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1 GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP
Attorneys And Counselors
2 8 East Figueroa Street, Suite 300
Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2762
3 Teleohone: 805-965-5131 Fax: 805-965-6751
4 Craig Price, SBN 51361 price@g-tlaw.com
John C. Eck, SBN 194975 eck@g-tlaw.com
5
DAVIS, BENGTSON & YOUNG, APLC
6 1960 The Alameda, Suite 21 O
San Jose, CA 95126
7 Telephone: 669-245-4200 Fax: 408-985-1814
8 Eric J. Bengtson, SBN 254167 eric@dby-law.com
9 Attorneys for Defendant Carpinteria Unified School District GOVERNMENT ENTITY
EXEMPT FROM FILING FEES
10 GOV. CODE §6103
11
12 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
13 FOR THE COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA
14 ANACAPA DIVISION
15
16 JOHN DOE CLG03277, an individual, CASE NO.: 22CV05053
17 Plaintiff, EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR
ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY
18 V. DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE TO
PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE
19 CARPINTERJA UNIFIED SCHOOL ORDER; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS
DISTRJCT and DOES 1 to 500, Inclusive, AND AUTHORITIES; AND
20 DECLARATION OF JOHN C. ECK IN
Defendants. SUPPORT
21
22 Date; December 21, 2023
Time: 8:15 a.m.
23 Dept. : 3
24
Trial Date: Not Set
25
26 [Assigned for all Purposes to the Honorable
Donna D. Geck]
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GRIFFITH & TI-iORNBURGH, UP
ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
B EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101·2762
1 Ex Parte Application
2 This ex parte application is unopposed by Plaintiff, but Defendant Carpinteria Unified
3 School District ("CUSD") believes it is appropriate to provide the legal authority for the order it
4 seeks rather than provide a stipulation and proposed order to the Court.
5 On October 23, 2023, Defendant CUSD issued a Deposition Subpoena for Production
6 of Business Records to the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office, requesting any and all police
7 reports, investigation reports and supplemental reports related to Virgil Filmore Williams, an
8 interested party herein and the alleged perpetrator. On November 15, 2023, the Santa Barbara
9 County Sheriffs Office responded to the Subpoena and submitted the responsive records to the
10 Court under seal. In order to fully litigate this matter, it is important for the parties have access
11 to those records as soon as possible to further evaluate this case and possibly determine how it
12 will proceed.
13 On December 11, 2023, CUSD counsel contacted the clerk's office to schedule a
14 hearing on the matter. The earliest date available on the Court's calendar to present this matter
15 is March 1, 2023. That is over two months away. How this case proceeds could depend on the
16 information contained in the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office records. It is imperative
17 that the parties have the opportunity to immediately review the produced discovery documents
18 in full in order to determine how to properly and promptly continue to litigate this case. CUSD
19 is requesting full access to those sealed discovery documents to both itself and Plaintiff -
20 conditioned on an agreement to be bound by a protective order.
21 Orders Requested
22 Defendants requests an order from the Court disseminating to it (and the Plaintiff in this
23 action) unsealed discovery documents that have been lodged with this Court under seal in this
24 matter by the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office, in response to a third-party document
25 subpoena issued to it by CUSD. CUSD further requests that the Court issue, and CUSD agrees
26 to be subject to, any protective order concerning use and disclosure limitations regarding the
27 documents that the Court deems necessary to preserve any confidential information.
28 ////
GRIFFITti 6 1liORNBURGti, LLP
ATTORN EYS AND COUNSELORS EX P ARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
8 EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762
1 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES
2 I. INTRODUCTION AND FACTS
3 Defendant CUSD brings this motion to access sealed records submitted to the Court by
4 the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office on November 15, 2023, pursuant to CUSD's
5 subpoena.
6 This case involves child sexual abuse claims alleged to have occurred around 50 years
7 ago involving Mr. Virgil Williams, 1 a prior employee of CUSD. Accordingly, CUSD sought,
8 first through a public records request dated September 27, 2023, then through the issuance of a
9 third-party subpoena on the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office dated October 23, 2023, the
10 following Criminal Records:
11 Any and all police reports, investigation reports and supplemental reports
re Virgil Filmore Williams (birth 1-10-32; death 1-24-10) from 1982 to
12
1987. 2 Santa Barbara Court criminal case no. 160864; police report #C-
13 253552.
