Lopez v. Butz

535 F.2d 1170 Antonio C. LOPEZ, Individually and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Earl L. BUTZ, Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture, et al., Defendants-Appellees. No. 74-2348. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. May 3, 1976. David H. Kirkpatrick (argued), Salinas, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant. John F. Cooney, Jr., Asst. U. S. Atty. (argued), San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellees. OPINION Before DUNIWAY and GOODWIN, Circuit Judges, and LUCAS, * District Judge. PER CURIAM: 1 Appellant Antonio C. Lopez, a resident alien, filed this suit on behalf of himself and those similarly situated against the Secretary of Agriculture and others in the District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit challenged the validity of the provisions of 7 U.S.C. § 1941 that exclude non-citizens from the class of persons eligible for farm operating loans under that subchapter of the Consolidated Farmers Home Administration Act of 1961, as amended, 7 U.S.C. § 1921 , et seq. Asserting this discrimination violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, appellant…