You have got to be friggin' kidding me!?
Kathleen Seidel, blogger at neurodiversity.com, has been subpoenaed by Rev. Lisa Sykes and Seth Sykes to appear in their case against the Bayer company. Their case alleges that mercury additives to vaccines caused their son's autism.
Now Seidel is a blogger who has taken repeated issue with both the theory that mercury in vaccines causes autism and their tactics in pressing this position. It would appear that a recent post -- The Commerce in Causation which details the particularly slimy behavior of one Mr. Clifford Shoemaker, a personal injury lawyer who is making a career of prosecuting vaccine companies on spurious science -- got the anti-vaccinationists goat in a bad way.
They issued a subpoena for her to appear in a case that she has nothing to do with. In addition, this particularly intrusive subpoena demands all sorts of documents unrelated to the Bayer case:
9. The subpoena commands production of "all documents pertaining to the setup, financing, running, research, maintaining the website http://www.neurodiversity.com" - including but not limited to material mentioning the plaintiffs - and the names of all persons "helping, paying or facilitating in any fashion" my endeavors. The subpoena demands bank statements, cancelled checks, donation records, tax returns, Freedom of Information Act requests, LexisNexis® and PACER usage records. The subpoena demands copies of all of my communications concerning any issue which is included on my website, including communications with representatives of the federal government, the pharmaceutical industry, advocacy groups, non-governmental organizations, political action groups, profit or non-profit entities, journals, editorial boards, scientific boards, academic boards, medical licensing boards, any "religious groups (Muslim or otherwise), or individuals with religious affiliations," and any other "concerned individuals."
What the hell!?
This is a clear attempt to bully and intimidate a blogger for her differing opinions. And this subpoena is just unbelievable. In what way are these documents necessary to this case? This woman does not work for a company that makes vaccines. Instead of getting information necessary for the case, this subpoena is intended to intimidate someone who has repeatedly exposed the poor reasoning and poor science of these cranks. It is a legal witch hunt to get dirt on a private citizen.
Let's set aside the issue that there is not a shred of evidence that vaccines cause autism. If you choose to believe that, great...you have fun with that. I won't mince words. If you choose not to get your kids vaccinated, you are endangering their lives. The Constitution doesn't ban stupid. (Fortunately, because if it did Jenny McCarthy would be so in jail by now.)
You are entitled to that opinion, and you are entitled to sue these companies if you believe you have been injured. These companies are likewise entitled to defend themselves.
However, if you are determined to advocate that point of view, let me advise against acting like malicious thugs. That is exactly what this is. It is a flagrant attempt to silence free speech. It is a flagrant attempt to silence the free press. It is a flagrant attempt to silence good science with fear and litigation.
Seidel has -- absolutely reasonably -- filed a motion to quash the subpeona. If there is anything good and right in the world, the judge will not only quash it. He will tongue lash this slime-sucking parasite of an attorney for this farce in court. If we lived in a just universe, we would bring back public flogging just for this case. From her motion to quash:
17. The subpoena was not issued in good faith because its manifest purpose is not to elicit information relevant to determining Bayer's liability for Wesley Sykes' medical and developmental problems, but to indulge his parents' and their attorney's curiosity about my motivations and associations; to aggressively communicate their suspicion that I am not merely a fellow citizen who openly, intelligently and conscientiously disagrees with their public statements and actions, but a covert agent of the government, the pharmaceutical industry, or some other hidden force; to disrupt my relationships with my associates and news sources; and to intimidate, harass and retaliate against me for exercising my constitutional right to report and express opinions about matters of widespread public interest in which plaintiffs and plaintiffs' counsel are involved. These are not legitimate reasons to invoke the judicial subpoena power. Indeed, in so doing, Mr. Shoemaker has engaged in a sanctionable abuse of his authority as an officer of the court.
Amen to that.
Further, if I were Seidel, I would contact the Electronic Frontier Foundation. I would love to see them have a field day with this nonsense.
Hat-tip: PalMD
UPDATE: More at Overlawyered:
The subpoena contains no indication that Seidel herself is accused of defaming anyone or violating any other legal rights of any party. Instead it seems she is being dragged in as a third-party witness in Shoemaker's suit on behalf of his clients, Rev. Lisa Sykes and Seth Sykes, against vaccine maker Bayer. Although Seidel has been a remarkably diligent blogger on autism-vaccine litigation, I can find no indication that she is in possession of specialized knowledge that Shoemaker would not be able to obtain for his clients through more ordinary means.