14 (See subpoena attached as Exhibit 1 to the Declaration of John C. Eck).
15 In response to CUSD's public records request of September 27, 2023, the Sheriffs
l6 Office indicated that the records sought were confidential and exempt from public disclosure
17 pursuant to sections 11167 and 11167.5 of the Penal Code. (See email communication from the
18 Sheriff attached as Exhibit 2 to the Declaration of John C. Eck.) The Sheriff instructed CUSD
19 to issue a subpoena, and it would submit the responsive records under seal to the Court. (Id.)
20 Therefore, CUSD issued its subpoena on October 23, 2023. The Sheriff submitted under seal
21 responsive documents with the Court on November 15, 2023.
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24 1 Williams is identified as the alleged "PERPETRATOR" in Plaintiffs complaint, as well as in
all of the other complaints filed against CUSD raising similar allegations (22CV04395;
25 22CV03051 ; and 22CV04877). These matters have been consolidated for purposes of
depositions only pursuant to the Stipulation and Order dated November 20, 2023. The Second
26 Amended Complaint in this action alleges sexual abuse "in the early and mid 1970's." (Second
Amended Complaint, 118, page 4, lines 23-24.)
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2The acts alleged in the Second Amended Complaint are alleged to have occurred in the
28 1970's. The acts subject to the criminal action against Williams are believed to have occurred
between 1982-1987.
GRIFFITH 4 TliORNBURGH, UP
ATIORNEYSANOCOUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
8EASTF1GUEROASTREET-STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA. CA 83101-2782
1 The information contained in the subpoenaed documents is discoverable information
2 essential to all parties to this proceeding. Any information contained in the criminal records
3 pertaining to Mr. Williams, who is the named alleged Perpetrator in this case (and all three of
4 the other cases filed against CUSD making similar allegations - see fn. 1 below), is highly
5 relevant to the parties' further discovery and pretrial investigation efforts, and preparation for
6 litigation.
7 CUSD files this motion to unseal 3 all records filed with this Court by the Sheriff's
8 Office in response to its subpoena, and for disclosure and dissemination of, or alternatively,
9 authorized full access to, those unsealed discovery documents to CUSD and Plaintiff
10 (conditioned on its similar agreement to be bound by any protective order entered to ensure the
11 parties use and review of the documents is consistent with protecting any confidential
12 information contained in the documents).
13 II. LEGAL STANDARD
14 To begin with, California's discovery statutes " ' must be construed liberally in favor of
15 disclosure," as "[l]iberal discovery is provided for the sole purpose of preparation and trial, or
16 the settlement of, litigated disputes." (Mercury Interactive Corporation v. Klein (2022) 158
17 Cal.App. 4th 60,117.)
18 The Sheriff relies upon sections 11167 and 1167.5 of the Penal Code when claiming that
19 Virgil Williams' s investigation file is confidential and not subject to disclosure. Section 11167
20 provides that reports of suspected child abuse shall include certain information. It also provides
21 that the identity of all persons who report child abuse shall be confidential and disclosed to
22 certain persons or agencies, "or by court order." (Pen. Code §1 l 167(d)(l).) (Emphasis added.)
23 Thus, this Court is authorized to issue an order disclosing reports of Virgil Williams's suspected
24 child abuse.
25 /Ill
26
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28 3 CUSD seeks only to unseal the documents as to it and all the other parties to this action and
does not seek to unseal the documents to the public.
GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP
ATIORN EYSANOCOUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
BEASTFIGUE ROASTREET -STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101 -2762
1 Moreover, section 11167.5 (relied upon by the Sheriff) provides that reports of child
2 abuse are confidential, but they may be disclosed to persons or agencies to whom disclosure is
3 permitted under section 11167. (Pen. Code § ll 167.5(a).) And, as referenced above, section
4 11167 authorizes the disclosure of the reports pursuant to Court order.
