Louisiana State v. Short

Filing 4

ORDER AND REASONS re 3 MOTION to Quash Subpoena and Dismiss; ORDERED that the subpoena issued by the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court to Special Agent Rayes is QUASHED and the case is DISMISSED on the basis of sovereign immunity. Signed by Judge Lance M Africk on 1/18/2018.(blg)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
LOUISIANA STATE

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

No. 17-17917

GEORGE SHORT

SECTION I
ORDER AND REASONS

State court subpoenas are seldom the subject of federal litigation. Every now
and then, however, cases concerning the validity of such subpoenas end up before
an Article III court. This is one of those cases.
On December 7, 2017, the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court issued a
subpoena to FBI Special Agent Steven Rayes ordering him to appear and testify in
the above-captioned criminal matter. 1 The United States then removed the state
court proceedings related to the subpoena to this Court pursuant to the federal
officer removal statute. 2 See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1442(a)(1), (d)(1). 3
The United States has now filed a motion4 to quash the state court subpoena
issued to Special Agent Rayes and to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction. The motion is unopposed. 5

R. Doc. No. 1-2.
R. Doc. No. 1.
3 In 1992, the Fifth Circuit held that “the mere issuance of a Louisiana state court
subpoena to a federal officer . . . triggers § 1442(a).” State of Louisiana v. Sparks,
978 F.2d 226, 232-33 (5th Cir. 1992). Congress went on to codify this holding in 28
U.S.C. § 1442(d)(1). See Removal Clarification Act of 2011, Pub. L. 112-51, 125 Stat.
545.
4 R. Doc. No. 3.
5 See E.D. La. Local Rule 7.5.
1
2

1

After reviewing the motion and the applicable law, the Court concludes that
the United States’ request is the proper course of action. See, e.g., Louisiana v.
Scire, No. 93-3406, 1994 WL 35595 (5th Cir. 1994); State of Louisiana v. Sparks,
978 F.2d 226 (5th Cir. 1992). “[S]overeign immunity prevents the enforcement of a
[state court] subpoena against the United States absent an express waiver.” Scire,
1994 WL 35595, at *1. Where the United States does not provide such a waiver—
and it has clearly indicated that it does not 6—the Fifth Circuit has directed that a
state court subpoena issued to a federal officer for or relating to any acts under color
of his office “should be quashed and th[e] case should be dismissed on sovereign
immunity grounds.” Sparks, 978 F.2d at 236.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the subpoena issued by the Orleans Parish Criminal
District Court to Special Agent Rayes is QUASHED and the case is DISMISSED
on the basis of sovereign immunity.

New Orleans, Louisiana, January 18, 2018.

_______________________________________
LANCE M. AFRICK
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

6

See R. Doc. No. 3, at 1.
2