Andrews v. Federal Bureau of Investigation

Filing 22

ORDER Denying Plaintiff's Request for Issuance of Subpoenas 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , signed by Magistrate Judge Dennis L. Beck on 3/15/12. (Gonzalez, R)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DAVID RAYMOND ANDREWS,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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FEDERAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION,

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Defendant.

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1:11cv01659 AWI DLB
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S REQUESTS
FOR ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS
(Documents 18, 19, 20, 21)

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Plaintiff David Raymond Andrews (“Plaintiff”), a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in

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forma pauperis, filed this Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) action on September 27, 2011.

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On March 8, 2012, Plaintiff filed four separate requests for issuance of subpoenas

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pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 45, which seek non-party production of documents

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from the Fresno Police Department (Docs. 18 and 19), the United States Department of Treasury,

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Internal Revenue Service (Doc. 20) and the Fresno County District Attorney (Doc. 21).

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In a FOIA action, such as this one, discovery is usually not available. See MacLean v.

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U.S. Dept. of Defense, 2005 WL 628021 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 16, 2005); Wheeler v. C.I.A., 271

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F.Supp.2d 132, 139 (D.D.C. 2003) (“Discovery is generally unavailable in FOIA actions.”).

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Generally, discovery is limited because the underlying case concerns the propriety of revealing

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certain documents. Wiener v. FBI, 943 F.2d 972, 977 (9th Cir. 1991). In certain cases, courts

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have allowed discovery only after the government has moved for summary judgment. See, e.g.,
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Lane v. Dep’t of Interior, 523 F.3d 1128, 1134 (9th Cir. 2008) (courts routinely delay discovery

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in FOIA actions until after summary judgment).

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Here, there is no indication that discovery is warranted. Further, no motion for summary

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judgment has been filed and the deadline for the filing of any such motion is October 8, 2012.

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Thus, Plaintiff’s requests for the issuance of subpoenas are, at best, premature. Accordingly, the

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requests for issuance of subpoenas are HEREBY DENIED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
3b142a

March 15, 2012

/s/ Dennis L. Beck
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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