Parsons et al v. Ryan et al

Filing 1778

ORDER: approving the unopposed redactions for the proper names set forth at the following page and line numbers of the October 5, 2016 Status Hearing transcript: page 40, lines 1, 2, 5 and 9; page 42, lines 18 and 22; denying the other requested redactions.; the Court declines to approve the other redactions for the other ADOC employees (see order for complete details). Signed by Magistrate Judge David K Duncan on 11/23/16.(REW)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Victor Antonio Parsons, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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ORDER

v.

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No. CV-12-00601-PHX-DKD

Charles L Ryan, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Defendants originally asked the Court to redact references to line ADOC

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employees who were subject to discipline or possibly subject to discipline for supervision

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issues in association with the death of inmates. This request was subsequently enlarged

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to include references to a named Defendant and a physician who is an ADOC supervisor.

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The Court asked Defendants to identify, in an email to the Court, copied to Plaintiffs’

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Class Counsel, the specific pages and lines for the references for which Defendants

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sought redaction. This the Defendants did on November 9, 2016. Plaintiffs do not

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formally object to the redactions but question whether there is appropriate justification

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for the redactions other than those for the line ADOC employees. The Court has now had

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an opportunity to review the particular redaction requests.

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As a prefatory note, the Court observes what appears to be an absence of the kind

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of careful attention the Court would expect from a submission to the Court.

The

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Defendants’ email submission includes a .pdf document entitled “DEFENDANTS’

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REDACTION CITATIONS FOR THE OCTOBER 5, 2016, STATUS-HEARING

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TRANSCRIPT” which includes 21 specific redaction requests. What is troubling is that

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the list of redactions goes beyond the ADOC employees and includes the names of

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suicide victims as well as the names of two class members. These names or these

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categories of names were never advanced by counsel as candidates for redaction. Thus it

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appears that Defendants have produced a list of redactions based upon where proper

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names were found in the transcript rather than names that correspond to the Defendants’

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request. The Court takes the time to note this because defense counsel’s lack of care

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required the Court to expand unnecessary time to review and to try and understand

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Defendants’ puzzling list of suggested redactions. People are not perfect and mistakes

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are made, but in light of counsel’s previous error with respect to furnishing the wrong

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version of a draft document to Plaintiffs’ counsel and the unnecessary waste of time that

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episode engendered, the Court believes it would be constructive to cite this additional

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lapse in the hope that additional care would be taken in the future.

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Turning now to the particular redaction requests,

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IT IS ORDERED APPROVING the unopposed redactions for the proper names

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set forth at the following page and line numbers of the October 5, 2016 Status Hearing

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transcript: page 40, lines 1, 2, 5 and 9; page 42, lines 18 and 22.

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IT IS ORDERED DENYING the other requested redactions. The Court declines

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to approve the other redactions for the other ADOC employees for two reasons. First, the

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courts of the United States and matters occurring therein are presumptively public and

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courts should be sensitive to this interest and the public confidence that flows from this

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openness. Second, with respect to the disciplined employee for which redaction will not

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be allowed, the name of this assistant warden and the discipline imposed were widely

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reported in the public media and thus the Court cannot perceive of any harm that would

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flow from a failure to redact these references in the transcript.

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Dated this 23rd day of November, 2016.

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