U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell on Wednesday said Shurtleff's attorneys failed to meet the "heavy burden" for overturning a previous ruling that the deposition was warranted by Shurtleff's "unusual personal involvement" in the case.
Shurtleff is set to be deposed, or interviewed under oath, on June 6. In a lawsuit, Daren and Barbara Jensen allege that state child welfare employees, doctors and attorneys who report to Shurtleff "maliciously" misled Utah courts in an effort to force Parker to undergo chemotherapy for Ewing's sarcoma. Parker, then 12, was diagnosed with the disease after having a small tumor removed from under his tongue.
His parents asked that a genetic test be run to confirm the diagnosis, but doctors refused. Primary Children's Medical Center then filed a medical neglect claim with the Division of Child and Family Services, which received a court order to take custody of Parker. The Jensens sued in 2005, naming as defendants Richard Anderson, then-DCFS director; Susan Eisenman, an assistant Utah attorney general; and Kari Cunningham, a DCFS social worker.
Shurtleff, for example, told KSL-TV that "Parker's doctor told the Jensens there is a 100 percent chance his cancer will resurface." "It's not just that someone, somewhere, made misrepresentations," Karra Porter, the family's attorney, told Campbell. What's relevant is what Eisenman said in court and to other people - including her boss - about the case, she said.
Parker, now 16, is "great," Porter said outside court. The teen attends high school, is involved in gymnastics and has a lawnmowing business, she said. "He's perfectly normal and happy," Porter said.
Shurtleff had argued he should not be required to give a deposition because he was not personally involved in the case. He "simply received updates from his assistants and discussed strategy with them," Assistant Attorney General Joni Jones told Campbell. "If the attorney general must stop speaking to the media about high-profile cases for fear he will later be deposed, the public, and ultimately public institutions themselves, suffer," Shurtleff said in his request.
But Porter pointed out that in her deposition Eisenman had difficulty recalling certain information. She also said it was not contrary to law to ask Shurtleff to explain the basis of his public statements under oath. "It's reasonable to assume he got that from the person working on the case, which was [Eisenman]," Porter said after the hearing.
News RSS