Instead, the first phrase that occurred to me on looking through the subpoena was "fishing expedition", and the second was "intimidation". Several clauses indicate that Shoemaker is hoping to turn up evidence that Seidel has accepted support from the federal government, or from vaccine makers, which she says she hasn't. Also among the documents demanded: Seidel's correspondence with other bloggers.
UPDATE: Sam comments:
I take some issue with the statement, "If you choose not to get your kids vaccinated, you are endangering their lives." This part is true. But what you left out is the fact that you are endangering others' lives as well. Vaccination programs only work on a community-wide scale.
Let me make something clear. Sam, you are preaching to the choir. Not only is it indescribable stupidity not innoculate your child, it is a moral wrong that endangers other children. I do not consider it acceptable behavior for parents to flout the wisdom of the medical community and endanger others.
This is why people like Mr. Shoemaker are scum of the first order. They are endangering everyone. Not cool. Not right. Not ethical.
The judge should nail this guy to the wall for this.
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"If there is anything good and right in the world, the judge will not only quash it. He will tongue lash this slime-sucking parasite of an attorney for this farce in court."
The reality is that that Kathleen Seidel is being forced into the position of having to use her own time and resources to quash this subpoena, and chances are slim that the "slime sucking parasite of an attorney" (you lose points for the redundant use of slime sucking parasite to describe an attorney)will suffer no ill effects as a result. While I doubt this will get the same media attention as the 54 million dollar pants lawsuit, the underlying premise is the same. The courts seldom police attorneys who use legal tactics as an assault weapon.
We're watching this, thank you for posting!
Talk about abuse of the legal system! Shoemaker should at least receive a verbal reprimand and a mark on his record (Slap On the Wrists)...
Wotta maroon!
This is one of the most egregious examples of the mercury-autism crowd's love of bullying tactics. Scientists have been threatened, nonbeliever parents have been harassed, and bloggers (as here) have had legal sabres rattled at them.
What the Sykeses and their ilk may not have appreciated is that Kathleen Seidel's little toe is smarter than Cliff Shoemaker. He probably cried when he read her motion to quash.
Can she sue? If so, she should... both as a statement and for her time/money.
Hey, good idea. Maybe I could get Eli Stone to help me out.
The good guys can and do win these things. When Nancy Stouffer tried and failed to claim that J.K. Rowling ripped off her barely-published kid's book Rah (the cover of which Stouffer faked to read "Rah and the Muggles" to bolster her case), the judge ordered her to pay $50,000 plus court costs. The case took three years to wind its course, but that was mostly because the wholesale deception on Stouffer's part (which included forging sales reciepts for her book) wasn't discovered until around two and a half years into the case.
WHat is the purpose of the ""religious groups (Muslim or otherwise)" line? Is Ms Seidel a Muslim herself?
I take some issue with the statement, "If you choose not to get your kids vaccinated, you are endangering their lives." This part is true. But what you left out is the fact that you are endangering others' lives as well. Vaccination programs only work on a community-wide scale. If half of the people stopped getting pertussis vaccine, then we would have an outbreak of pertussis, leading to the deaths of many infants. As we've seen in other countries, when part of the population stops being vaccinated against polio virus, the incidence rises. As a pediatrician, I've taken care of infants who have stopped breathing because of a pertussis infection. Their immunity takes a few months to establish, and early in life, they are at the mercy of the fact that others around them have been vaccinated. The same goes for hepatitis. If your teenager contracted hepatitis B as an STD from someone who refused vaccination as an infant, I think you would agree that their parents' decision affected more than just themselves. This is the crux of the matter - I believe that all children should have mandatory vaccinations in order to have the privilege of living in this (comparatively) healthy country. For the most part this has worked - with very few dissenters - certainly not enough to tip the balance toward many outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses. On the other hand, as the press coverage on this (non) issue grows, more and more parents are coming into the office requesting that their children not be vaccinated. The individual risk to their child of getting one of these diseases is low, but taken as a whole, it is a growing danger to this country.
"What is the purpose of the "religious groups (Muslim or otherwise)" line?"
Over a decade ago, I was a student of Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam. I developed a major website on the subject, and wrote and published online Serving the Guest: Food for Remembrance, a historical cookbook with essays discussing Muslim and Sufi beliefs and traditions regarding food, eating, meals and hospitality.
These days, my attention and energies are directed elsewhere.
It is a mystery to me how anyone might regard my past or present religious beliefs or affiliations as being at all relevant to the issues raised in the Sykes' lawsuit.
