Amazon.com LLC v. Lay

Filing 24

DECLARATION of Jane Doe 1 filed by Intervenor Plaintiffs Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, Jane Doe 4, Jane Doe 5, Jane Doe 6, Cecil Bothwell re 23 MOTION for Leave TO FILE COMPLAINT IN INTERVENTION USING PSEUDONYMS (Dunne, Sarah)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 JANE DOE 1 DECLARATION -- 1 No. 2:10-cv-00664-MJP JANE DOE 1, JANE DOE 2, JANE DOE 3, JANE DOE 4, JANE DOE 5, JANE DOE 6, AND CECIL BOTHWELL, Plaintiffs-Intervenors, v. AMAZON.COM, LLC, Plaintiff, v.

THE HONORABLE MARSHA J. PECHMAN

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE No. 2:10-cv-00664-MJP DECLARATION OF JANE DOE 1 IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO FILE COMPLAINT IN INTERVENTION USING PSEUDONYMS

KENNETH R. LAY, in his official capacity as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Revenue, Defendant.

KENNETH R. LAY, in his official capacity as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Revenue, and AMAZON.COM, LLC, Defendants in Intervention.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF WASHINGTON 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 630 Seattle, Washington 98104-1799 [phone]

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I, Jane Doe 1,1 hereby declare and state as follows: 1. I submit this declaration based on my personal knowledge in support of

Intervenors' Motion to File Complaint in Intervention Using Pseudonyms, in the above-captioned case. 2. 3. 4. 5. I am one of the Intervenors in this action. I am employed as a systems engineer and a resident of Raleigh, North Carolina. I have purchased numerous items from Amazon since August 2003. The products I have purchased reveal very sensitive, personal, and private

information about me and some of the difficulties I have had to go through. 6. Over the course of our marriage, my former spouse developed a substance abuse

problem. As my former spouse's substance abuse problems escalated, my former spouse became violent and threatened to kill me, requiring intervention from the police. I subsequently purchased self-help books from Amazon to understand the problems better and to, among other things, obtain a divorce and secure a restraining order against my former spouse to protect me and my child. Examples of those books include: "You Don't Need A Lawyer," by James Kramon, "Represent Yourself In Court: How to Prepare & Try A Winning Case," by Paul Bergman, "Practical Guide to Family Law," by Matthew S. Cornick, and "How To File For Divorce in North Carolina: With Forms," by Jacqueline D. Stanley.

1 This is not my real name. I am proceeding under a pseudonym in order to protect my constitutional right to free speech and privacy. JANE DOE 1 DECLARATION -- 2 No. 2:10-cv-00664-MJP
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF WASHINGTON 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 630 Seattle, Washington 98104-1799 [phone]

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7.

I recently established a new life for my family after obtaining a divorce from my

abusive spouse and securing sole custody over my child. Having to go through this situation was traumatic, life-changing and deeply private for me. It is critical to me that my purchasing record on Amazon be kept private and confidential, and that no one obtains this information about something that was so devastating and personal to me. 8. In addition, as a recognized expert in information systems security, my reputation

and image is very important to me. My ability to retain clients and procure new business is tied to my reputation. A review of my Amazon purchase history would reveal the most intimate of family and personal problems, and, without knowing the full story, it might lead someone to paint an erroneous picture about me. 9. I have also purchased numerous other books from Amazon since 2003 that reveal

sensitive and highly personal information. Examples include politically-charged books like "Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady," by Ronald Kessler, "Hoodwinked: The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us A War," by John Prados, and "Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency," by James Bamford. I do not want others to know that I have purchased these, and other, books because I am afraid that they might lead someone to jump to conclusions about my political or social beliefs and values, and that my reputation, career and family life might be put in jeopardy by people who may not agree with the points of view expressed in many of these books.

JANE DOE 1 DECLARATION -- 3 No. 2:10-cv-00664-MJP

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF WASHINGTON 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 630 Seattle, Washington 98104-1799 [phone]

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10.

The possibility that DOR might obtain my purchasing record from Amazon has

made me extremely upset and anxious. I have little confidence in DOR's ability to keep computer records of private information secure, and I am concerned that if my information ends up in DOR's hands, there is a realistic chance that it will be disclosed. For example, several years ago, I received information about another taxpayer in an envelope addressed to me. That person was not related to me. The statement included highly sensitive tax data. 11. My records about the items that I have chosen to purchase through Amazon

contain very personal and private information, and I have not publicly disclosed that information to others. 12. I did not know that my purchasing records from Amazon would be accessible to

the State of North Carolina. Had I known that this information would be accessible to DOR, I would have considered purchasing the items from another source. 13. I would like to and intend to continue purchasing and receiving expressive and

private items through Amazon in the future. That may change, however, at least for certain items, if my records are turned over to the State of North Carolina. At a minimum, my behavior will be changed as each time I purchase certain items, I will seriously have to consider whether to purchase those items through Amazon and to consider what it would mean if the State obtained that information. 14. I have purchased numerous expressive and private items from websites other than

Amazon in the past, and I would like to and intend to continue doing that in the future. That may

JANE DOE 1 DECLARATION -- 4 No. 2:10-cv-00664-MJP

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF WASHINGTON 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 630 Seattle, Washington 98104-1799 [phone]

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also change, however, if the State is permitted to obtain my Amazon purchasing records. It is likely that I will simply not purchase certain items through websites if the State is able to obtain that information. At a minimum, my behavior will be changed as I will seriously have to consider whether to purchase certain items through websites and to consider what it would mean if the State obtained that information. 15. Although I want to protect my right to free speech and privacy in what I read,

watch, listen to, or purchase, I also want to be able to assert my right to free speech and privacy in court in order to ensure that DOR does not receive personally identifying information from Amazon that reveals my private and expressive information about which items I have purchased. The only way for me to do that is to proceed under a pseudonym, because otherwise, DOR will obtain the very information ­ my name and the specific items I have purchased through Amazon ­ that my Complaint in Intervention is seeking to protect. 16. Neither my name nor any other personally identifying information about me

(including my image) will be revealed in any public statements that I or my representatives make about this case.

JANE DOE 1 DECLARATION -- 5 No. 2:10-cv-00664-MJP

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF WASHINGTON 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 630 Seattle, Washington 98104-1799 [phone]

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Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I hereby declare and state under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief. DATED this _18th_ day of June, 2010

___________________________ Jane Doe 12

2 As noted above, this is a pseudonym. JANE DOE 1 DECLARATION -- 6 No. 2:10-cv-00664-MJP
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF WASHINGTON 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 630 Seattle, Washington 98104-1799 [phone]