5 The sealed records rules, California Rules of Court Rule 2.550 and 2.551, are
6 inapplicable to the records filed by the Sheriffs Office in this Court in response to CUSD's
7 discovery request. See Rule 2.550 (a)(2) and (3); Mercury Interactive Corporation v. Klein,
8 (2022) 158 Cal.App.4th 60, 120-21.
9 III. ARGUMENT
10 The parties to this action are entitled to obtain discovery "if the matter either is itself
11 admissible in evidence or appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible
12 evidence." (Civ. Proc. § 2017.010.) There is good cause to unseal and disclose or otherwise
13 permit full access to the discovery documents to the parties to this action as the documents are
14 highly relevant to the proceedings. The documents produced by the Sheriffs Office in response
15 to CUSD's subpoena seeking criminal records pertaining to Mr. Williams, the alleged
16 Perpetrator in the matter, are highly relevant to the parties' pretrial discovery, investigation, and
17 litigation preparation. There may be facts referenced in the criminal records that would be
18 relevant to the underlying case issues.
19 The actions of Mr. Williams, and the knowledge or lack of knowledge of CUSD of those
20 actions, are crucial factors in this litigation. Accordingly, CUSD requests this Court order the
21 documents be disclosed and disseminated unsealed to it and the other parties to this action. In
22 making this request, CUSD does not, at this time 4, challenge the position of the Sheriffs Office
23
24 4 Notably, the privacy interests of the criminal defendant referenced in the materials, Mr. Virgil
Williams, are moot as the defendant is long-deceased; the substance of the Plaintiffs'
25 complaints centers on crimes alleged to have been committed in a time period ranging from
1972-1981, and therefore any alleged child victim referenced in the reports (including any of the
26 individual plaintiffs in this action) is now an adult. Finally, the identity of any mandated
reporter or alleged child victim (protected by Penal Code section 11167 and 11167 .5) contained
27 in the documents will not be disseminated to the public or disclosed by the parties, pursuant to
the proposed protective order. The CUSD otherwise reserves its right to challenge the blanket
28 confidential designation of any of the produced documents, or to seek modification of any
protective order entered in this case.
_:~~,:~~1.:°or:~~~:~~~
BEASTFIGUEROASTREET-STE 300
EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762
1 that all of the responsive documents produced are deemed confidential pursuant to Penal Code
2 sections 11165 and 11165.7, and agrees to be subject to a protective order regarding its use and
3 handling of the documents, as follows (or as otherwise specified by the Court):
4 Plaintiff and Defendant, CUSD, their attorneys, attorneys' staff, expert
consultants, investigators, and witnesses shall agree to keep all information
5 contained in the responsive documents confidential and not disclose it to anyone
else. If, and when, any of the information is filed in Court, the parties shall
6
redact all names of any victim of child sexual abuse and or mandatory reporters
7 from the documents filed. Further, if any discovery document is utilized by
either of the litigants or attached to a pleading later filed, the parties will agree to
8 redact all protected names in the document.
9 IV. CONCLUSION
10 For the foregoing reasons, the CUSD requests that this Court order that the documents
11 filed under seal by the Sheriff in response to its subpoena be unsealed and made available to the
12 parties to this action conditioned only on the parties' agreeing to be bound by a protective order
13 entered by the Court.
14 Dated: December 18, 2023. GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP
15
16 By:_ ~ _
Craig Price
_ o--"'
~-- -
17
John Eck, Attorney for Defendant
18 Carpinteria Unified School District
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GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP
ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
B EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762
1 DECLARATION OF JOHN C. ECK
2 I, John C. Eck, declare as follows:
3 1. I am an attorney, licensed to practice before the courts of the State of California,
4 and am a partner in the law firm of Griffith & Thornburgh, LLP _ I am counsel of record for
5 Defendant Carpinteria Unified School District ("CUSD") herein. I have personal knowledge of
6 the following facts and could and would competently testify thereto if called upon to do so.
