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marrec

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
6,775
That depends. First, the only public documents in a lawsuit are those that are publicly filed with the court. Discovery documents are not typically filed with the court; usually they are just exchanged between the parties. That said, discovery documents often do find their way into public filings as exhibits or evidentiary offerings made in connection with filed motions, hearings, or trials.

HOWEVER, protective orders are sometimes put in place that limit what discovery can be filed publicly. If the information at issue is particularly sensitive, like a trade secret or other proprietary information, then it is likely a protective order would be sought by the producing party that would prohibit the information from being filed in a way that is accessible to the public. Any such filings would instead be made under seal or in a redacted format.

Thanks for the specifics!
 

Kronotech

Member
Oct 28, 2017
509
They're suing him for defamation. In order to make the case they have to show he knowing lied. If it turns out he doesn't actually believe that shit then they get the batcave, as it were.
Basically, these kind of cases rest entirely on the discovery of previously private documents.

If Alex Jones, in the documents that are uncovered, is proven to have been knowingly lying in order to profit at the expense of these specific people then he loses the case.

Personally, I don't think discovery was necessary, as he has in other court documents said that the Alex Jones radio persona is a character and he doesn't believe anything he says... but it's nice that they get to blow open his entire shitty operation in pursuit of the truth.

Ah I see, thank you. For some reason I thought these documents were the result of the lawsuit, not given for it.
 

CopperPuppy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,636
I imagine none of this will be under seal though.
Well, literally none of it is going to be under seal unless (1) plaintiffs attempt to file a portion of the discovery materials with a motion or other filing, (2) a protective order is in place, and (3) a showing for why it needs to be filed under seal is made and granted by the court. Sometimes (2) automatically satisfies (3), if that makes sense, but not always.

But I'm curious of your reasoning here, because I have worked in several federal court cases where financial information is properly subject to a protective order. In fact, every federal case I'm on where internal financials have been exchanged has had a protective order for that information in place.
 

B-Dubs

That's some catch, that catch-22
General Manager
Oct 25, 2017
32,794
Imagine if we found out that InfoWars got their conspiracy marching orders from the Mercers, the NRA, the RNC, or *insert other nefarious organization here*
That would open a gigantic bag of worms.

Well, literally none of it is going to be under seal unless (1) plaintiffs attempt to file a portion of the discovery materials with a motion or other filing, (2) a protective order is in place, and (3) a showing for why it needs to be filed under seal is made and granted by the court. Sometimes (2) automatically satisfies (3), if that makes sense, but not always.

But I'm curious of your reasoning here, because I have worked in several federal court cases where financial information is properly subject to a protective order. In fact, every federal case I'm on where internal financials have been exchanged has had a protective order for that information in place.
Like I said, I'm not a lawyer, but this is a civil suit and I'm not sure having any of it under seal would help when what they'd be looking to protect would be the very thing that would come out if Jones lost the case in the first place. I don't think InfoWars is competing with anyone in that specific market and the only thing I could see them wanting to protect is the idea that they believe the crazy in the first place. (because that's what makes them the money). But in this case I would defer to your experience.
 

marrec

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
6,775
That would open a gigantic bag of worms.

Alright since we got someone here who can answer this:

CopperPuppy lets say for whatever reason Mueller becomes interested in the discovered documents, can he request them without prior court order? Can someone going through the documents provided see an invoice for "Talking Good About Trump" paid by "Vladimir Lenin" and send that along to Mueller?

This is all pie in the sky speculation obviously, I doubt Jones is THAT important, but just hypothetically.
 

CopperPuppy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,636
Like I said, I'm not a lawyer, but this is a civil suit and I'm not sure having any of it under seal would help when what they'd be looking to protect would be the very thing that would come out if Jones lost the case in the first place. I don't think InfoWars is competing with anyone in that specific market and the only thing I could see them wanting to protect is the idea that they believe the crazy in the first place. (because that's what makes them the money). But in this case I would defer to your experience.
If the information is properly classified as a trade secret, then a good faith motion for sealing or redacting it in public filings can be made and will likely be granted. A trade secret is any compilation of information (or process, design, formula, etc.) that a company has kept confidential, is not generally known to others, and which can be used to obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers. Internal marketing and financial documents would certainly fall into this category (unfortunately in this case).

Again, that doesn't mean none of this is going to come out. Some of it likely will, and allusions to and summaries of it almost certainly will. Lawyers have clever ways of complying with protective orders while leveraging the protected information to their advantage in filings. Being forced to produce confidential information puts tremendous pressure on the producing party. And when you reach the trial stage, courts are generally loathe to draw the curtains on the courthouse and keep proceedings secret from the public. Which is all a way of saying that this ruling will be putting pressure on Jones in a number of different ways.
 

