Flake et al v. Arpaio et al

Filing 96

ORDER that Sheriff Arpaio's request for a protective order (Doc. 80 ) is denied. See order for complete details. Signed by Senior Judge Neil V. Wake on 8/2/16. (NKS)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Austin Flake and Logan Flake, husband and
wife,

ORDER

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No. CV-15-01132-PHX-NVW

Plaintiffs,
v.

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Joseph Michael Arpaio, in his official
capacity as Sheriff of the Maricopa County
Sheriff’s Office, and in his personal
capacity along with his wife Ava J. Arpaio;
Maricopa County, by and through the
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
Denny Barney, Steve Chucri, Andy
Kunasek, Clint Hickman, and Steve
Gallardo, in their official capacities,

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Defendants.

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Defendant Sheriff Joseph Arpaio seeks to prevent Plaintiffs Austin and Logan

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Flake from disseminating copies of his deposition in this matter. (Doc. 80.) For the

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reasons that follow, the request for a protective order will be denied.

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I.

BACKGROUND

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In June 2014, Austin and Logan Flake spent a week house-sitting for Logan’s

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parents in Gilbert, Arizona. Their duties included tending to a dog kennel that Logan’s

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parents operated out of their home. One night, the air conditioning system that cooled the
kennel failed, causing the dogs to die from heat stroke.
Days later, Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio issued a press release describing
himself as “aggressive” on animal abuse and promising a “full investigation” in which
“no stone will go unturned.” (Doc. 91-1 at 2.) The press release identified Austin and
Logan Flake by name and described their account of the incident as “highly suspect.”
(Id. at 2–3.) Later that week, Sheriff Arpaio issued another press release stating his plans
to attend a vigil for the dogs. (Id. at 5–6.) Weeks later, Sheriff Arpaio issued another
press release describing his ongoing investigation and mentioning that the Flakes “would
not return detective phone calls” and “refused to answer any questions.” (Id. at 8–9.)
At the conclusion of his investigation, Sheriff Arpaio held a press conference and
publicly recommended that the Flakes be charged with felony and misdemeanor counts of
animal cruelty. (Id. at 14–19.) In October 2014, the County Attorney’s Office presented
the case to a grand jury, which issued an indictment. In December 2014, however, the
County Attorney’s Office voluntarily dismissed the case. Despite the dismissal, Sheriff
Arpaio issued another press release assuring readers that the “case is far from over” and
that “justice will be served.” (Id. at 11.) He also issued a videotaped message online,
stating that he “anticipate[s] the charges will be re-filed” and that “justice will be done.”
(Doc. 91-4 at 2.)
In June 2015, the Flakes sued Sheriff Arpaio for malicious prosecution and related
counts. (Doc. 1.) They claim that Sheriff Arpaio had no probable cause to recommend
criminal charges and that the reason he did it was to garner publicity and smear Logan
Flake’s father, Senator Jeff Flake. (Doc. 61.)
On June 20, 2016, the Flakes served a notice scheduling Sheriff Arpaio’s
deposition for July 14. No press coverage followed. On July 11, three days before the
deposition, the Flakes served an amended notice specifying that the deposition would be
videotaped. Substantial press and social media coverage immediately followed. For

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example, on July 12 The Arizona Republic featured an online article entitled “Did Arpaio
set up Sen. Jeff Flake’s son in Green Acre case?” (Doc. 91-4 at 4.) The article describes
the “heart of the question” in this lawsuit as whether Sheriff Arpaio’s investigators
“intentionally lied” to a grand jury or “simply did not know what they were talking
about.” (Id. at 7.) The article also identifies the date of Sheriff Arpaio’s deposition and
states: “That’s one deposition that voters – the people who regularly pay for Arpaio’s
screw-ups – should see as they consider whether to re-elect him.” (Id. at 5.)
Sheriff Arpaio asked the Flakes to agree not to release his deposition to the press.
The Flakes refused. Accordingly, the parties presented the Court with a “Joint Statement
of Discovery Dispute Concerning Use and Distribution of Deposition Testimony.” (Doc.
80.) Essentially, Sheriff Arpaio seeks a protective order prohibiting the release of his
deposition to the press and other interested persons.1
The parties briefed the issue. Sheriff Arpaio’s brief invokes the Court’s power to
issue protective orders under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) and argues that a
protective order here would not offend the First Amendment or the public’s common law
right to access judicial records. (Doc. 90.) The Flakes’ brief argues that there is no good
cause for a protective order and that public interest in Sheriff Arpaio’s deposition
outweighs any private harm in disseminating it. (Doc. 91.)2

