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Miller is the Hollywood stuntwoman who came forward just before the recall election last fall to publicly allege that Arnold Schwarznegger groped her, then was labeled a criminal by his campaign spokesman. The incident has turned into a libel suit that goes to court today for arguments over whether Miller's attorneys (among them Glora Allred) will get to depose the governor and his aides. Schwarzenegger's attorney calls Miller's case absurd. The scene-setter is by Greg Krikorian in the L.A. Times.
* Update: Ain't gonna happen. Judge Robert Hess ruled that the governor may be asked written questions but does not have to testify in court.
Also in Arnold Land: Today's The Buzz column in the Sacramento Bee reports on a Shriver who thinks Schwarzenegger kisses presidential butt, and on the pending sale of one house on the old Schwarzenegger estate in Pacific Palisades.
I think Sean Walsh danced a little too close to the edge on this one... the depositions should be very interesting.
Update: Ain't gonna happen. Judge Robert Hess ruled that the governor may be asked written questions but does not have to testify in court.
This is a somewhat inaccurate summary interpretation of what the judge ruled. Part of the problem is the inaccurate reporting by AP, being picked up by KNBC.
The judge most specifically did not rule that Arnold would not have to testify in court. That issue was not even raised in the motion at question.
We're talking about discovery depositions at this point, not actual testimony. Depositions are rarely done in court. If the judge had ruled in Allred's favor, the questioning would be done in a closed conference room somewhere, not in open court.
As noted in the Reuters report picked up by FindLaw, which I link at the bottom, "[Judge] Hess said he could reconsider his order if Miller's lawyers find evidence that Schwarzenegger was involved in sending a potentially defamatory e-mail about Miller to reporters."
So Arnold won't be questioned now in person, but he may be in the future, pending what is revealed in the interrogatories or what Allred's investigators find. And, when the matter goes to trial, he could be subpoenaed to testify.
I would imagine the primary reason Allred wanted to depose Arnold now was to embarrass him. It likely was more a PR ploy than a legal strategy.
Actually, in total, the judge's ruling was more in Allred's favor than Arnold's, although she lost on the PR point. Arnold's side lost on all their other motion points.
http://news.findlaw.com/politics/s/20040323/peopleschwarzeneggerdc.html
In the future, when linking to news stories about legal issues, I might suggest you use FindLaw's news site. They generally pick up more extensive and accurate pieces than KNBC et al.
Here's a link to FindLaw's news page:
http://news.findlaw.com/
Posted by: Elise Zucker at March 23, 2004 02:05 PMPoint taken, Elise. Thanks.
Posted by: L.A. Observed at March 23, 2004 02:23 PM
of LA Observed
Ken and John trashed and ridiculed Ronda Miller on their KFI drive time show, implying she was a prostitute--without checking to see whose arrest record they actually had in their possession. They also trashed and insulted the striking supermarket employees for months on end--calling them stupid, illiterate and ignorant. Ken & John should take their squeaky, high-pitched and snarly voices elsewhere.
Posted by: Patricia at March 22, 2004 08:00 AM