United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

KRISTIN M PERRY, SANDRA B STIER,

PAUL T KATAMI and JEFFREY J

ZARRILLO,

Plaintiffs,

CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO,

Plaintiff-Intervenor,

v

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, in his

official capacity as governor of

California; EDMUND G BROWN JR, in

his official capacity as attorney

general of California; MARK B

HORTON, in his official capacity

as director of the California

Department of Public Health and

state registrar of vital

statistics; LINETTE SCOTT, in her

official capacity as deputy

director of health information &

strategic planning for the

California Department of Public

Health; PATRICK O’CONNELL, in his

official capacity as clerkrecorder of the County of

Alameda; and DEAN C LOGAN, in his

official capacity as registrarrecorder/county clerk for the

County of Los Angeles, 

Defendants,

DENNIS HOLLINGSWORTH, GAIL J

KNIGHT, MARTIN F GUTIERREZ,

HAKSHING WILLIAM TAM, MARK A

JANSSON and PROTECTMARRIAGE.COM –

YES ON 8, A PROJECT OF

CALIOFORNIA RENEWAL, as official

proponents of Proposition 8,

Defendant-Intervenors. /

No C 09-2292 VRW

ORDER

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For the Northern District of California

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On January 15, 2010, defendant-intervenors, the official

proponents of Proposition 8 (“proponents”) moved to compel

production of documents from three nonparties: Californians

Against Eliminating Basic Rights (“CAEBR”), Equality California and

No on Proposition 8, Campaign for Marriage Equality, A Project of

the American Civil Liberties Union (the “ACLU”) (collectively the

“No on 8 groups”). Doc #472. The court referred the motion to

Magistrate Judge Spero pursuant to 28 USC § 636(b)(1)(A) on

February 4, 2010. Doc #572. The magistrate heard argument on

February 25, 2010 and, on March 5, 2010, granted the motion to

compel and ordered the No on 8 groups to produce nonprivileged

documents that “contain, refer or relate to arguments for or

against Proposition 8.” Doc #610 at 14. The ACLU and Equality

California objected to the magistrate’s order pursuant to FRCP

72(a) on March 11, 2010. Doc #614. Proponents filed their

objections on March 15, 2010. Doc #619. CAEBR did not object to

the magistrate’s order. The court heard argument on the objections 

on March 16, 2010.

I

The magistrate’s order requires the No on 8 groups to

produce nonprivileged documents that “contain, refer or relate to

arguments for or against Proposition 8” not later than March 31,

2010. Doc #610. The order relies on the Ninth Circuit’s amended

opinion, Perry v Schwarzenegger, 591 F3d 1147, 1164 (9th Cir 2010),

to determine that proponents’ subpoenas may lead to the discovery

of admissible evidence under FRCP 26. Doc #610 at 5. The order

also relies on Perry, 591 F3d at 1165 n12, to determine the scope

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of the No on 8 groups’ First Amendment privilege. Doc #610 at 6-7. 

Finally, the order adopts measures to reduce the burden of

production on the No on 8 groups. Id at 12-14.

A magistrate judge’s discovery order may be modified or

set aside if it is “clearly erroneous or contrary to law.” FRCP

72(a). The magistrate’s factual determinations are reviewed for

clear error, and the magistrate’s legal conclusions are reviewed to

determine whether they are contrary to law. United States v

McConney, 728 F2d 1195, 1200-1201 (9th Cir 1984) (overruled on

other grounds by Estate of Merchant v CIR, 947 F2d 1390 (9th Cir

1991)). The clear error standard allows the court to overturn a

magistrate’s factual determinations only if the court reaches a

“definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” 

Wolpin v Philip Morris Inc, 189 FRD 418, 422 (CD Cal 1999) (citing

Federal Sav & Loan Ins Corp v Commonwealth Land Title Ins Co, 130

FRD 507 (DDC 1990)). The magistrate’s legal conclusions are

reviewed de novo to determine whether they are contrary to law. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v Lexus of Serramonte, No

05-0962 SBA, Doc #68 at 4; William W Schwarzer, et al, Federal

Civil Procedure Before Trial, 16:278.