Thank you Ms Seidel.
It is a rather strange comment to add in a legal document. Surely "religious groups" would suffice withough needing to add the "Muslim or otherwise" bit.
Best of luck fighting this nonsense.
Thanks for picking up on this, Jake. If the subpoena isn't quashed, I do fear that it will have a chilling effect on the blogosphere.
I am one of the 100+ bloggers named in item 5 of the subpoena. I suspect Shoemaker's office just put in every blogger on the Neurodiversity blogroll.
For those interested, I am keeping a running list of responses to the Seidel subpoena at I Speak of Dreams.
Holy crap! Kathleen Seidel has to go through all of this and she still retains her sense of humor!
I am in awe of you!
My plan is to forge many blog links to articles by Ms. Seidel, vaccine-crankism, frivolous lawyering, money-grubbying by anti-vaccine crusaders, lack of expertise in their 'expert' witnesses, the actual history of diseases and vaccination, and the real scientists who do the work. This is no time to cower. If someone starts throwing ice cubes at one blogger, and we all step into the line of fire, they might re-think their strategy. And when someone looks up vaccines on the web, they will link to the ever more popular scientific facts and the ever more authoritative pro-science blogs.
I've already started on my blog with a couple of links to Neurodiversity. Coincidentally, I have few posts about Maurice Hilleman, who should be at least as famous as Jonas Salk. But I'd never heard of him until I read his obituary. He developed about forty vaccines and is credited with saving more than 25 million lives.
Whoa! Back the train of rhetoric up...allow me to play Devil's Advocate (personally I agree w/ the sheer stupidity of it all).
"It is a flagrant attempt to silence the free press. It is a flagrant attempt to silence good science w/ fear and litigation."
There's no attempt to SILENCE anything...the "anything" is ALREADY out there...they're only attempting to acquire what they want/might want/could conceivably want to support their case (their right to sue the companies, remember?)
Now before you utter filthy words such as "precedent" (ick), keep in mind that this is not our problem...we DO THE WORK, and deal w/ the other stuff as it rears its ugly head. THAT is the price you pay for being a blogger...(personally, I think its a small price to pay...)
Hello, dilemma
My name is Marci Joy I can be reached @ 505-401-0613 after 9pm or via e-mail. I have a very serious dilemma and time is running out. I have been in negotiation w/ Wal-Mart for a slip and fall injury case that occurred on June 14, 2005. I sustained permanent aggravation of pre-existing conditions that were non-systematic until the fall. I have over 15,000 in medical plus lost wages, etc. The estimate is total 40,000. I had a lawyer who dropped the case 1 ½ year ago w/ a FINAL offer of 5,000. That is not acceptable as it wont even cover my medical. I am an honors student and I have just been accepted to the school of engineering at the University of New Mexico. I have been sent papers to sign for the 5,000 and just cant sign as I am not well physically/mentally to go through being sued for all the medical treatments already rendered. I was so beside myself with Wal-Mart that I had finally verbally agreed to settle for the 5,000 on Jan 11, 2008. Instead of them sending me the paperwork for the 5,000 they sent me a consent for Medicare to be paid in FULL first as Wal-Mart went behind my back and told them to put a LIEN on my money now it is all messed up and I dont have time. I sat for 4 straight days and called every lawyer in the yellow pages to no avail. I am going to be evicted I am unemployed since the date of loss and I will never be able to continue in my waitress job as that is how I have put myself through college. I have all the necessary paperwork and my doctors will testify please can you HELP ME!
I look forward to your reply. I will be on the streets with my babies if you know.
Thank you,
Marci Joy
"There's no attempt to SILENCE anything...the 'anything' is ALREADY out there...they're only attempting to acquire what they want/might want/could conceivably want to support their case (their right to sue the companies, remember?)"
But there is nothing in Ms. Seidel's personal correspondence with her friends, consultations with her attorneys, consultations with her physicians, bank statements, or tax returns that could conceivably make the slightest difference in a lawsuit between people that she has never met and companies that she has never worked for over the cause of an affliction suffered by a child she has never met.
If this Shoemaker thinks she is an expert, then he can jolly well hire her as an expert witness and pay her for her time and expertise, but that obviously isn't what he wants.
There is absolutely no reason to demand massive amounts of documentation from her, including privileged and confidential information, except in order to intimidate her or injure her through forcing her to incur attorneys fees. Note this Shoemaker has offered no compensation for the enormous burden he is trying to put on her.