Opinion
3:21-cv-00276-SLG
07-28-2023
JORDAN BOSTON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. SHAWN NORMAN, et al., Defendants.
ORDER RE MOTION TO COMPEL PRODUCTION
SHARON L. GLEASON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Before the Court at Docket 61 is Plaintiffs' motion to compel production of documents responsive to five production requests. Defendants filed a partial opposition at Docket 64, to which Plaintiffs replied at Docket 67. For the reasons set forth herein, the motion is granted as follows:
The Court finds that an in camera review by the Court of all the records sought in Requests for Production Nos. 4, 5, 6, 9, and 16 is warranted before any of the documents are disclosed to Plaintiffs. See Jones v. Jennings, 788 P.2d 732, 739 (Alaska 1990); Estate of Murphy v. Alaska, Department of Corrections, 2018 WL 3848803 (D. Alaska August 12, 2018).
Therefore, the State of Alaska is ordered to prepare and produce to the Court, for in camera review, a complete and accurate copy of all records regarding Trooper Norman and Trooper Somerville that are responsive to Requests for Production Nos. 4, 5, 6, 9, and 16. In addition, Defendants shall provide the Court with a summary explaining precisely what grounds support their objections to producing any of the documents or categories of documents to Plaintiffs. The summary must cite case law supporting each objection or concede that there is no case law supporting an objection. The records and summary shall be delivered to the undersigned judge within 21 days from the date of this order.
In their filings, Plaintiffs ask that Defendants be ordered to produce a privilege log of any items it withhold, but that is unnecessary since the Court is ordering all of the records to be produced to the Court for in camera review.
The Court will review the records and balance the privacy interests of Trooper Norman and Trooper Somerville against the need for disclosure to Plaintiffs in regard to Plaintiffs' claims in this action. Upon completion of that review, the Court will issue an order giving the parties instructions on what documents, if any, will be disclosed along with how the documents must be handled and who they may be disclosed to so as to protect the confidential nature of the records as much as possible.