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In subsequent briefing, Sheriff Arpaio asked permission to file a separate
“Motion for Protective Order.” (Doc. 90 at 7.) No separate motion is necessary. Such a
motion would simply argue that “pretrial discovery, unfiled with the Court, should not be
disseminated to third parties.” (Id.) Sheriff Arpaio has already presented this position in
briefing and oral argument. As explained below, this position is unpersuasive in the
circumstances of this case.
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The Flakes also oppose the issuance of a protective order as to the deposition of
Detective Marie Trombi, one of Sheriff Arpaio’s subordinates. (Doc. 91 at 11.) As far as
the Court can tell, no such order has been requested. (See Docs. 80, 90.) Thus, the Court
addresses only the protective order sought by Sheriff Arpaio.

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At oral argument, the Court issued its decision in open court.

This order

documents and explains that decision.

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II.

ANALYSIS
Under Rule 26(c), the Court “may, for good cause, issue an order to protect a party

or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense.”
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). This rule “confers broad discretion on the trial court to decide
when a protective order is appropriate and what degree of protection is required.” Seattle
Times Co. v. Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 36 (1984).
The protective order sought here would prohibit the release of a prominent public
official’s deposition in a civil case.

That kind of prohibition raises issues of First

Amendment rights, the public’s common law right to access judicial records, and the
proper interpretation of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The parties conflate these
issues, overlooking differences in the applicable legal standards. The Court analyzes
each issue separately.
A.

First Amendment

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Prohibiting a litigant from publicizing discovered information could conceivably

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infringe two First Amendment rights: (1) the litigant’s right to express that information

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and (2) the public’s right to access that information.

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The Supreme Court addressed the litigant’s right of expression in Seattle Times

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Co. v. Rhinehart: “This case presents the issue whether parties to civil litigation have a

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First Amendment right to disseminate, in advance of trial, information gained through the

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pretrial discovery process.” 467 U.S. at 22. The Court held that a litigant’s right to

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publicize discovered information is not violated by a protective order that “is entered on a

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showing of good cause as required by Rule 26(c), is limited to the context of pretrial civil

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discovery, and does not restrict the dissemination of the information if gained from other

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sources.” Id. at 37. Here, the protective order sought by Sheriff Arpaio would be limited

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to his pretrial deposition and would not restrict the Flakes from disseminating
information gained from other sources. Thus, whether the protective order would violate
the Flakes’ right of expression turns on whether Sheriff Arpaio has shown good cause
under Rule 26(c), which the Court addresses in Part II.C below.
Strictly speaking, the Seattle Times holding concerns litigants’ rights to express
discovered information, not the public’s right to access it. Nevertheless, parts of the
opinion are relevant to determining the public’s right of access, such as the observation
that pretrial discovery is not “a traditionally public source of information” and is
“conducted in private as a matter of modern practice.” Id. at 33. Thus, some circuits
have interpreted Seattle Times as limiting the public’s First Amendment right to access
discovery. See, e.g., Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc., 805 F.2d 1, 6 (1st Cir. 1986) (“Seattle
Times has foreclosed any claim of an absolute public right of access to discovery
materials.”).
The Ninth Circuit appears not to have entirely foreclosed a First Amendment
public right to access discovered information, at least if that information is contained in
court records. San Jose Mercury News, Inc. v. U.S. Dist. Court--N. Dist. (San Jose), 187
F.3d 1096, 1102 (9th Cir. 1999) (“We leave for another day the question of whether the
First Amendment also bestows on the public a prejudgment right of access to civil court
records.”). But the parties do not cite any Ninth Circuit case endorsing this right, nor
does the Court know of any. Thus, the protective order sought by Sheriff Arpaio would
not violate a First Amendment public right of access.
That conclusion does not end the matter, since the First Amendment is not the
only potential source of rights to publish or access discovery material. Ninth Circuit case
law on this subject is grounded not in the First Amendment, but in federal common law
and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

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B.