When the court reviews the magistrate’s determination of

relevance in a discovery order, “the Court must review the

magistrate’s order with an eye toward the broad standard of

relevance in the discovery context. Thus, the standard of review

in most instances is not the explicit statutory language, but the

clearly implicit standard of abuse of discretion.” Geophysical Sys

Corp v Raytheon Co, Inc, 117 FRD 646, 647 (CD Cal 1987). The court

should not disturb the magistrate’s relevance determination except

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where it is based on “an erroneous conclusion of law or where the

record contains no evidence on which [the magistrate] rationally

could have based that decision.” Wolpin, 189 FRD at 422 (citation

omitted). The abuse of discretion standard does not apply to a

discovery order not concerned with relevance.

For the reasons explained below, the magistrate’s order

is neither clearly erroneous nor contrary to law. Accordingly, all

objections to the order are DENIED. 

II

The ACLU and Equality California object to the

magistrate’s order on the basis that the magistrate’s FRCP 26 

analysis was clearly erroneous and that the magistrate’s

application of the First Amendment privilege was contrary to law. 

Doc #614. The court addresses each objection in turn.

A

The ACLU and Equality California argue that the

magistrate clearly erred and abused his discretion in determining

that proponents’ subpoenas would lead to relevant information under

FRCP 26. Doc #614 at 7. This objection has three parts: first,

that the magistrate applied the FRCP 26 relevance standard when a

more searching standard was appropriate; second, that the subpoenas

do not seek relevant documents under any standard of relevance; and

third, that the magistrate failed to weigh the marginal relevance

of the documents against the heavy burden production of the

documents would impose. 

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Live witness testimony concluded on January 27, 2010, although

proponents did not officially rest their case pending resolution of

the instant motion to compel. Doc #531 at 107-108 (Trial Tr 1/27/10).

The court has not yet scheduled closing arguments, and proponents have

stated they do not plan to call additional witnesses.

5

1

To determine whether proponents’ subpoenas seek

discoverable documents, the magistrate applied the standard set

forth in FRCP 26(b)(1) that “a party may obtain nonprivileged

discovery that is relevant to any claim or defense, and ‘[r]elevant

information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery

appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of

admissible evidence.’” Doc #610 at 5 (citing FRCP 26(b)(1)). The

ACLU and Equality California argue as a matter of law that because

the discovery period is closed and the trial has all but

concluded,1

 the magistrate should have applied a more searching

standard of relevance than is found in FRCP 26. Doc #614 at 7. 

The ACLU and Equality California cite no authority for

the proposition that the court should apply a more searching

standard of relevance when the formal discovery cutoff has passed. 

Even if a more searching standard is appropriate for post-trial

discovery motions, the instant motion to compel was filed before

trial proceedings concluded. See Doc #610 at 4 (discussing the

procedural history of proponents’ motion to compel). Thus, even if

a post-trial motion to compel could be subject to a more searching

standard of relevance, the ACLU and Equality California have not

shown the magistrate erred as a matter of law in concluding the

typical standard applies in this case. The objection on this point

is accordingly DENIED.

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2

The magistrate determined that the documents sought

through proponents’ subpoenas met the standard of relevance under

FRCP 26(b)(1). Doc #610 at 6. The magistrate relied on Perry, 591

F3d at 1164, which held that a document request seeking similar

campaign documents from proponents was “reasonably calculated to

lead to the discovery of admissible evidence on the issues of voter

intent and the existence of a legitimate state interest.” The

magistrate then determined that documents from the No on 8 campaign

could be relevant to the question why voters approved Proposition

8, as the messages from the No on 8 campaign were part of the mix

of information available to the voters. Doc #610 at 6.

The ACLU and Equality California argue that the documents

sought are simply not relevant to the question of voter intent. 