7 2_ This case involves child sexual abuse claims alleged to have occurred around 50
8 years ago involving Mr_ Virgil Williams, a prior employee of CUSD. My law firm sought, first
9 through a public records request dated September 27, 2023, then through the issuance of a third-
10 party subpoena on the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office ("Sheriffs Office") dated October
11 23, 2023, the following Criminal Records:
12 Any and all police reports, investigation reports and supplemental reports re Virgil
Filmore Williams (birth 1-10-32; death 1-24-10) from 1982 to 1987. Santa Barbara
13 Court criminal case no. 160864; police report #C-253552.
14 3_ In response to our records request of September 27, 2023, the Sheriffs Office
15 indicated that the records sought were confidential and exempt from public disclosure pursuant
16 to sections 11167 and 11167 _5 of the Penal Code. The Sheriff instructed my office to issue a
17 subpoena, and it would submit the responsive records under seal to the Court. Therefore, my
18 office issued its subpoena on October 23, 2023, a true and correct copy of which is attached
19 hereto as Exhibit 1. Email correspondence between my office and the Sheriff's Office is
20 attached hereto as Exhibit 2. The Sheriff submitted under seal responsive documents with the
21 Court on November 15, 2023.
22 4. In order to fully litigate this matter, it is important that the parties have access to
23 the records produced by the Sheriffs office as soon as possible to further evaluate this case and
24 possibly determine how it will proceed. On December 11, 2023, my assistant, Kim Cordero,
25 contacted the clerk's office to schedule the hearing on the matter. She was informed the earliest
26 date available on the Court's calendar to present this matter is March 1, 2023 _ That is over two
27 months away_ How this case proceeds could depend on the information contained in the
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GRI FFIT!i & TiiORNS URGH, LLP
ATIORNEYS ANO COUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
8 EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762
1 Sheriffs records. It is imperative that the parties have the opportunity to immediately review
2 the produced discovery documents in full in order to determine how best to properly and
3 promptly continue to litigate this case. CUSD is requesting full access to those sealed discovery
4 documents to both itself and Plaintiff - condition on an agreement to be bound by a protective
5 order.
6 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the
7 foregoing is true and correct and that this declaration is executed this 181h day of December,
8 2023, at Santa Barbara, California.
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/'JohnG.Eck
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GRIFFITH & THORNB URGH, LLP
ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS
EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
8 EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA, CA 9310 1-2762
SUBP-010
ATTORNEY OR PARTY WITHOUT ATTORNEY (Name, SI ale Bar number, and address): FOR COURT USE ONLY
Craig Price SBN 51361
-
Griffith & Thornburgh , LLP
8 E. Figueroa Street, Suite 300
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
TELEPHONE NO : (805) 965-5131 FAX NO (05) 965-6751
E-MAIL ADD RESS: price@g-tlaw.com
ATTORNEY FDR (Name): Defendant Carpinteria Unified School District
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA
STREET ADDRESS: 1100 Anacapa Street
MAILING ADDRESS:
CllY AND ZIP CODE: Santa Barbara, CA 93101
BRANCH NAME: Anacapa Division
PLAINTIFF/PETITIONER: JOHN DOE CLG03277
DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT: CARPINTERIA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
CASE NUMBER:
DEPOSITION SUBPOENA 22CV05053
FOR PRODUCTION OF BUSINESS RECORDS
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, TO (name, address, and telephone number of deponent, if known):
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, ATTN: CRIMINAL RECORDS
1. YOU ARE ORDERED TO PRODUCE THE BUSINESS RECORDS described in item 3, as follows:
To (name of deposition officer) : Santa Barbara Superior Court, Clerk for Department 4, Judge Geck
On (date): November 15, 2023 At (time) : 9:00 a.m.
Location (address): 1100 Anacapa Street, Department 4, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Do not release the requested records to the deposition officer prior to the date and time stated above.
a. jg] by delivering a true, legible, and durable copy of the business records described in item 3, enclosed in a sealed inner
wrapper with the title and number of the action, name of witness, and date of subpoena clearly written on it. The inner
wrapper shall then be enclosed in an outer envelope or wrapper, sealed, and mailed to the deposition officer at the
address in item 1.
b. Dby delivering a true, legible, and durable copy of the business records described in item 3 to the deposition officer at the
witness's address, on receipt of payment in cash or by check of the reasonable costs of preparing the copy, as determined
under Evidence Code section 1563(b).
c. Dby making the original business records described in item 3 available for inspection at your business address by the
attorney's representative and permitting copying at your business address under reasonable conditions during normal
business hours.