Parch

Member
Nov 6, 2017
7,980
The garbage comments along with widespread apathy after the Sandy Hook incident significantly adds to the tragedy.
 

KtotheRoc

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
56,683
Just saw this, and all I can think was "Good. Fuck this guy."

As if the families of those children didn't go through enough pain from what happened, this asshole and those like him made things so much worse for them.
 

CopperPuppy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,636
Alright since we got someone here who can answer this:

CopperPuppy lets say for whatever reason Mueller becomes interested in the discovered documents, can he request them without prior court order? Can someone going through the documents provided see an invoice for "Talking Good About Trump" paid by "Vladimir Lenin" and send that along to Mueller?

This is all pie in the sky speculation obviously, I doubt Jones is THAT important, but just hypothetically.
So Mueller and his investigation are not a part of this litigation, so they cannot properly compel Jones or Infowars to produce anything to them in connection with this particular case. However, Mueller has significant subpoena power as a part of his investigation. If he had reason to suspect that Jones or Infowars had information or documents relevant to his investigation, it is likely he would simply subpoena them without need for a lawsuit. As you know, Mueller has been going after much, much bigger fish with his subpoena authority than Jones.

Also, in the context of this case, should the documents be subject to a protective order and eventually filed under seal, then he has the option of petitioning the court to unseal the documents for X, Y, and Z reasons. But again, he wouldn't bother with this when his investigative powers grant him formidable subpoena reach.
 

SaintBowWow

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,085
So do they basically just need evidence that Alex Jones intentionally spread this lie for ratings and product sales? I'm pretty sure they're going to find their evidence.
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
If ever you feel a modicum of sympathy for Jones, go back and watch photos and footage of the grieving parents and the dead school children covered in blood. And remind yourself that Alex Jones said this was a hoax and that no one died and it was faked.
 
Oct 25, 2017
34,812
And now, a preview of the next episode of InfoWars

"AND THAT'S WHY BERNIE SANDERS IS SECRETLY A GERBIL PERSON! On another note, you may have read on your Facebook feed that I have lost a legal battle against those hoax-masters behind the fake Sandy Hook shooting. First off, how dare you read news that isn't mine I WORK HARD TO BE YOUR ONE NEWS SOURCE! Secondly, that is a false story planted by the deep state globalist goblins! INFOWARS IS STRONGER THAN EVER! I'M STRONGER THAN EVER! I WILL DISMANTLE THE DEEP STATE WITH MY GODDAMN TEETH! RAAAAAAAH AAAAAAAAAAH I WILL WIIIIIN AAAAAAAAAAH! *10 seconds of heavy breathing* On an unrelated note, I am stopping all sales of my store for the time being. God is telling me that the globalists are after people that buy things from my store, and I want to protect you. Yeah that's the ticket..."
 

Buckle

Member
Oct 27, 2017
41,163
Imagine if we found out that InfoWars got their conspiracy marching orders from the Mercers, the NRA, the RNC, or *insert other nefarious organization here*
Wouldn't surprise me.

If the man ever had real convictions in his lunacy, they're long gone. He's just following the sweet scent of fear money.
 

GameAddict411

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,525
Basically, these kind of cases rest entirely on the discovery of previously private documents.

If Alex Jones, in the documents that are uncovered, is proven to have been knowingly lying in order to profit at the expense of these specific people then he loses the case.

Personally, I don't think discovery was necessary, as he has in other court documents said that the Alex Jones radio persona is a character and he doesn't believe anything he says... but it's nice that they get to blow open his entire shitty operation in pursuit of the truth.
This doesn't sound good for the families? What stops Alex from going to his office right now, and wiping every evidence of his knowledge? Seems tough to prove. Also the burden of proof sounds ridiculous to me.
 

Sean

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,591
Longview
I sincerely hope that this piece of trash ends up homeless, penniless, and completely alone with no one to support him. That would be the absolute *least* he deserves after the extra hell he put the victims of his harassment campaigns through after their already horrific tragedy of losing children.
 

FormatCompatible

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,071
Freaking great news! Hope he loses every penny that he gained from that vomit-inducing garbage he called a show.
 

Ronabo

Member
Oct 26, 2017
792
OHIO
They should strap him in a chair and keep his eyes pried open while they show him pictures and videos of the aftermath Clockwork Orange style.
 

BowieZ

Member
Nov 7, 2017
3,975
an invoice for "Talking Good About Trump" paid by "Vladimir Lenin"
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