But because the Ninth Circuit has determined that campaign

documents may lead to discovery of admissible evidence, and because

the Ninth Circuit’s holding is not limited to campaign documents

from the side that succeeded in persuading voters, the magistrate

did not clearly err in determining that the documents sought by

proponents meet the FRCP 26 relevance standard. The magistrate

considered and rejected the contrary argument, finding that

campaign documents from both sides of the Proposition 8 campaign

met the FRCP 26 standard of relevance. Because the record supports

a finding that campaign documents from both sides meet the

standards of discoverability laid out in FRCP 26, the magistrate’s

relevance determination is not clearly erroneous.

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3

Having determined that proponents’ subpoenas seek

discoverable documents under FRCP 26, the magistrate then adopted

measures to reduce the burden of production on the No on 8 groups. 

Doc #610 at 12. The measures adopted to reduce burden, including

adopting a list of electronic search terms, restricting Equality

California’s electronic document search to a central server, not

requiring a privilege log and not requiring production of any

document constituting a communication solely within a core group,

appear tailored to eliminate unnecessary burdens and focus

production on documents most likely to be relevant to proponents’

case. 

The ACLU and Equality California argue the magistrate

erred as a matter of law in failing to consider relevance and

burden on a sliding scale. Doc #614 at 10. The ACLU and Equality

California argue proponents have demonstrated only a marginal

relevance, if any, for the documents sought in the subpoenas. 

Indeed, proponents’ showing of relevance is minimal. 

Proponents rely without elaboration on the court’s previous orders

and the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Perry to assert that the

subpoenas seek relevant documents under FRCP 26. In response to

the court’s question at the March 16 hearing why proponents need

the documents, proponents referred to the court’s order that the

mix of information available to the voters could help determine the

state interest in Proposition 8 and asserted that documents from No

on 8 groups could add to the mix. Proponents also argue that the

documents might speak to the political power of gays and lesbians,

although proponents do not appear to have made use of publicly

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available documents in this regard during trial. See Doc #620 at

15 (stating that proponents “were unable to address issues put into

contention by Plaintiffs,” like contributions to the No on 8

campaign by progressive churches, even though information about

such donations is available to the public under the Political

Reform Act of 1974, Cal Govt Code § 81000 et seq). Although

proponents describe the documents sought as “highly relevant,” Doc

#620 at 15, proponents do not attempt to make a showing that their

need for the documents meets the heightened standard necessary to

overcome the No on 8 groups’ First Amendment privilege. See Perry,

591 F3d at 1164-1165 (applying the “First Amendment’s more

demanding heightened relevance standard” whether the party seeking

discovery has “demonstrated an interest in obtaining the

disclosures which is sufficient to justify the deterrent effect on

the free exercise of the constitutionally protected right of

association.”) (citing NAACP v Alabama, 357 US 449, 463). Thus,

proponents have failed to make a showing that the documents they

seek are highly relevant to the claims they are defending against.

Nevertheless, proponents’ showing satisfies the standard

of discoverability set forth in FRCP 26, and the magistrate did not

err in ordering the No on 8 groups to comply with the proponents’

subpoenas and to produce nonprivileged documents. Indeed, the

magistrate carefully weighed the marginal relevance of proponents’

discovery against the burden cast on the No on 8 groups. In doing

so, the magistrate took substantial steps to ensure compliance with

the subpoenas would not amount to an undue burden on the No on 8

groups. Doc #610 at 13. To the extent the ACLU and Equality

California argue the magistrate’s order imposes an undue burden on

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them, they have failed to substantiate the burden the magistrate’s

order imposes. See Doc #614 at 10-11 (citing to Doc #544, the

declaration of Elizabeth Gill, filed before the magistrate issued

the order compelling production). At the March 16 hearing, counsel

for the ACLU stated he could not quantify the cost of production

but that he believed the parties’ submissions before the magistrate

were sufficient to support the claim that the production ordered by

the magistrate amounts to an undue burden. Tellingly, the ACLU and

Equality California have made no showing regarding the burden on

the No on 8 groups in complying with the magistrate’s order. The

court cannot, therefore, conclude that the magistrate clearly erred

in compelling production despite the burden compliance may impose. 