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In Nixon v. Warner Communications, the Supreme Court recognized the public’s

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federal common law right “to inspect and copy public records and documents, including

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judicial records and documents.” 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978). The right to inspect court

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records is necessary for federal courts “to have a measure of accountability and for the

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public to have confidence in the administration of justice.” Ctr. for Auto Safety v.

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Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v.

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Amodeo, 71 F.3d 1044, 1048 (2d Cir. 1995)). In the Ninth Circuit, this right creates a

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“strong presumption” favoring public access to court documents, which can be overcome

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Common law

upon a showing of a “compelling reason” to seal the document at issue. Id. at 1096–97.

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The common law right of access does not apply to unfiled discovery, however.

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Only when “discovered information is filed with the court” do “the public policy reasons

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behind a presumption of access to judicial documents (judicial accountability, education

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about the judicial process etc.) apply.” Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d

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1122, 1134 (9th Cir. 2003). Here, Sheriff Arpaio’s deposition testimony has not been

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filed with the Court. Thus, the protective order sought would not violate the public’s

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common law right of access to court documents.

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C.

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The Ninth Circuit interprets the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as establishing a

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presumption of public access to discovered information: “Generally, the public can gain

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access to litigation documents and information produced during discovery unless the

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party opposing disclosure shows ‘good cause’ why a protective order is necessary.”

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Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210 (9th Cir.

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2002).

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“federal common law right of access to all information filed with the court.” Id. at 1212.

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

This presumption of public access is “separate and independent” from the

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The justification for this presumption is shaky with respect to discovery that has

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not been filed in court. The Ninth Circuit adopted the presumption in 1999, declaring:

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“It is well-established that the fruits of pretrial discovery are, in the absence of a court
order to the contrary, presumptively public.” San Jose, 187 F.3d at 1103. The court cited
three cases in support of this presumption: (1) Citizens First National Bank v. Cincinnati
Insurance Co., 178 F.3d 943 (7th Cir. 1999); (2) Public Citizen v. Liggett Group, Inc.,
858 F.2d 775 (1st Cir. 1988); and (3) In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation,
821 F.2d 139 (2d Cir. 1987). The court also noted that Rule 26(c) requires a showing of
“good cause” for protective orders.
As the Seventh Circuit has pointed out, the cases cited by the Ninth Circuit were
based on the pre-2000 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which generally required all
discovery materials to be filed with the court unless ordered otherwise. Bond v. Utreras,
585 F.3d 1061, 1075 (7th Cir. 2009) (citing prior version of Rule 5(d)). Because the pre2000 Rules evinced a preference of making discovered information public, some courts
concluded that the Rules “implied the existence of a public right to access discovery even
if the discovery was not filed with the court.” Id. at 1075–76. But in 2000, the Rules
took the opposite tack, requiring that discovered information not be filed with the court
until used in the court proceeding or until the court orders otherwise. Id. at 1076 (citing
current version of Rule 5(d)). Based on this rule change, the Seventh Circuit deemed the
pre-2000 cases unpersuasive and concluded that “nothing in Rule 26(c)—either standing
alone or when read in conjunction with the current version of Rule 5(d)—confers
substantive rights upon third parties seeking access to the fruits of discovery.” Id. A
prominent treatise agrees that the rule change “weakened arguments that there is a
presumptive public right of access” to discovery not used in judicial proceedings. 8A
Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller, et al., Federal Practice & Procedure § 2042 (3d ed.,
Apr. 2016 update).
The Ninth Circuit has not squarely addressed whether the 2000 amendments to the
Rules affect the Rule-based presumption of public access to discovery. However, the
Ninth Circuit appears to have applied this presumption in cases after 2000, e.g., Phillips,

