Deposition Disclosure Fights Involve Robo-Signers and Sheriff Joe Arpaio
May depositions be posted on the Internet or otherwise released to the public? A Florida lawyer who posted robo-signer testimony and an Arizona sheriff targeted in a racial profiling lawsuit are taking opposite stands in court battles over the issue.
Sarasota, Fla., lawyer Christopher Forrest is challenging a temporary injunction requiring him to take down the robo-signer depositions he had uploaded to YouTube, the Bradenton Herald reports. In the videos, four title company employees testified they signed as many as 5,000 documents a day.
The title company argues the employees now fear for their safety. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which supports Forrest in his appeal, says the videos are a public service that shouldn’t be subject to a gag order.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona’s Maricopa County has lost a bid to prevent public release of depositions by sheriff’s officials in a racial profiling lawsuit, the Associated Press reports. The Arizona Republic reported in January that a deposition by Arpaio in the suit revealed he has not read the book he co-authored, Joe’s Law—America’s Toughest Sheriff Takes on Illegal Immigration, Drugs and Everything Else That Threatens America.
“In depositions, they’ll ask you questions 100 different ways and try to trick you,” Arpaio told the Arizona Republic.