2. The records are to be produced by the dale and time shown in item 1 (but not sooner than 20 days after the issuance of the
deposition subpoena, or 15 days after service, whichever date is later). Reasonable costs of locating records, making them
available_ or copying them, and postage, if any, are recoverable as set forth in Evidence Code section 1563(b). The records shall be
accompanied by an affidavit of the CJ.Jstodian or other qualified witness pursuant to Evidence Code section 1561.
3. The records to be produced are described as follows (if electronically stored information is demanded, the form or
fonns in which each type of information is to be p roduced may be specified):
Any and all police reports, investigation reports, and supplemental reports re Virgil Fil more Williams (birth 1-10-32;
death 1-24-10) from 1982 to 1987 . Santa Barbara Court crimi nal case no. 160864; po lice report #C-25 3552.
D Continued on Attachment 3.
4 . IF YOU HAVE BEEN SERVED WITH THIS SUBPOENA AS A CUSTODIAN OF CONSUMER OR EMPLOYEE RECORDS UNDER
CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE SECTION 1985.3 OR 1985.6 AND A MOTION TO QUASH OR AN OBJECTION HAS BEEN
SERVED ON YOU, A COURT ORDER OR AGREEMENT OF THE PARTIES, WITNESSES, AND CONSUMER OR EMPLOYEE
AFFECTED MUST BE OBTAINED BEFORE YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PRODUCE CONSUMER OR EMPLOYEE RECORDS.
DISOBEDIENCE OF THIS SUBPOENA MAY BE PUNISHED AS CONTEMPT BY THIS COURT. YOU WILL ALSO BE LIABLE
FOR THE SUM OF FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS AND ALL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM YOUR FAILURE TO OBEY.
Date issued: Oct. 23, 2023
Craig Price
(lYPE OR PRINT NAME)
(Proof of service on reverse) Page 1 of 2
Form Adopted ror Mandatory Use Code of C,vil Procedure,§§ 2020 410-2020 440;
Judicial Council of Calirornia
DEPOSITION SUBPOENA FOR PRODUCTION
Governmenl Code, § 68097 1
SUBP-010 IRev January 1, 2012) OF BUSINESS RECORDS www. courts ca gov
EXHIBIT "1" 9
PROOF OF SERVICE
Doe v. CUSD
Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Anacapa Division, Case No. 22CV05053
I, Evelyn R. Downs, declare:
I am employed at Griffith & Thornburgh LLP in the County of Santa Barbara, tale of
California. I am over the age of 18 and not a party to the within action. My business address is
8 East Figueroa Street Suite 300, Santa Barbara, California 93101. My email address is
downs@g-tlaw.com.
On Oct. 23, 2023, I served the document(s) described as DEFEI\TJ>ANT CUSD'S
DEPOSITION SUBPOENA FOR PRODUCTION OF BUSINESS RECORDS on the
interested parties in this action as follows:
By placing the original thereof enclosed in a sealed envelope addressed as follows or as listed
below:
D BY MAIL: As follows: I am' readily familiar' with the fiITTl's practice of collection and
processing correspondence for mailing. Under that practice it would be deposited with
the U.S. postal service on that same day with postage thereon fully prepaid at anta
Barbara, California, in the ordinary course of business. I am aware that on motion of the
party served, service is presumed invalid if postal cancellation date or postage meter date
is more than one day after date of deposit for mailing in affidavit.
D BY OVERNIGHT COURIER: I enclosed the documents in an envelope or package
provided by an o ernight delivery carrier and addres ed to the per ons at the addresses
listed above. I placed the · nvelope or packag for collection and overnight delivery at an
office or a regularly ulilized drop box of the vernight deliver carrier.
~ BY E-MAIL: Per agreement between the parties for electronic service of documents, I
caused the document to be sent to the persons at the e-mail address listed above. I did
not receive, within a reasonable time after the transmission, any electronic message or
other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful.
~ (STATE) I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that
Barbaram~
the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on Oct. 23, 2023, at Santa
Evelyn R. Downs
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Doe v. CUSD
Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Anacapa Division, Case No. 22CV05053
Plaintiff's Counsel:
Pedro "Peter" de la Cerda, Esq.
