Veterans for Common Sense et al v. Nicholson et al

Filing 123

Veterans for Common Sense et al v. Nicholson et al

Doc. 123

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GORDON P. ERSPAMER (CA SBN 83364) [e-mail] MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP 101 Ygnacio Valley Road, Suite 450 P.O. Box 8130 Walnut Creek, California 94596-8130 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 925.946.9912 SIDNEY M. WOLINSKY (CA SBN 33716) [e-mail] JENNIFER WEISER BEZOZA (CA SBN 247548) [e-mail] KATRINA KASEY CORBIT (CA SBN 237931) [e-mail] DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES 2001 Center Street, Third Floor Berkeley, California 94704-1204 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 510.665.8511 [see next page for additional counsel for Plaintiffs] Attorneys for Plaintiff(s) VETERANS FOR COMMON SENSE, and VETERANS UNITED FOR TRUTH, INC. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION VETERANS FOR COMMON SENSE, and VETERANS UNITED FOR TRUTH, INC., Plaintiffs, v. JAMES B. PEAKE, M.D., Secretary of Veterans Affairs, et al., Defendants. Case No. C-07-3758-SC

CLASS ACTION REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION REPLY (Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(a); Civil L.R. 65-2) Date:__ March 7, 2008 Time: 10:00 a.m. Ctrm: 1, 17th Floor Complaint Filed July 23, 2007

REQ. FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE IN SUPP. OF PLS.' MOT. FOR PRELIM. INJ. REPLY -- CASE NO. C-07-3758-SC sf-2460580
Dockets.Justia.com

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ADDITIONAL COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFFS: ARTURO J. GONZALEZ (CA SBN 121490) [e-mail] HEATHER A. MOSER (CA SBN 212686) [e-mail] STACEY M. SPRENKEL (CA SBN 241689) [e-mail] PAUL J. TAIRA (CA SBN 244427) [e-mail] MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP 425 Market Street San Francisco, California 94105-2482 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 415.268.7522 WILLIAM D. JANICKI (CA SBN 215960) [e-mail] MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP 400 Capitol Mall, Suite 2600 Sacramento, California 95814 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 916.448.3222

REQ. FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE IN SUPP. OF PLS.' MOT. FOR PRELIM. INJ. REPLY -- CASE NO. C-07-3758-SC sf-2460580

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Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 201, Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court take judicial notice of certain documents cited in Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction, which are listed below. Federal Rule of Evidence 201 allows the court to take judicial notice, at any stage of the proceeding, of facts that are "capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned." Fed. R. Evid. 201(b). Judicial notice is mandatory where a party requests it and supplies the Court with the necessary information. Fed. R. Evid. 201(d). Newspaper articles which make note of facts "which would be generally known in [this jurisdiction] and which would be capable of sufficiently accurate and ready determination" are the proper subject of judicial notice. Ritter v. Hughes Aircraft Co., 58 F.3d 454, 458-59 (9th Cir. 1995) (taking judicial notice of facts in newspaper articles); see also Ieradi v. Mylan Labs., Inc., 230 F.3d 594, 598 n.2 (3rd Cir. 2000) (taking judicial notice of newspaper article). Scientific studies are also the proper subject of judicial notice. See Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 347 U.S. 483, 495 n.11 (1954) (taking judicial notice of scientific studies). Similarly, records of congressional testimony "are the types of documents for which the accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. 321 Studios v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Inc., 307 F. Supp. 2d 1085, 1107 (N.D. Cal. 2004). Accordingly, Plaintiffs request the Court take judicial notice of the following: 1. Kelly McBride, Suicide of Marine veteran, student affects many at UWGB, Green Bay

Press-Gazette, Feb. 7, 2008, a true and correct copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 2. Lynn Proctor Windle, Man found hanged at local motel, Star Community

Newspapers, Jan. 25, 2008, a true and correct copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit B. 3. Office of Disease Prevention and Epidemiology, Oregon Department of Human

Services, Violent Deaths in Oregon: 2005 (2007), a true and correct copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit C.

Case No. C-07-3758-SC REQ. FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE IN SUPP. OF PLS.' MOT. FOR PRELIM. INJ. REPLY -- CASE NO. C-07-3758-SC sf-2460580

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4.

Stopping Suicides: Mental Health Challenges Within the U.S. Department of Veterans

Affairs, 110th Cong. (2007) (Testimony of Mike and Kim Bowman), a true and correct copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit D. 5. Desai et al, Mental Health Service Delivery and Suicide Risk: The Role of Individual

Patient and Facility Factors, 162:2 American Journal of Psychiatry 311, (2005), a true and correct copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit E. CONCLUSION Therefore, Plaintiffs respectfully request the Court take judicial notice of the attached documents. Dated: February 11, 2008 GORDON P. ERSPAMER ARTURO J. GONZALEZ HEATHER A. MOSER BILL D. JANICKI STACEY M. SPRENKEL PAUL J. TAIRA MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP

By:

/s/ Stacey Sprenkel Stacey Sprenkel Attorneys for Plaintiffs

Case No. C-07-3758-SC REQ. FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE IN SUPP. OF PLS.' MOT. FOR PRELIM. INJ. REPLY -- CASE NO. C-07-3758-SC sf-2460580

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