For the foregoing reasons, the court declines to disturb

the magistrate’s rulings regarding burden and relevance. The

objections of the ACLU and Equality California on these points are

DENIED.

B

The court now turns to the objections of the ACLU and

Equality California regarding the magistrate’s application of the

First Amendment privilege. The ACLU and Equality California argue

the magistrate’s application of the First Amendment privilege is

contrary to law as the privilege requires a “more demanding

heightened relevance standard” for the campaign documents. See

Perry, 591 F3d at 1164. The ACLU and Equality California also

object that the magistrate erred in failing to include groups of

individuals in Equality for All’s core group.

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1

Because the No on 8 groups assert a First Amendment

privilege against disclosure of their campaign documents, the

magistrate determined the scope of the privilege. Doc #610 at 6. 

In doing so, the magistrate relied on Perry, 591 F3d at 1165 n12,

which held that the First Amendment privilege is limited to

“private, internal campaign communications concerning the

formulation of campaign strategy and messages * * * among the core

group of persons engaged in the formulation of strategy and

messages.” The magistrate thus determined a core group of

individuals whose communications within a No on 8 group are

entitled to protection against disclosure under the First

Amendment. The magistrate determined that the privilege extends to

communications within a core group but not to communications

between or among different groups, as such communications are by

definition not “internal.” Doc #610 at 7.

The ACLU and Equality California object that the

magistrate erred as a matter of law by focusing on individuals

whose communications are privileged. Instead, the ACLU and

Equality California argue the magistrate should have adopted a more

functional approach to the privilege based on the structure of the

campaign. But the ACLU and Equality California make no suggestion

concerning how the court should implement their suggested

functional approach and in any event failed to furnish the

magistrate information from which a functional interpretation of

the core group as defined in footnote 12 could be derived. 

The footnote, and indeed the entire amended opinion,

supports the magistrate’s determination that the First Amendment

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privilege is limited to a core group of individuals. Unlike the

attorney-client privilege in the corporate context, see Upjohn Co v

United States, 449 US 383, 392 (1981) (holding that a control group

test “frustrates the very purpose” of the attorney-client

privilege), the First Amendment privilege protects against

disclosure only those communications intentionally kept within a

group engaged in strategy and message formulation.

To explain the scope of the First Amendment privilege,

the Ninth Circuit relied on In re Motor Fuel Temperature Sales

Practices Litigation, 258 FRD 407, 415 (D Kan 2009) (O’Hara, MJ)

(applying the First Amendment privilege to trade associations’

internal communications regarding lobbying, planning and advocacy). 

The Kansas district court considered objections to the magistrate’s

order and held that the magistrate erred as a matter of law in

concluding that internal trade association communications were

inherently privileged. In re Motor Fuel Temperature Sales

Practices Litigation, -- FRD --, 2010 WL 786583, *5 (D Kan March 4,

2010) (Vratil, J). Instead, the law requires those claiming a

First Amendment associational privilege to put forth a prima facie

case that disclosure would have a chilling effect on their

associational rights. Id at *5-*6; see also Perry, 591 F3d at

1162-1163 (finding that proponents had made a prima facie case for

application of the First Amendment privilege against compelled

disclosure based on declarations tending to show disclosure would

chill their associational rights). Thus: 

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[A] party seeking First Amendment association privilege

[must] demonstrate an objectively reasonable probability that

disclosure will chill associational rights, i e that

disclosure will deter membership due to fears of threats,

harassment or reprisal from either government officials or

private parties which may affect members’ physical wellbeing, political activities or economic interests.

In re Motor Fuels, -- FRD --, 2010 WL 786583 at *8.

The ACLU and Equality California presented some evidence

to the magistrate regarding the chilling effect of compelled

disclosure. The ACLU submitted the declaration of Elizabeth Gill,

who stated that disclosure of campaign strategy and messages “would

have hindered [the ACLU’s] ability to mount political opposition to

Proposition 8” because it would have inhibited a “robust exchange

of ideas and free flow of information.” Doc #597 at ¶11. Gill

declared further that compelled disclosure would make the ACLU

“quite wary” of participating in political campaigns in the future. 

