Witt v. Department of the Air Force et al

Filing 87

ORDER granting 77 Plaintiff's Motion for Protective Order, 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 MAJOR MARGARET WITT, Plaintiff, v.

THE HONORABLE RONALD B. LEIGHTON

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA Case No. C06-5195-RBL

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE; et al., Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER PROHIBITING INTERFERENCE WITH NON-PARTY WITNESSES BY DEFENDANTS

Pending before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion for Protective Order Prohibiting Interference With Non-Party Witnesses by Defendants. Having considered all argument submitted by the parties and finding good cause, the Court hereby GRANTS Plaintiff's motion for a protective order and HOLDS that the Department of Defense ("DoD") Touhy regulations, specifically 32 C.F.R. §§97.1-.6, DoD Directive 5405.2, and Air Force Instruction (AFI) 51-301, Chapter 9, do not apply to this litigation because the federal government is a party. The Court further FINDS that the Defendants' instruction to non-party former and current Air Force employees requiring Air Force consent before non-party former and current Air Force employees may voluntarily speak with counsel for Plaintiff concerning this litigation is contrary to Washington Rules of Professional Conduct 3.4(a).
[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER PROHIBITING INTERFERENCE WITH NON-PARTY WITNESSES BY DEFENDANTS -- Page 1 Case No. C06-5195-RBL AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION 705 Second Avenue, Suite 300 Seattle, Washington 98104-1799 [phone]

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As a remedy, the Court further ORDERS the counsel for Defendants to issue a curative instruction in writing to all current unit members of the 446 AES stating as follows: "Instruction re: Witt v. Air Force Prior briefings regarding required procedures if contacted by Major Witt's attorneys in the above lawsuit are no longer applicable. Thus, unit members do not need to report to Public Affairs or to Command if contacted by Plaintiff's counsel. Unit members do not need permission from DoD personnel to speak with Plaintiff's counsel in the above case. If you are contacted by Plaintiff's counsel you may, but are not required to, talk to that person. Public Affairs and or Command would prefer to have a person present when you are interviewed but cannot require prior consent or impose participation or attendance by a government representative. The above written briefing overrides any previous contrary briefing regarding this matter."

IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED this 17th day of May, 2010.

A
RONALD B. LEIGHTON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Presented By: DATED this 16 day of April, 2010. ACLU OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION By: _/s/ Sarah A. Dunne______________ Sarah A. Dunne, WSBA #34869 Sher S. Kung, WSBA #42077 705 Second Avenue, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104 Tel: [phone] [e-mail] [e-mail]

CARNEY BADLEY SPELLMAN James Lobsenz, WSBA#8787 701 5th Ave Ste 3600 Seattle, WA 98104-7010 Tel. [phone] [e-mail] Attorneys for Plaintiff
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION 705 Second Avenue, Suite 300 Seattle, Washington 98104-1799 [phone]

[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER PROHIBITING INTERFERENCE WITH NON-PARTY WITNESSES BY DEFENDANTS -- Page 2 Case No. C06-5195-RBL