Thomas More Society filings say federal court has
no jurisdiction to halt public records release
This
week, Thomas More Society attorneys filed papers in the United States District
Court for the Western District of Washington seeking to lift a temporary
injunction against release of public records related to the University of
Washington’s Birth Defects Research Laboratory and its use of aborted fetal
body parts. The university and lab were the recipients of an open records
request as part of an investigation into their acquisition of fetal tissue
and
organs. A group of abortion clinic personnel and public employees, supported by
the University of Washington itself, responded by seeking restraining orders
and court injunctions to stop the release of public records. The initial
request for records was made by undercover journalist and head of the Center
for Medical Progress, David Daleiden, who over the past year has exposed
Planned Parenthood’s role in the trafficking of baby body parts.
“The
people have a right to know how their government is run,” explained Peter
Breen, Thomas More Society Special Counsel. “The plaintiffs here work at a
taxpayer-funded state university, and their work is subject to the same sunshine
and open records laws as any other government employee. We have filed papers
with the court demanding the lifting of the temporary injunction against
release of the public’s records and dismissal of this frivolous lawsuit.”
The
attorneys for Daleiden noted the following points in documents submitted to the
court:
- Public employees and those doing business with the
government have no federal or state constitutional right to privacy in
connection with their work for a state agency which is subject to broad
open records law.
- The State of Washington’s commitment to openness in
government does not allow redaction of names of public employees and those
doing business with the government.
- The plaintiffs’ claims related to the public records act must be heard by the Washington state courts and not federal courts.
Daleiden
and his lawyers filed two responses to the plaintiffs’ motions for temporary
injunctions, a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and a declaration by Daleiden
detailing the involvement of the University of Washington in aborted fetal
parts research. The Thomas More Society filings assert that Washington’s Public
Records Act does not allow for the restraining orders and injunctive relief
requested by plaintiffs, along with detailing the lawsuit’s lack of subject
matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim on which relief may be
granted.
“The
abortion clinic and fetal tissue personnel who brought this lawsuit should not
be allowed to prevent the people of the State of Washington from monitoring
their government’s involvement in the national controversy over aborted fetal
body parts,” added Breen. “These plaintiffs seek to stop release of records
owned by the public, but the Washington Public Records Act requires
transparency and openness, not obfuscation and delay. We are confident that the
public’s right to know will be vindicated in court.”
Read
last night’s filings:
- Brief in Opposition to the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary
Injunction
- Defendant David Daleiden’s Opposition to the Plaintiffs’ Renewed
Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order
- Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction, and for
Failure to State a Claim on Which Relief May Be Granted
- Declaration Of David Daleiden Submitted In Opposition To Plaintiffs’ Motion For A Preliminary Injunction
About the Thomas More Society
The Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm
dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty.
Headquartered in Chicago, the Thomas More Society fosters support for these
causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial
courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information,
visit www.thomasmoresociety.org.
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