Id at ¶12. Equality California submitted the declaration of James

Brian Carroll, who stated that disclosure of communications

internal to Equality California would restrict its ability to

organize and fund a political campaign. Doc #601. The showing

ACLU and Equality California make is similar to the showing made by

proponents and accepted by the Ninth Circuit. Perry, 591 F3d at

1163 (noting that proponents’ evidence was “lacking in

particularity but consistent with the self-evidence conclusion”

that a discovery request seeking internal campaign communications

implicates important First Amendment questions). 

Because the prima facie case of chill made by the ACLU

and Equality California is substantially the same as the prima

facie case made by proponents, the magistrate did not err as a

matter of law in applying the First Amendment privilege standard

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set forth in Perry, 591 F3d at 1165 n12. That standard protects

internal communications among a core group of persons, as

disclosure of these communications may lead to the chilling effects

described in the Gill and Carroll declarations. The standard does

not protect campaign communications that are not private and

internal. Nothing in the Gill and Carroll declarations suggests

the standard as applied is insufficient to protect the No on 8

groups’ associational rights.

This follows from the magistrate’s correct focus on the

individuals engaged in the formulation of strategy and messages

whose communications were not intended for public distribution. 

The functional approach advocated by the ACLU and Equality

California ignores the important limiting principle that a

communication must be private to be privileged under the First

Amendment.

The ACLU and Equality California object to the

magistrate’s determination to limit the scope of the First

Amendment privilege to communications within but not between core

groups. See Doc #610 at 12-13. The objection is not well-taken. 

The magistrate did not err as a matter of law in concluding that

the First Amendment privilege does not cover communications between

[or among] separate organizations. Doc #610 at 12-13. A 

communication “internal” to an organization is by definition wholly

within that organization. The ACLU and Equality California would

have the court stretch the meaning of “internal” to embrace a broad

coalition of groups that took a position against Proposition 8. 

See Doc #609 at 2-6 (“Equality for All Campaign Committee

Members”). The problem with attempting to categorize

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communications among individuals associated with a laundry list of

groups is that the ACLU and Equality California failed to furnish

the magistrate or the undersigned with a comprehensible limiting

principle by which to define a communication between or among

persons affiliated with such organizations as internal. No

evidence in the record supports a finding that communications among

a broad coalition of groups are private and internal.

2

The ACLU and Equality California argue that the

magistrate erred in failing to include in the Equality for All core

group the Equality California Institute Board of Directors, the

Equality for All Campaign Committee and Equality for All Campaign

Staff. Doc #614 at 13. The ACLU and Equality California argue

that the February 22 Kors declaration, Doc #598, supports a finding

that members of these groups were involved in the formulation of

strategy and messages for Equality for All. But the February 22

Kors declaration makes no showing concerning who in the these

groups should be included in the Equality for All core group. 

Because the No on 8 groups did not present evidence sufficient for

the magistrate to include any individual from these groups as part

of the core group for Equality for All, the magistrate’s decision

to exclude the groups is supported by the record and is therefore

not clearly erroneous.

At the February 25, 2010 hearing, the magistrate asked

counsel for Equality California for an affidavit to support

inclusion of individuals from the campaign committee and campaign

staff in the Equality for All core group. Doc #613 at 44 (Hrg Tr

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2/25/10). Counsel agreed to identify individuals “who played a

larger role than others” in the development of strategy and

messages. Id at 45. In response to the magistrate’s inquiry, the

No on 8 groups submitted the March 3 Kors declaration, which fails

to identify individuals in the campaign committee and campaign

staff who were engaged in the formulation of strategy and messages,

Doc #609 at ¶¶6-7. The March 3 Kors declaration thus did not

provide the magistrate with the evidence he sought at the February

25 hearing. Based on the March 3 Kors declaration, the magistrate

concluded that the individuals’ roles had not been explained and

that “the court lacks a basis to include these individuals in

Equality for All’s core group.” Doc #610 at 11. The magistrate’s

finding that the No on 8 groups did not provide the magistrate with

information necessary to include the campaign committee and

campaign staff in the core group is thus supported by the record. 

