16 October 2014 A.D. Stand Firm’s David Fischler “Hammers” Houston’s “Bathroom Billers:” Points of Subpoena Included
16 October 2014 A.D. Stand Firm’s David Fischler “Hammers”
Houston’s “Bathroom Billers:” Points of
Subpoena Included
This
is a cogently and forcefully argued article.
We bring a portion.
Fischler,
David. “Houston: Don’t Blame Us, We’re Asleep
At the Switch.” Stand Firm. 15 Oct 2014. http://www.standfirminfaith.com/?/sf/page/31580. Accessed 15 Oct 2014.
Houston: Don’t Blame Us, We’re Asleep At the Switch
There has
been an outpouring of outrage over the subpoenas issued by the city of Houston
to several local pastors for sermons and private communications with their
churches. Late today, the city decided to plead incompetence, ignorance,
illiteracy, or a combination of all three, according to the Houston Chronicle:
Amid outrage
from religious groups, Mayor Annise Parker and City Attorney David Feldman on
Wednesday appeared to back off a subpoena request for the sermons of certain
ministers opposed to the city’s equal rights ordinance, with Parker calling it
overly broad.
The
subpoenas, handed down to five pastors and religious leaders last month, came
to light this week when attorneys for the group of pastors filed a motion to
quash the request. Though Feldman stood behind the subpoena in an interview
Tuesday, he and Parker said during the Mayor’s weekly press conference
Wednesday that the wording was problematic.
Feldman is
monitoring the case, he said, but had not seen the subpoena written by outside
counsel working pro-bono for the city until this week. Parker said she also did
not know about the request until this week.
Have to
wonder: does the city of Houston, the fourth largest in the United States,
normally farm out sensitive city legal business to outside lawyers, and then
not bother to read what’s been submitted in its name by them?
“There’s no
question the wording was overly broad,” she said. “But I also think there was
some misinterpretation on the other side.”
YOU ARE
COMMANDED to appear and produce and permit inspection and copying of the
documents identified in the attached “Exhibit A” at the offices of SUSMAN
GODFREY LLP, 1000 Louisiana Street, Suite 5100, Houston Texas 77002, on October
10,2014 by 5PM.
EXHIBIT A TO
SUBPOENA ON PASTOR STEVE RIGGLE
3.
“Document” and “documents,” mean all documents and tangible things, in the
broadest sense allowed by Rule 192.3(b) and comment 2 of the Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure, and include, but are not limited to, any writings, drawings,
graphs, charts, photographs, phonograph records, tape recordings, notes,
diaries, calendars, checkbooks, books, papers, accounts, electronic or
videotape recordings, and any computer-generated, computer-stored, or
electronically-stored matter that constitute or contain matters relevant to the
subject matter of this lawsuit. The terms include, but are not limited to,
emails, instant messages, text messages, or other responsive data or information
that exists in electronic or magnetic form, and such responsive data should be
produced pursuant to Rule 196.4 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
4.
“Communications” means every direct or indirect disclosure, receipt, transfer,
or exchange of information, inquiry or opinion, however made, whether oral,
visual, in writing or otherwise, including without limitation any conversation
or discussion by means of letter, note, package, invoice, statement, notice,
memorandum, inter-office correspondence, telephone, telegraph, email, telex,
telecopies, text message, instant message, cable communicating data processors,
or some other electronic or other medium.
10. You are
to produce all documents, as defined above, that are in Your possession,
control or custody or in the possession, control or custody of any attorney for
You. Without limiting the term “control,” a document is deemed to be within
Your control if You have ownership, possession or custody of the document, or
the right to secure the document or copy thereof from any person or public or
private entity having physical possession thereof.
11. All
duplicates or copies of documents are to be provided to the extent they have
handwriting, additions, or deletions of any kind different from the original
document being produced.
II.
REQUESTED DOCUMENTS
1.
All
documents or communications to, from, CCing, BCCing, or forwarded to you, or
otherwise in your possession, relating or referring to any of the following in
connection in any way with HERO, the Petition:
a. Plaintiffs,
b. Annise Parker or the Mayor’s office,
c. Anna Russell or the City Secretary’s office,
d. David Feldman or the City Attorney’s office,
e. HERO or any drafts of HERO,
f. the Petition, or any drafts of the Petition, including any discussions relating to the language included at the top of the Petition,
g. the legal requirements for petitions under Texas, Houston municipal, or any other law,
h. Petition signers,
i. Petition Circulators,
j. affidavits filled out by Petition Circulators, including the notarization of the affidavits,
k. the payment of Petition Circulators,
l. funding of the Petition or petition drives,
m. the topics of equal rights, civil rights, homosexuality, or gender identity,
n. language relating to restroom access,
o. language related to restroom access being or having been removed from a version of HERO, including any communications related to the removal of that language,
p. any discussion about whether or how HERO does or does not impact restroom access.
2. All communications to or from Plaintiffs.
3. All communications with the City regarding HERO or the Petition.
4. All communications with members of your congregation regarding HERO or the Petition.
5. All communications with Joe La Rue or anyone else at the “Alliance Defending Freedom” regarding HERO or the Petition.
6. All drafts of the Petition.
7. All lists of Petition Circulators.
8. All communications to or from Petition Circulators.
9. Any documents relating to the payment of Petition Circulators, including but not limited to:
10 a. budgets related to the payment of Petition Circulators,
b. check stubs or check registers reflecting payments to Petition Circulators,
c. copies of checks made out to Petition Circulators,
d. tax forms relating to the payment of Petition circulators,
e. documents explaining calculation of payment to Petition Circulators,
f. documents referencing incentives given to Petition Circulators for obtaining
certain numbers of signatures or completing a certain number of pages.
10. Any documents relating to funding and funding sources of the Petition and Petition-related activities.
11. All training materials prepared for Petition Circulators or anyone else involved in the collection of any signatures for the Petition.
12. All speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession.
There’s more
is this piece. For the rest of this (cogent and articulate) hammer job on
Houston, see: http://www.standfirminfaith.com/?/sf/page/31580 . We also recommend
bloggers link directly to Stand Firm.
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