Edwards & De La Cerda, PLLC
1341 W. Mockingbird Ln Ste 580W
Dallas, TX 7 524 7
E-mail peter@edwardsdelacerda.com
Ryan Cavanaugh, Esq.
Edward J. Kelley
Constant Legal Group LLP
737 Bolivar Rd. , Ste. 440
Cleveland, OH 44115
E-mail: ryan@constantllp.com ed@constantllp.com
Defendant's Co-Counsel:
Eric J. Bengtson
DAVIS, BENGTSON & YOUNG, APLC
1960 The Alameda, Suite 210
San Jose, CA 95126
Email: eric@dby-law.com jheaton@dby-law.com
11
John Eck
From: Evelyn Downs
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2023 3:08 PM
To: 5850 Public Records Center
Cc: snc4967@sbsheriff.org; Craig Price
Subject: RE: [Records Center] Public Records Request :: P001575-092723 - Subpoena and
Acknowledgment of Receipt attached
Attachments: Notice And Acknowledgment Of Receipt-Civil - to Sheriff - 10-23-23.PDF; Deposition
Subpoena For Production Of Business Records - to Sheriff_s Office - 10-23-23.PDF
Sergeant McCoy,
Thank you for your response email below regarding our public records request. Please find attached our Deposition
Subpoena for the records to be delivered, sealed to the Santa Barbara Superior Court, Department 4, in the Doe v.
Carpinteria Unified School District lawsuit.
If you would accept service of the Subpoena via email so that the school district may forego service of process fees, it
would be appreciated. If you agree, please sign and return the Notice of Acknowledgment of Receipt of the Deposition
Subpoena .
When the records are ready to mail to the court, please send me via email or mail an Itemized Statement of the
clerical/copy costs and we will have a check issued promptly.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Evelyn R. Downs, Para.legal
G,,.-, GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH.L P
'&l 41 lOUITS UO ( U HIO!i l s1R(I I 7~
8 E. Figueroa Street - Suite 300
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Ph: 805-965-5131
Fax: 805-965-6751
This email message and any attachments are Intended only for the use of the recipient(s) named above and may contain Information that is
confidential , subject to attorney-client privilege, and/or may be exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not an intended recipient, you
are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution. copying or use of this communication is strictly prohibited . If you received this email message in
error, please immedlalely notify the sender by replying to this message or by telephone and destroy the material in its entirety, whether in electronic or
hard copy format.
From: SBSO Public Records Center
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2023 1:06 PM
To: Evelyn Downs
Cc: snc4967@sbsheriff.org
Subject: [Records Center] Public Records Request:: P001575-092723
1
EXffiBIT "2" 12
--- Please respond above this line ---
O ffice h er iff
Re: Public Records Request of September 27, 2023. Reference#: P001575-092723
Dear Paralegal Evelyn Downs:
The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office has identified records that appear to be responsive to your records
request dated September 27, 2023.
Any information found is confidential and exempt from public disclosure according to the California
Public Records Act. More specifically:
Per California Penal 11167 and 11167 .5, the requested records are exempt from release. If you are still
interested in obtaining the aforementioned records a subpoena will be needed. In addition, due to the
type of records requested, it would need to be sent under seal to the seated Judge of the current court
case.
Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please respond to this email.
Thank you .
Sincerely,
Mike McCoy
Criminal Records Sergeant
Records
To monitor the progress, update this request, or download responsive records, please log into the Public
Records Center.
GoVO\
2
13
1 PROOF OF SERVICE
Doe v. CUSD
2 Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Anacapa Division, Case No. 22CV05053
3 I am employed in the County of Santa Barbara, State of California. I am over the age of
18 and am not a party to the within action; my business address is 8 East Figueroa Street, Suite
4 300 Santa Barbara, California 93101-2762· my business email address is cordero@g-tlaw.com.
