Gutierrez v. McLaws et al

Filing 32

ORDER granting 28 Motion to Quash. Signed by Judge David G Campbell on 1/16/2014.(DGC, nvo)

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WO

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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ORDER

Plaintiff,

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No. CV-13-00585-PHX-DGC

Jose Gutierrez,

v.
Seth McLaws et al.,
Defendants.

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The United States has moved to quash a subpoena issued to the Department of

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Homeland Security (“DHS”) on December 10, 2013. Doc. 28. The Court will grant the

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motion.

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The United States argues that Plaintiff has “failed to follow DHS regulations

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governing the production of documents.”

Doc. 28 at 3.

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regulations clearly state that in cases where DHS has not entered an appearance or given

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notice of representation, “only the Office of the General Counsel is authorized to receive

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and accept subpoenas[.]” 6 C.F.R. § 5.43. The Office of the General Counsel must

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receive a writing setting forth “with as much specificity as possible, the nature and

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relevance of the information sought.”

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prohibited from producing documents “unless authorized to do so by the Office of the

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General Counsel[.]” Id. at § 5.44(b).

Id. at § 5.45.

The Court agrees.

The

Further, DHS employees are

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The subpoena in question was issued to “Office of the Chief Counsel, U.S.

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Customs and Border Protection.” Doc. 30. There is no evidence that Plaintiff served the

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subpoena on DHS’s Office of the General Counsel or provided that office a writing

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setting forth with specificity the nature and relevance of the information sought. Because

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Plaintiff has failed to comply with the appropriate regulations, the Court will grant the

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motion to quash. See United States v. Henson, 123 F.3d 1226, 1237 (9th Cir. 1997)

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(upholding the district court’s decision to quash a subpoena where the plaintiff failed to

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follow an agency’s procedures for obtaining records).

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IT IS ORDERED that the United States’ motion to quash (Doc. 28) is granted.

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Dated this 16th day of January, 2014.

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