STATE OF NEWMEXI CO

COUNTY OF SANTA FE
FI RST J UDI CI AL DI STRI CT COURT
RI CHARD E. MAY,
Pl ai nt i f f ,
vs. NO. D- 101- CV- 201302590
GOVERNOR SUSANA MARTI NEZ and
SECRETARY TOM CLI FFORD,
Def endant s.
PARTI AL TRANSCRI PT OF PROCEEDI NGS
( COURT' S RULI NG)
On t he 28t h day of Apr i l 2014, at appr oxi mat el y 1: 30
p. m. , t hi s mat t er came on f or hear i ng on a MOTI ON TO STAY
DI SCOVERY AND FOR PROTECTI VE ORDER, MOTI ONS TO COMPEL DI SCOVERY
NO. 1 TO DEFENDANTS MARTI NEZ AND CLI FFORD; MOTI ON TO AMEND BY
I NTERLI NEATI ON THE TI TLE OF ONE MOTI ON TO COMPEL; MOTI ON TO
STRI KE PLAI NTI FF' S UNTI MELY AND EXCESSI VE FI LI NGS AND SCHEDULI NG
CONFERENCE bef or e t he HONORABLE SARAH SI NGLETON, J udge of t he
Fi r st J udi ci al Di st r i ct , St at e of New Mexi co, Di vi si on I I .
The Pl ai nt i f f appear ed by Counsel of Recor d, STEVEN G.
FARBER, At t or ney at Law, 323 St aab St r eet , Sant a Fe, New Mexi co
87504.
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The Def endant appear ed by Counsel of Recor d, PAUL J .
KENNEDY, PAUL KENNEDY & ASSOCI ATES, At t or neys at Law, 210 12t h
St r eet , N. W. , Al buquer que, New Mexi co 87102.
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( Not e: The f ol l owi ng pr oceedi ng i s t he Cour t ' s Rul i ng: )
THE COURT: Al l r i ght . Thank you.
MR. FARBER: Your Honor ?
THE COURT: No. I ' msor r y, t her e i s not
sur r ebut t al . We go ar gument , r esponse, r ebut t al . That ' s i t .
Whi l e I r ecogni ze t hat t he New Mexi co Supr eme Cour t
has sai d t hat t he scope of what ' s avai l abl e f or di scover y under
FOI A i s mor e l i mi t ed t han what ' s avai l abl e under t he I PRA, i t ' s
my opi ni on t hat gener al l y goes t o a basi s f or wi t hhol di ng
document s; i n ot her wor ds, t he mer i t s of t he I PRA r equest , and
t hat FOI A does not have much t o do i n det er mi ni ng whet her or not
somet hi ng i s di scl oseabl e under I PRA. I do not bel i eve t hat
means t hat t he pr ocedur es t hat have gener al l y been out l i ned
under FOI A ar e not or coul d not be appl i ed i n an I PRA case. I n
f act , t he pr ocedur es t hat ar e gener al l y f ol l owed i n FOI A cases
ar e t he pr ocedur es t hat have been used i n t hi s Cour t wi t hout
much comment by ei t her si de. Those ar e t he pr ocedur es i n
gener al t hat I i nt end t o f ol l ow.
Wi t h some l i mi t at i ons ar i si ng out of t he f act t hat
t he I PRA r equest i n t hi s case was Apr i l a year ago, and t he i dea
of whi l e I r ecogni ze t he need f or and t he r i ght of t he
gover nment agency not t o have t o qui t al l ot her wor k i n or der t o
r espond t o somebody' s I PRA r equest , i t does seemt o me t hat a
year i s pr et t y cl ose t o enough t i me t o have compl i ed wi t h any
I PRA r equest .
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So I ' mgoi ng t o put some t i me l i mi t s f or t he
gover nment agenci es t o f i ni sh t hei r I PRA r evi ew, t hei r I PRA
col l ect i on and r evi ew and di scl osur e of ever yt hi ng t hat t hey
bel i eve i s di scl oseabl e under I PRA, t hei r pr epar at i on under t he
so- cal l ed Vaughn l i st r egar di ng anyt hi ng on whi ch t hey ar e
cl ai mi ng pr i vi l ege. And shoul d i t t ur n out t hat t hey bel i eve
t her e i s some ot her basi s under t he st at ut e f or wi t hhol di ng
document s t hat t hey have yet t o di scover , t hen t hey wi l l need t o
i ncl ude t hat al so on some sor t of a Vaughn l i st .
