Witt v. Department of the Air Force et al

Filing 133

ORDER denying 102 Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment; denying 118 Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, signed by Judge Ronald B. Leighton.(DN)

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 27 28 Defendants. v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, et al.,

HONORABLE RONALD B. LEIGHTON

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA MAJOR MARGARET WITT, Plaintiff, Case No. C06-5195RBL ORDER

THIS MATTER comes before the above-entitled Court on Cross Motions for Summary Judgment [Dkt. #s 102 and 118]. The Court has reviewed the materials submitted for and against each motion. Oral argument would not be helpful to the Court as it wrestles with the issues presented by the motions. For the reasons stated below, both motions are DENIED. This case focuses on the constitutionality of the Don't Ask Don't Tell statute, 10 U.S.C. § 654. Resolution of that issue is a matter of broad public importance. The parties have submitted materials which include assumptions and conjecture about the past and current conduct of others as well as speculation and predictions about the future conduct and attitudes of members of the unit to which Major Witt was formerly
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assigned. Both sides marshal the "facts" to present widely different versions of the evidence each side deems to be relevant to issues at hand. The Court believes that this case is replete with genuine issues of material fact that make summary disposition impossible to accomplish. On the strength of the record before it, the Court is unprepared to adopt any of the conclusions advanced by either party. Finally, and perhaps more importantly, this Court believes that a case of this importance should not be decided in a summary fashion based solely upon written submittals. In short, a more developed record, in the form of a trial where the content of testimony and demeanor of each witness can be evaluated, is necessary before this Court will be prepared to answer the vital question put before it. Dated this 13th day of August, 2010.

A
RONALD B. LEIGHTON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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