5 On December 18, 2023, I served the foregoing document described as EX PARTE
APPLICATON FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND
6 DISCLOSE TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER; MEMORANDUM OF
POINTS AND AUTHORITIES; AND DECLARATION OF JOHN C. ECK IN SUPPORT
7 on interested parties in this action as follows:
SEE ATTACHED SERVICE LIST
8
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D BY MAIL: by placing D the original~ a true copy thereof enclosed in sealed envelopes
10 addressed as shown above or on the attached service list. I am "readily familiar" with the
firm's practice of collection and processing correspondence for mailing. Under that
11 practice it would be deposited with the U.S. postal service on that same day with postage
thereon fully prepaid at Santa Barbara, California, in the ordinary course of business. I
12 am aware that on motion of the party served service is presumed invalid if postal
cancellation date or postage meter date is more than one day after date of deposit for
13 mailing in affidavit.
14 D BY OVERNIGHT COURIER: I enclosed the documents in an envelope or package
provided by an overnight delivery carrier and addressed to the persons at the addresses
15 listed above or on the attached service list. I placed the envelope or package for
collection and overnight delivery at an office or a regularly utilized drop box of the
16 overnight delivery carrier.
17 D BY FACSIMILE: I caused to be transmitted the document described herein via the fax
number listed above or on the attached service list. Upon completion of said facsimile
18 transmission, the transmitting machine issued a transmission report showing the
transmission was complete and without error.
19
D BY PERSONAL SERVICE: I delivered said document by hand to the addressee listed
20 above or on the attached service list.
21 ~ BY E-MAIL (Pursuant to CCR 2.251 and CCP 1010.6): I caused the document to be
sent electronically to the person at the e-mail address listed above or on the attached
22 service list. I did not receive, within a reasonable time after the transmission, any
electronic message or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful.
23
D BY ELECTRONIC FILING SERVICE PROVIDER (EFSP) (Pursuant to CCR 2.251 and
24 CCP 1010.6): I am readily familiar with the firm's practice for filing electronically. I
caused e-service notification to be electronically sent through the certified, court
25 approved EFSP, to the address which was listed as the designated service contact 011 the
EFSP.
26 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the
foregoing is true and correct. ·
27 Executed on December 18, 2023, at Sant~~~JW1EJ«'.~
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GRIFFITHÞBURGH,LLP - - -- - -- - - -- -- - -- - ~- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
ATTORNEYSANDCOUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
BEASTFIGUEROASTREET-STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762
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SERVICE LIST
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Counsel for Plaintiff
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Pedro "Peter" de la Cerda
5 Edwards & De La Cerda, PLLC
1341 W. Mockingbird Ln Ste 580W
6 Dallas, TX 75247
E-mail: peter@edwardsdelacerda.com
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Ryan Cavanaugh
8 Edward J. Kelley
Constant Legal Group LLP
9 737 Bolivar Rd., Ste. 440
Cleveland, OH 44115
10 E-mail: ryan@constantllp.com: ed@constantllp.com
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12 Co-Counsel for Defendant Carpinteria Unified School District
13 Eric J. Bengtson
14 Davis, Bengtson & Young, APLC
1960 The Alameda, Suite 210
15 San Jose, CA 95126
E-mail: eric@dby-law.com
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17 Courtesy copy: Julie Heaton jheaton@dby-law.com
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GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP
ATIORNEYS AND COUNSELORS
EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE
8 EAST FIGUEROA STREET-STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762
Preview
1 GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP Attorneys And Counselors 2 8 East Figueroa Street, Suite 300 Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2762 3 Teleohone: 805-965-5131 Fax: 805-965-6751 4 Craig Price, SBN 51361 price@g-tlaw.com John C. Eck, SBN 194975 eck@g-tlaw.com 5 DAVIS, BENGTSON & YOUNG, APLC 6 1960 The Alameda, Suite 21 O San Jose, CA 95126 7 Telephone: 669-245-4200 Fax: 408-985-1814 8 Eric J. Bengtson, SBN 254167 eric@dby-law.com 9 Attorneys for Defendant Carpinteria Unified School District GOVERNMENT ENTITY EXEMPT FROM FILING FEES 10 GOV. CODE §6103 11 12 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 13 FOR THE COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA 14 ANACAPA DIVISION 