In the ongoing challenge to Congressional legislation that transfered the Mt. Soledad Veterans' Memorial (with its Mt. Soledad Cross) to the federal government, last month a California federal magistrate judge quashed plaintiffs' attempt to depose Thomas More Law Center regional director Charles Li Mandri. Li Mandri gave advice to the principal sponsors of the federal law. (See prior posting.) Plaintiffs then filed objections to the magistrate's order. Last week a federal district judge rejected those objections.
In Trunk v. City of San Diego, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75787 (SD CA, Oct. 11, 2007), the court held that nothing Li Mandri might say would likely lead to the discovery of relevant evidence on whether a reasonable observer would consider the legislation to have the effect of endorsing religion. A reasonable observer would not look to the views of advocacy groups, nor would an observer consider private information that had not been disclosed. The court also agreed with the magistrate's concerns about limits imposed by the Speech or Debate clause of the Constitution and about protecting non-party activists and political opponents from harassment.