I bel i eve t hat al l of t hat shoul d be done by mi d
May; t hat you shoul d, wi t hi n t wo weeks of t hat , or by t he end of
May, I expect you t o f i l e a Mot i on f or Summar y J udgment . As
par t of t hat Mot i on f or Summar y J udgment , I expect t he
gover nment , bot h agenci es, t o pr ovi de det ai l ed af f i davi t s i n
suppor t of t hei r mot i on whi ch woul d descr i be t he sear ch t hat
t hey under t ook. I n f act , I woul d expect t he af f i davi t s t o have
det ai l s about many of t he t hi ngs t hat ar e r equest ed i n t he
di scover y.
I expect t o know what pol i ci es ar e f ol l owed. I
expect t o know what pr ocedur es you used t o col l ect dat a. I
expect t o know what you di d t o f ol l ow up. The onl y t hi ng you
don' t have t o put i nt o your af f i davi t i s a l i st of al l t he
document s t hat you' ve got because we' r e goi ng t o have t hat ;
because, i n essence, we' r e goi ng t o have t hat because you wi l l
ei t her pr oduce t hese as r esponsi ve, you wi l l wi t hhol d t hi ngs as
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excl uded or pr i vi l eged, and so t he combi nat i on of t hat wi l l show
what you' ve got . So you don' t have t o do a separ at e l i st . But
I expect det ai l ed af f i davi t s on what i t was you di d t o sear ch
because t he f i r st basi s f or get t i ng summar y j udgment i s whet her
or not you di d an adequat e sear ch.
I f , i n f act , you di d an adequat e sear ch or you
pr esent af f i davi t s showi ng an adequat e sear ch, t hen at t hat
poi nt , i n r esponse t o your summar y j udgment mot i on, t he
Pl ai nt i f f may pr ovi de r easons why t he sear ch ei t her was
i nadequat e or t he sear ch was done i n bad f ai t h or t he r esponse
was done i n bad f ai t h. Much of t he ar gument t hat was made t oday
may wel l be t he t ype of act ual evi dence t hat woul d be used by
t he Pl ai nt i f f i n suppor t i ng a cl ai mt hat t he sear ch was
i nadequat e or done i n bad f ai t h.
At t hat poi nt , i f t he Pl ai nt i f f bel i eves t hat
di scover y i s necessar y i nt o t he nat ur e of t he sear ch, I wi l l
consi der al l owi ng l i mi t ed di scover y i nt o t hat ar ea. I f you
det er mi ne t hat you ar e goi ng t o cl ai ma pr i vi l ege or you ar e
goi ng t o cl ai man excl usi on under t he st at ut e, I al so suspect
t he af f i davi t t hat you woul d f i l e i n suppor t of your Mot i on f or
Summar y J udgment t o i ncl ude det ai l ed r easons why t he pr i vi l ege
appl i es or why an except i on appl i es. Now, of cour se i t doesn' t
have t o be so det ai l ed t hat i t r eveal s t he i nf or mat i on you' r e
t r yi ng t o keep conf i dent i al , but at l east i t has t o gi ve me some
r eason t o bel i eve t hat an except i on appl i es or t hat t he case l aw
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concer ni ng execut i ve pr i vi l ege case l aw has been met . I n
par t i cul ar I ' mt hi nki ng of t he Republ i can Par t y case of , you
know, was i t communi cat i ons wi t h t he Gover nor ? Was i t t he
Gover nor ' s deci si on t o make i t a pr i vi l ege or di d i t i nvol ve t he
Gover nor ' s deci si on- maki ng? Di d i t i nvol ve t he Gover nor ' s
const i t ut i onal l y mandat ed act i vi t i es? Was i t wi t h t he
Gover nor ' s cl ose advi sor s? And di d t he Gover nor her sel f make
t he det er mi nat i on t hat t her e shoul d be an execut i vel y pr i vi l eged
document ? I expect you t o compl y wi t h t he Republ i can Par t y
cr i t er i a i f you ar e goi ng t o cl ai mexecut i ve pr i vi l ege. And i t
l ooks l i ke you ar e cl ai mi ng t hat on at l east si x document s. So
I ' mgoi ng t o expect a l i t t l e bi t mor e t han j ust your Vaughn l og
t o suppor t t hat .