The Equality California Institute was described at the

February 25, 2010 hearing as “involved with the effort of Equality

California with regards to fundraising.” Doc #613 at 46. The No

on 8 groups made no further showing that the Institute developed 

campaign strategy and messages for the Proposition 8 campaign for

any No on 8 group. Accordingly, the magistrate did not clearly err

in refusing to include the Equality California Institute in a core

group.

The magistrate’s application of the First Amendment

privilege is not contrary to law, and the magistrate’s core group

determinations are supported by the record and are therefore not

clearly erroneous. Accordingly, the court declines to disturb the

magistrate’s First Amendment rulings. 

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The ACLU objects that the order should be modified “to

preclude disclosure to anyone involved in the Proposition 8

campaign or who may be involved in a future political campaign

involving the right of same-sex couples to marry.” Doc #614 at 15. 

Because the ACLU did not raise this point with the magistrate, the

magistrate did not clearly err in failing to include the

restriction, and the court need not consider the objection further. 

See United States v Howell, 231 F3d 615, 621 (9th Cir 2000). The

objection is accordingly DENIED.

III

Proponents bring eight objections to the magistrate’s

order. Doc #619 at 13-21. The court addresses each in turn.

A

Proponents object that the magistrate did not require the

No on 8 groups to prepare a privilege log and did not offer an

explanation why no privilege log would be required. Doc #619 at

13. The magistrate’s order states: “The No on 8 groups are not

required to produce a privilege log.” Doc #610 at 14. While the

order provides no additional explanation, the magistrate explained

at the February 25 hearing that he was “willing to discuss whether

it’s a reasonable burden to produce privilege logs. That may be

undue. The distinction between privileged and nonprivileged is

going to be whether or not it’s a communication within a very welldefined core group.” Doc #613 at 8 (Hrg Tr 2/25/10). The court

thus concludes the magistrate’s decision not to require a privilege

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log was a measure intended to reduce the production burden on the

No on 8 groups.

Proponents argue that under FRCP 45(d)(2)(A)(ii), a

nonparty claiming a privilege must prepare some form of a privilege

log to preserve the privilege. Moreover, the Ninth Circuit held

that “some form of a privilege log is required” to preserve the

First Amendment privilege. Perry, 591 F3d at 1153 n1. 

Nevertheless, no rule prevents the court from waiving the privilege

log requirement to reduce a nonparty’s burden. The magistrate’s

rulings to reduce the burden on the No on 8 groups are more fully

addressed in subsection II(A)(3), above. In any event, the

magistrate concluded that waiving the privilege log requirement was

appropriate, because the privilege can be tested without a log as

it depends only on the identities of those communicating. See Doc

#613 at 8. Because that conclusion neither contrary to law nor

clearly erroneous, proponents’ objection on this point is DENIED.

B

The magistrate ordered that the No on 8 groups are only 

“required to review electronic documents containing at least one of

the following terms: ‘No on 8;’ ‘Yes on 8;’ ‘Prop 8;’ ‘Proposition

8;’ ‘Marriage Equality;’ and ‘ProtectMarriage.com.’” Doc #610 at

13. The magistrate explained the limitation was intended “to

ensure that any burden borne by the third parties is not undue.” 

Id. Proponents object that the search terms are underinclusive and

argue the magistrate erred in failing to allow proponents the

opportunity to present additional search terms to the court. Doc

#619 at 14-15. 

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At the February 25 hearing, the magistrate stated his

intent to cabin production with search terms like “Proposition 8,

‘No on 8,’ ‘Yes on 8,’ Prop 8 — something like that.” Doc #613 at

46. Proponents were thus on notice that the magistrate intended a

limited number of search terms. The magistrate directed Equality

California to submit an additional declaration on core group issues

and burden and then stated he intended to “put out a ruling

shortly” after he received the declaration. Id at 60. Despite

this notice, proponents failed to seek the opportunity to respond

to Equality California’s declaration. It was not clearly erroneous

for the magistrate to rule on the motion to compel without awaiting

a response from proponents, because proponents had not requested

the opportunity to provide the magistrate with a response.

