Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_07-cv-02513/USCOURTS-azd-2_07-cv-02513-8/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 28:1331 Federal Question: Other Civil Rights

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NOT FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Manuel de Jesus Ortega Melendres, et. Al.,

Plaintiff, 

vs.

Joseph M. Arpaio, et. al., 

Defendant. 

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No. 07-02513-PHX-GMS

ORDER

Pending before the Court is Defendants’ Touhy Motion to Compel the United States

Department of Homeland Security (and/or the United States Immigration and Customs

Enforcement) To Produce Two Documents And Tender Five Witnesses For Deposition and

Defendants’ Separate Motion to Extend the Fact-Discovery Cut-Off Date For the Limited

Purpose of Conducting DHS/ICE-Related Deposition Discovery. (Dkt. # 247). After

consideration, the Motion is granted in part, denied in part, and deferred in part. 

 The Court grants that part of the Defendants’ Motion that seeks to extend fact

discovery deadlines for the purpose of deposing the five witnesses identified in Defendants’

Touhy request and/or obtaining their testimony concerning the two documents that

Defendants seek in that same Touhy request. New specific deadlines will be established

during the Court’s status conference with the parties scheduled to occur on March 19, 2010.

Although it does appear to the Court that the Motion to Extend could have been asserted with

more alacrity, Defendants have, nevertheless, timely sought the extension given the various

Case 2:07-cv-02513-GMS Document 279 Filed 03/02/10 Page 1 of 4
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reversals in the position of the United States Government with respect to the discovery

sought by Defendants in this case. 

At any rate, it appears that the discovery deadlines must be extended so that Plaintiffs

can evaluate the additional discovery to be provided by the Defendants, and the extent to

which still additional discovery may be necessary in light of the unavailability and/or

destruction of documents in the Defendants’ possession. And, while the Court does not

believe that Defendants should benefit from an extension that their own conduct has

necessitated, Defendants’ request for extension to provide for the discovery they timely

sought in their Touhy Motion has merit in its own right, and a short extension will allow both

Plaintiffs and Defendants to maximize their ability to best present the merits of their relative

positions to the Court at trial, which is in the best interest of the parties and the public. 

In its Response to Defendants’ Touhy Motion, the United States indicates that it has

provided the documents sought in the Motion and has agreed to provide its two current

agents for deposition, and assist, to the extent feasible, in providing its three former agents

to be deposed in this matter. To the extent that Defendants seek such relief in their Motion,

therefore, the Motion is moot. Nevertheless, the United States indicates that it does not agree

to provide the current or former agents to testify at deposition until it has reviewed

documents (it indicates approximately 38,000), prior to the depositions to ensure that the

deponents do not testify to information that may be protected as law enforcement sensitive.

Further, prior to the occurrence of the depositions, Defendants’ counsel agreed to provide “a

more detailed description of the areas of inquiry to assure” that the witnesses would not be

questioned about privileged or protected areas. Thus, the United States indicates that the

deposition of the current or former agents could not be scheduled prior to April 2010. 

Contrary to the Defendants assertion in their Reply, there is nothing in the Response

of the United States that indicates it intended to voluntarily provide to the Defendants the

38,000 documents that it needed to review prior to scheduling the depositions of the five

agents. Nor is there anything to suggest to this Court that Defendants Touhy request to the

United States was broad enough to cover those documents. Thus, the United States is under

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no current obligation to provide the 38,000 documents to the parties in this litigation unless

it has otherwise agreed to do so. 

Nor does the United States in its Response agree to waive the more detailed

description of areas of deposition inquiry that Defense Counsel agreed to provide. Therefore,

the parties and the United States may arrive at a deposition schedule for the five agents

identified in Defendants’ Touhy Motion prior to the March 19th status conference. Indeed

the Court suggests that they do so. But the Court will not require the United States to

schedule the depositions for a date prior to receiving the “more detailed description of areas

of inquiry” by the Defendants, or the review of the additional documents that it deems

necessary. While the Court does not intend to provide the United States with more than a

reasonable amount of time to accomplish such tasks, and will set such a deadline at the

March 19 status conference, it will not set a date by which such tasks will be completed prior

to the March 19 status conference between the parties and the United States. The Court does,

however, Order that Defendants provide the “more detailed description of cases of inquiry

prior to March 19.

To the extent that the Motion requests that the Court order that the five former

government agents be provided at trial, the Court defers a ruling on this part of the Motion

until the depositions have been taken and relevant and admissible testimony of the agents has

been identified. Therefore,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

1. Granting the Motion to extend fact discovery deadlines for the purpose of

deposing the five witnesses identified in Defendant’s Touhy request and/or obtaining their

testimony concerning the two documents that Defendants seek in that same Touhy request

only;

2. Denying the Touhy Motion to the extent that it is moot; and

/ / /

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3. Deferring any ruling on which, if any, of the five witnesses must be made

available by the government for the trial of this matter.

4. Directing that Amin Aminfar, counsel for the United States be present at the

status conference scheduled for March 19, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. 

DATED this 1st day of March, 2010.

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