Agai n, once we see t hat af f i davi t , i f t he Pl ai nt i f f
bel i eves t hat t he af f i davi t i s i nadequat e and t hi nks i t needs
somet hi ng ot her t han l egal ar gument t o demonst r at e i t s
i nadequacy, at t hat poi nt he can seek di scover y. But I bel i eve
t hat t he or der l y way t o do t hese cases i s t o st ar t out wi t h
get t i ng t he document s out , get t i ng t he r evi ew compl et ed, do a
summar y j udgment mot i on by t he gover nment , and t hen det er mi ne
whet her or not you need di scover y.
So I ' mgr ant i ng your mot i on f or a st ay. I ' m
gr ant i ng t he mot i on f or a pr ot ect i ve or der , but I ' mal so addi ng
t i me l i mi t s f or you t o f i ni sh up and t o move f or summar y
j udgment .
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MR. KENNEDY: Your Honor , we' l l do t hat i n t er ms of
t he I PRA pr oduct i on. I and my associ at es have a si gni f i cant
br i ef due i n t he Tent h Ci r cui t at t he end of May. Woul d t he
Cour t consi der al l owi ng us t o J une 12 t o get our summar y
j udgment mot i on i n wi t h al l t hose af f i davi t s?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. KENNEDY: Thank you.
THE COURT: What day i s your Tent h Ci r cui t br i ef
due?
MR. KENNEDY: May 28 or 29.
THE COURT: Al l r i ght . Yes. Ther e may have been a
coupl e of ot her t hi ngs I want ed t o addr ess. Let me go back
t hr ough my not es her e.
I have t o say, when I r ead t he e- mai l s I t hought
t her e was a r ej ect i on of t he r ol l i ng pr oduct i on i dea mysel f when
I r ead t hat r esponse. So I di dn' t t hi nk t hat t he ot her was a
quid pro quo. I guess maybe I ' ve been i nvol ved i n enough
r egul ar document di scover y cases wher e t her e ar e t i mes when
peopl e don' t want t o get t hi ngs pi ecemeal . They want ever yt hi ng
al l at once. That ' s what I t hought t he Pl ai nt i f f was opt i ng f or
and he was j ust sayi ng hur r y up and get i t done.
I t hi nk I ' ve got t en ever yt hi ng out t hat I want ed t o
ment i on t o you. Ar e you cl ai mi ng t hat some of t hi s i s not
publ i c r ecor ds but i s per sonal ? You sent me cases on t hat . I
coul dn' t t el l f r omyour answer whet her t hat was par t of what you
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wer e cl ai mi ng or not ?
MR. KENNEDY: I t hi nk at t he t i me t he pl eadi ngs wer e
dr af t ed we wer e appr ehensi ve we woul d f i nd i t ems l i ke t hat , but
I don' t t hi nk we have, or at l east not yet .
THE COURT: I f you do, I need you t o i dent i f y t hose
and t el l us why you t hi nk wher e i t i s, why you t hi nk i t ' s
per sonal , why you' r e not pr oduci ng i t , so t hat t he Pl ai nt i f f can
be pr epar ed t o show t hat t hat ' s i n f act a publ i c r ecor d, not
some per sonal document .
MR. FARBER: May I ask a quest i on of cl ar i f i cat i on?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. FARBER: You ment i oned t her e needs t o be
somet hi ng done by mi d May.
THE COURT: I want al l t he document s t o you by mi d
May. That wi l l gi ve you t i me t o go over t her e. When t hey f i l ed
t hei r r esponse I di d gi ve t hemt o J une 12. By t he t i me t hey
f i l e t hei r r esponse you wi l l have l ooked at t hei r document s and
say t her e i s a mi ssi ng gap and or how come we haven' t hear d f r om
Mi ss Her r er a. So I want you t o have al l t he document s by t hen.
MR. FARBER: May 15t h?