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307 F.3d at 1210, including a case where the discovery material at issue had not been
filed with the court, see Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1130–31. Thus, although the presumption
rests on uncertain legal footing, it is not clear whether this Court may abandon it.
Fortunately that question is academic here. Whether or not the public enjoys a
presumption of access to Sheriff Arpaio’s deposition, the public’s legitimate interest in
the deposition justifies its release for two reasons. First, the deposition pertains to
allegedly illegal conduct of a public official in the exercise of his official duties. There is
“a strong public interest in free access to discovery documents where the litigation
involve[s] ‘elected officials and the performance of their governmental responsibilities.’”
Condit v. Dunne, 225 F.R.D. 113, 117 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) (quoting Flaherty v. Seroussi,
209 F.R.D. 295, 300 (N.D.N.Y. 2001)). Second, and more importantly, Sheriff Arpaio
invited media attention in this matter by repeatedly publicizing his investigation of the
Flakes and publicly recommending felony charges against them.

He issued press

releases, held a press conference, and posted a video online. To allow Sheriff Arpaio to
engage the media only on his terms would sanction an impermissible double standard.
Having heard Sheriff Arpaio’s earlier account of his investigation and recommended
charges, the public has an interest in hearing his current account, under oath and crossexamination, now that the investigation and charges have been called into question. Cf.
Condit, 225 F.R.D. at 114–15, 118–19 (declining to prohibit dissemination of videotaped
deposition where deponent publicly accused opposing counsel of bullying during
deposition).3
In the specific circumstances of this case, the public interest in dissemination
outweighs countervailing private interests in a protective order. Sheriff Arpaio argues
that it would be unfair to publicize his deposition without also publicizing the Flakes’

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Although the Court does not address Detective Trombi’s deposition, the public’s
interest in her deposition before trial is comparatively weak.

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depositions.

But he does not identify any legitimate public interest in the Flakes’

depositions, and in any event the Flakes have not requested a blanket protective order.
At oral argument, Sheriff Arpaio also argued that publication of his deposition
might cause this case to be “tried in the media.” He has a point. The day after the Flakes
announced that the deposition would be videotaped, an article in The Arizona Republic
entitled “Did Arpaio set up Sen. Jeff Flake’s son in Green Acre case?” described this
lawsuit in terms unfavorable to Sheriff Arpaio, referred to the Sheriff’s regular “screwups,” and urged voters to watch the deposition in anticipation of the upcoming election.
(Doc. 91-4 at 4–7.) Thus, there is a possibility that the media may sensationalize the
deposition. This risk is more acute with respect to video footage, since videos “can be
cut and spliced and used as ‘sound-bites’ on the evening news or sports shows, or even
worse, on ‘celebrity gossip’ talk shows.” Stern v. Cosby, 529 F. Supp. 2d 417, 422
(S.D.N.Y. 2007) (citation omitted). Indeed, courts sometimes release only the transcript
of a public official’s deposition, not the accompanying video. See United States v.
McDougal, 940 F. Supp. 224, 228 (E.D. Ark. 1996) (releasing transcript of President
Clinton’s deposition but not video), aff’d, 92 F.3d 701 and 103 F.3d 651 (8th Cir. 1996);
Jones v. Clinton, 12 F. Supp. 2d 931, 935 (E.D. Ark. 1998) (same).
However, Sheriff Arpaio’s fear of “trial by media” is newfound. It did not stop
him from repeatedly thrusting into the media himself, his investigation, and his
recommendation of charges against the Flakes. Even after the charges were dropped, he
posted a video online predicting that the charges would be re-filed. (Doc. 91-4 at 2.) He
thereby forfeited any substantial claim to privacy regarding the rest of his own account of
the investigation and charges. “While sound bites are a recognized Achilles heel of
videotaped depositions, the fact that the media may edit a tape that may or may not be
released by the parties does not warrant a protective order barring all public
dissemination of the videotape in this case.”

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Condit, 225 F.R.D. at 118 (citations

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omitted). Accordingly, Sheriff Arpaio has not shown good cause for a protective order
under Rule 26(c).

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Sheriff Arpaio’s request for a protective
order (Doc. 80) is denied.
Dated this 2nd day of August, 2016.

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Neil V. Wake
Senior United States District
Judge

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