 12(b)(6); the Second Circuit affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Amendment retaliation for online threats | Heller: statements were political hyperbole / protected speech | School: statements posed substantial risk of disruption and danger to students | Court: Dismissed; speech could be viewed as threatening and justified school action under Pickering balance |
| First Amendment — expressive conduct (gun purchases) | Heller: buying guns was symbolic expression invoking Second Amendment | Defendants: purchases were routine retail acts not reasonably understood as expressive | Court: Dismissed; no plausible showing the purchases conveyed a message to others |
| Fourth Amendment — arrest & psychiatric detention | Heller: arrest/detention lacked legal basis | Defendants: police had info (chats, anonymous tip, gun purchases) supporting probable cause under NY Mental Hygiene law | Court: Dismissed; probable cause existed for custody and detention |
| Substantive due process re: involuntary commitment | Heller: commitment violated liberty rights | Defendants: commitment followed medical/legal standards; not conscience-shocking | Court: Dismissed; allegations did not show care so substandard as to shock the conscience |
| Second Amendment — disability-based firearms prohibition | Heller: commitment made firearm restriction unlawful as applied | Defendants: prohibitions on possession by the mentally ill are presumptively lawful | Court: Dismissed; restriction is presumptively lawful and commitment not plausibly improper |
Key Cases Cited
- Roth v. Jennings, 489 F.3d 499 (2d Cir.) (incorporation of records into complaint)
- Melzer v. Bd. of Educ. of City Sch. Dist. of City of New York, 336 F.3d 185 (2d Cir.) (Pickering balancing in school-employee context)
- Pickering v. Bd. of Educ., 391 U.S. 563 (U.S.) (public employee speech balancing test)
- Turner v. United States, 720 F.3d 411 (2d Cir.) (true-threat/context inquiry)
- Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (U.S.) (probable cause standard for searches/arrests)
- Kerman v. City of New York, 261 F.3d 229 (2d Cir.) (probable cause and arrest standards)
- Bolmer v. Oliveira, 594 F.3d 134 (2d Cir.) (substantive due process and commitment)
- County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833 (U.S.) (conscience-shocking standard)
- D.C. v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (U.S.) (Second Amendment; recognizes longstanding prohibitions)
- New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Cuomo, 804 F.3d 242 (2d Cir.) (firearm regulation jurisprudence)
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (U.S.) (plausibility standard under Rule 12(b)(6))