Anderson v. Hale
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
2001 WL 641113
- Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD
Facts
Reverend Stephen Tracy Anderson (plaintiff) filed a § 1985(3) civil-rights claim against Matthew F. Hale and two others (defendants) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Anderson alleged that the defendants conspired to deprive him of his federally protected rights when they physically injured him. During discovery, Anderson issued subpoenas to several state bars for their investigative files relating to Hale’s applications for admission to those state bars. Citing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 26(b)(1)’s general scope of discovery, Anderson claimed the files were discoverable because information about Hale’s character and fitness to practice law was relevant to Anderson’s claim and other information in the files could lead to the discovery of admissible evidence in Anderson’s civil rights action. Hale filed an emergency motion to stay Anderson’s subpoenas and argued that the information in those files was not relevant to Anderson’s lawsuit, nor was it reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Ashman, J.)
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