Moreover, the magistrate’s decision to adopt only a small

number of search terms is not clearly erroneous. Proponents

suggest an expansive list of search terms, including generic terms

like “ad” or “equal*.” Doc #619 at 15. The search terms suggested

by proponents do not appear tailored to cabin production. Indeed,

it would appear that the search term “equal*” would capture every

document in Equality California’s possession. It was thus not in

error for the magistrate to conclude that a narrow list of search

terms would be appropriate to reduce undue burden on the No on 8

groups. Proponents’ objection on this point is therefore DENIED. 

C

The magistrate also ordered, as a measure to reduce 

burden, that “Equality California shall only be required to search

its central email server for responsive electronic documents.” Doc

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#610 at 13. The magistrate relied on the March 3 declaration of

Geoff Kors, which states that “[a]pproximately 75 people at

[Equality California] could have potentially relevant emails on

their hard drives” and that producing email from the 75 hard drives

“could take more than a week” at a cost of around “$30,000.” Doc

#609 at ¶9. The March 3 Kors declaration states further that

Equality California has “approximately 27 to 30 gigabytes of email

stored” on central email server, and that it would take “several

days” at a cost of “$14,000 to $20,000" to collect and process

email stored on the central server. Id at ¶10.

The magistrate determined that the additional burden the

search of 75 hard drives would impose was not worth the cost. That

determination is not clearly erroneous in light of the volume of

documents stored on the central server.

Proponents object that the magistrate did not “require

Equality California to cease archiving any and all emails from the

central server.” Doc #619 at 18. To the extent proponents are

concerned that Equality California may attempt to spoliate

evidence, proponents may seek to bring the appropriate motion. 

There was nothing before the magistrate or brought to this court’s

attention that suggests any such attempt. The magistrate did not,

in any event, err in failing to include this specific instruction

in the order. Proponents’ objection to the magistrate’s order

regarding the central email server is accordingly DENIED. 

D

As the court of appeals noted in Perry, delineation of

the core group is central to determining the scope of the First

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Amendment privilege and this determination rests on the specific

facts of the case. The magistrate applied the standard set in

Perry, 591 F3d at 1165 n12, to determine for each No on 8 group a

core group of persons whose internal communications may be

privileged under the First Amendment. Doc #610 at 6. Based on the

specific facts of the No on 8 campaign, the magistrate also

determined a core group of persons for the umbrella No on 8

organization Equality for All. Id at 10-11. Proponents object

that the magistrate had no reason to determine a core group for

Equality for All, because proponents did not subpoena documents

from Equality for All and because Equality for All did not place

evidence before the magistrate. Doc #619 at 18. 

The magistrate relied on the declarations of Geoff Kors,

Doc ##598, 609, to determine a core group for Equality for All. 

The February 22 Kors declaration explains that Equality for All

“acted as an umbrella campaign organization for more than 100

member organizations,” including the three No on 8 groups subject

to proponents’ subpoenas. Doc #598 at ¶6. The magistrate examined

the Kors declarations to determine who should and should not be

included in the Equality for All core group, as more fully

explained in section II(B)(2), above. Because the evidence showed

a formal relationship between Equality for All and the No on 8

groups, it was not an error for the magistrate to conclude that

individuals associated with the Equality for All umbrella

organization who were engaged in the formulation of strategy and

messages may claim a privilege over communications within the

umbrella organization. Nor was it clearly erroneous to rely on the

declarations of Geoff Kors, a member of Equality for All’s

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executive committee, to define Equality for All’s core group. 

Proponents’ objection on this point is accordingly DENIED.

E

The magistrate found based on the evidence presented that

certain individuals have core group status in more than one

organization. The magistrate noted that “the scope of the First

Amendment privilege could arguably depend on the capacity in which

a core group member [of more than one No on 8 group] is

communicating.” Doc #610 at 12. Nevertheless, the magistrate’s

order does “not require production of any communications about

strategy and messages between core group members who belong to that

core group,” as the effort required to inquire into the capacity in

which a core group member is communicating “might amount to an

undue burden.” Id. 