THE COURT: May 16 i s a Fr i day. J une 13 i s a Fr i day
al so. So l et ' s gi ve you t o t hat day t o do your br i ef . Then t he
Rul e 1- 007. 1 wi l l gover n t he t i me l i mi t s af t er t hat .
Anybody have any quest i ons? Al l r i ght . The one
t hi ng t hat I t hought we woul d do t oday i s a schedul i ng or der ,
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but I t hi nk I ' ve done enough of one wi t h t hi s or der f or r i ght
now. Then we' l l see what happens af t er t hat mot i on comes i n.
I f you do deci de t o f i l e a 56( F) i n r esponse t o t hei r mot i on,
Mr . Far ber , woul d you cal l i t t o my at t ent i on so I know, so t hat
I can l ook at t hat qui ckl y t o t r y t o deal wi t h t hat so we can
get t hi ngs goi ng?
MR. FARBER: May I ask one quest i on?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. FARBER: Wi t h r egar d t o t he Mot i on f or Summar y
J udgment , i s i t t he Cour t ' s t hought t hat i t woul d be an i ssue
t hat we have made al l t he di scl osur es we need t o make or i f
t her e i s some ot her pr i vi l eges? Because t hey have not
i dent i f i ed pr i vi l eges t o dat e except f or t hat one page.
THE COURT: Ri ght . I ' mt hi nki ng i f t omor r ow t hey
come acr oss wi t h a document t hat shows l aw enf or cement
except i on, t hey have t he r i ght t o cl ai mt hat . I t ' s about al l of
t he above, I bel i eve. I t ' s anyt hi ng t hey want t o say about why
t hey have compl i ed or don' t have t o compl y wi t h your I PRA
r equest . That ' s what i t ' s about .
Who woul d l i ke t o pr epar e an Or der based on what I
sai d?
MR. KENNEDY: We' l l go ahead and do t hat , Your
Honor , unl ess Mr . Far ber want s t o.
THE COURT: You can do i t . Do i t , ci r cul at e i t t o
hi m, and act ual l y t al k t o hi m.
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MR. KENNEDY: I t woul d be a pl easur e.
THE COURT: Act ual l y t al k t o hi mabout any l anguage
t hi ngs. Don' t j ust e- mai l and say, " Get back t o me t omor r ow or
I ' msendi ng i t t o t he j udge. " Do you under st and what I mean?
MR. KENNEDY: Cl ear l y.
THE COURT: I expect t hat on di scover y di sput es t oo.
I expect f ace t o f ace or t el ephone t o t el ephone meet i ngs t o wor k
t hi ngs out t o nar r ow what you di d i n r esponse t o a pl eadi ng.
MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Your Honor .
THE COURT: Al l r i ght . Unl ess t her e i s somet hi ng
el se we need t o do t oday - - can you get me t hat Or der i n t wo
weeks?
MR. KENNEDY: Of cour se. Yes.
THE COURT: I ' l l expect i t t o be e- mai l ed t o me.
Thank your associ at e f or sendi ng t he cases. I t ' s ver y hel pf ul .
I do t r y t o r ead peopl e' s many cases, but i t ' s easi er t o do i f I
can go of f e- mai l . We' r e i n r ecess.
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STATE OF NEWMEXI CO )
) ss.
COUNTY OF SANTA FE )
I , BRENDA CASI AS, Of f i ci al Cour t Repor t er f or t he
Fi r st J udi ci al Di st r i ct of New Mexi co, her eby cer t i f y t hat I
r epor t ed, t o t he best of my abi l i t y, t he pr oceedi ngs, NUMBER;
t hat t he pages number ed TR- 1 t hr ough TR- 100, i ncl usi ve, ar e a
t r ue and cor r ect t r anscr i pt of my st enogr aphi c not es, and wer e
r educed t o t ypewr i t t en t r anscr i pt t hr ough Comput er - Ai ded
Tr anscr i pt i on; t hat on t he dat e I r epor t ed t hese pr oceedi ngs, I
was a New Mexi co Cer t i f i ed Cour t Repor t er .
Dat ed at Sant a Fe, New Mexi co, t hi s 6t h day of May
2014.
ss/ / Br enda Casi as
BRENDA CASI AS
New Mexi co CCR No. 119
Expi r es: December 31, 2014
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