Filed: Jun. 26, 2014
Latest Update: Jun. 26, 2014
Summary: ORDER W. LOUIS SANDS, District Judge. Before the Court is Defendant Stewart Parnell's Omnibus Motion to Preclude the Government from Obtaining Potentially Privileged Documents. (Doc. 168.) In the motion, Parnell "moves the Court for an Order requiring the Government to cease and desist from all efforts to obtain documents or information from Peanut Corporation of America's former counsel." As grounds for such relief, Parnell argues that the Government has used, and should continue to use, a "
Summary: ORDER W. LOUIS SANDS, District Judge. Before the Court is Defendant Stewart Parnell's Omnibus Motion to Preclude the Government from Obtaining Potentially Privileged Documents. (Doc. 168.) In the motion, Parnell "moves the Court for an Order requiring the Government to cease and desist from all efforts to obtain documents or information from Peanut Corporation of America's former counsel." As grounds for such relief, Parnell argues that the Government has used, and should continue to use, a "t..
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ORDER
W. LOUIS SANDS, District Judge.
Before the Court is Defendant Stewart Parnell's Omnibus Motion to Preclude the Government from Obtaining Potentially Privileged Documents. (Doc. 168.) In the motion, Parnell "moves the Court for an Order requiring the Government to cease and desist from all efforts to obtain documents or information from Peanut Corporation of America's former counsel." As grounds for such relief, Parnell argues that the Government has used, and should continue to use, a "taint team" to identify privileged documents, and that efforts to collect discovery are now untimely. The Court heard argument on this motion at the June 24, 2014 hearing, and the Government represented that any documents from PCA's former counsel would go through a taint team and that Parnell could provide the taint attorney with a joint defense agreement to determine whether it applies to any of the documents.
Parnell's motion is DENIED. He has not cited any authority for the proposition that the Government's proposed use of a taint team is improper or violates his rights. Cf. United States v. Sutton, No. 5:08-cv-40 (HL), 2009 WL 481411, at *9 (M.D. Ga. Feb. 25, 2009) (holding that there was no evidence agents intruded on defendant's attorney-client privilege where Government used taint team to screen documents). Nor has he provided any authority for the proposition that the taint team must first release the documents to defense before providing them to the prosecutors in this case. Parnell also failed to identify any law to show that the Government's discovery efforts are untimely. Therefore, the Government is permitted to use the taint team as it has previously used the team in this case, and Parnell may provide the taint-team attorney with a copy of his joint defense agreement, so that the same may be considered with other pertinent information.
In addition, for the reasons stated at the June 24 hearing, the Government's Motion for Hearing (Doc. 188) is GRANTED. Likewise, the defendants' motions to join or adopt (Docs. 176, 177, 178, 180, 181) are GRANTED, with the caveat that the Court will consider only those arguments, facts, and law specifically raised in the adopted brief or in the motion to adopt. Michael Parnell Motion to Excuse (Doc. 182) is DENIED as moot.
SO ORDERED.