Proponents object that the magistrate’s order in this

regard is contrary to the court’s previous holding that proponents

could not assert a First Amendment privilege over communications

with other groups. Doc #619 at 18-19. The court previously held

that proponents had “only claimed a First Amendment privilege over

communications among members of the core group of Yes on 8 and

ProtectMarriage.com,” and that even if proponents had preserved the

privilege, they had “failed to meet their burden of proving that

the privilege applies to any documents in proponents’ possession,

custody or control.” Doc #372 at 3. Here, even if the

communications might not be protected by the First Amendment

privilege, the magistrate did not clearly err in refusing to order

their production because the burden of determining whether the

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communications are in fact privileged would be undue. The court’s

previous order is not inconsistent with the magistrate’s order. 

Accordingly, proponents’ objection on this point is DENIED.

F

Related to the objection discussed in subsection E,

above, proponents object as inconsistent with the court’s previous

order that the magistrate included certain individuals in more than

one core group. Doc #619 at 19. The previous order denied

proponents’ claim of privilege over communications to other Yes on

8 organizations, because “[t]here [was] no evidence before the

court regarding any other campaign organization.” Doc #372 at 2-3. 

Here, in contrast, the magistrate found that the No on 8 groups had

supported through declarations inclusion of individuals in more

than one No on 8 core group. The magistrate’s finding is based on

evidence regarding the No on 8 campaign and is not inconsistent

with the court’s previous order or contrary to law. Proponents’

objection on this point is therefore DENIED.

G

Proponents object that Armour Media Group and Armour

Griffin Media Group Inc were included in the core groups of CAEBR

and Equality for All on the ground that the court has previously

held that media vendors cannot be considered part of an

organization’s core group. Doc #619 at 19-20. The magistrate

appears to have included Armour Griffin Media Group Inc in the

Equality for All core group based on the March 3 Geoff Kors

declaration, Doc #609 at ¶8 (stating that the Armour Griffin Media

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Group “produced advertising” and “participated in formulating

campaign messaging”). The magistrate apparently relied on the

Moret declaration to include Armour Media Group in the CAEBR core

group. Doc #593 at ¶4(f) (stating that Armour Media Group

“conducted polling and assisted CAEBR in its early formulation of

campaign strategy and messaging”). Because the Kors and Moret

declarations support inclusion of the media groups in the core

groups, the magistrate’s decision to include the media groups is

not clearly erroneous. Proponents objection on this point is

DENIED.

H

The magistrate ordered each No on 8 group, including

CAEBR, to “produce all documents in its possession that contain,

refer or relate to arguments for or against Proposition 8, except

those communications solely among members of its core group.” Doc

#610 at 14. The magistrate did not address CAEBR’s assertion that

it had already completed its production. Proponents argue the

magistrate erred in failing to address whether CAEBR’s production

was “credible,” as CAEBR produced only sixty documents. Doc #619

at 20. But the magistrate did not err as a matter of law in

failing to address CAEBR’s production. The magistrate set the

standard for CAEBR’s production. Proponents can if necessary

address any problems with CAEBR’s production by appropriate motion. 

Proponents’ objection on this point is therefore DENIED.

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IV

For the reasons explained above, the magistrate’s order

granting proponents’ motion to compel discovery from the No on 8

groups is neither clearly erroneous nor contrary to law. 

Accordingly, the objections of the ACLU and Equality California,

Doc #614, and of proponents, Doc #619, are DENIED.

The magistrate’s order contemplates that production will

take place on a rolling basis to conclude not later than March 31,

2010. Doc #610 at 14. The court adopts the schedule set by the

magistrate. If proponents wish to supplement their trial record

with documents obtained through this production, they must make the

appropriate motion or submission not later than Monday, April 12,

2010. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

 

VAUGHN R WALKER

United States District Chief Judge

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