15 16 JOHN DOE CLG03277, an individual, CASE NO.: 22CV05053 17 Plaintiff, EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY 18 V. DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE 19 CARPINTERJA UNIFIED SCHOOL ORDER; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS DISTRJCT and DOES 1 to 500, Inclusive, AND AUTHORITIES; AND 20 DECLARATION OF JOHN C. ECK IN Defendants. SUPPORT 21 22 Date; December 21, 2023 Time: 8:15 a.m. 23 Dept. : 3 24 Trial Date: Not Set 25 26 [Assigned for all Purposes to the Honorable Donna D. Geck] 27 28 GRIFFITH & TI-iORNBURGH, UP ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE B EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101·2762 1 Ex Parte Application 2 This ex parte application is unopposed by Plaintiff, but Defendant Carpinteria Unified 3 School District ("CUSD") believes it is appropriate to provide the legal authority for the order it 4 seeks rather than provide a stipulation and proposed order to the Court. 5 On October 23, 2023, Defendant CUSD issued a Deposition Subpoena for Production 6 of Business Records to the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office, requesting any and all police 7 reports, investigation reports and supplemental reports related to Virgil Filmore Williams, an 8 interested party herein and the alleged perpetrator. On November 15, 2023, the Santa Barbara 9 County Sheriffs Office responded to the Subpoena and submitted the responsive records to the 10 Court under seal. In order to fully litigate this matter, it is important for the parties have access 11 to those records as soon as possible to further evaluate this case and possibly determine how it 12 will proceed. 13 On December 11, 2023, CUSD counsel contacted the clerk's office to schedule a 14 hearing on the matter. The earliest date available on the Court's calendar to present this matter 15 is March 1, 2023. That is over two months away. How this case proceeds could depend on the 16 information contained in the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office records. It is imperative 17 that the parties have the opportunity to immediately review the produced discovery documents 18 in full in order to determine how to properly and promptly continue to litigate this case. CUSD 19 is requesting full access to those sealed discovery documents to both itself and Plaintiff - 20 conditioned on an agreement to be bound by a protective order. 21 Orders Requested 22 Defendants requests an order from the Court disseminating to it (and the Plaintiff in this 23 action) unsealed discovery documents that have been lodged with this Court under seal in this 24 matter by the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office, in response to a third-party document 25 subpoena issued to it by CUSD. CUSD further requests that the Court issue, and CUSD agrees 26 to be subject to, any protective order concerning use and disclosure limitations regarding the 27 documents that the Court deems necessary to preserve any confidential information. 28 //// GRIFFITti 6 1liORNBURGti, LLP ATTORN EYS AND COUNSELORS EX P ARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE 8 EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762 1 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES 2 I. INTRODUCTION AND FACTS 3 Defendant CUSD brings this motion to access sealed records submitted to the Court by 4 the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office on November 15, 2023, pursuant to CUSD's 5 subpoena. 6 This case involves child sexual abuse claims alleged to have occurred around 50 years 7 ago involving Mr. Virgil Williams, 1 a prior employee of CUSD. Accordingly, CUSD sought, 8 first through a public records request dated September 27, 2023, then through the issuance of a 9 third-party subpoena on the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office dated October 23, 2023, the 10 following Criminal Records: 11 Any and all police reports, investigation reports and supplemental reports re Virgil Filmore Williams (birth 1-10-32; death 1-24-10) from 1982 to 12 1987. 2 Santa Barbara Court criminal case no. 160864; police report #C- 13 253552. 14 (See subpoena attached as Exhibit 1 to the Declaration of John C. Eck). 15 In response to CUSD's public records request of September 27, 2023, the Sheriffs l6 Office indicated that the records sought were confidential and exempt from public disclosure 17 pursuant to sections 11167 and 11167.5 of the Penal Code. (See email communication from the 18 Sheriff attached as Exhibit 2 to the Declaration of John C. Eck.) The Sheriff instructed CUSD 19 to issue a subpoena, and it would submit the responsive records under seal to the Court. (Id.) 20 Therefore, CUSD issued its subpoena on October 23, 2023. The Sheriff submitted under seal 21 responsive documents with the Court on November 15, 2023. 22 23 24 1 Williams is identified as the alleged "PERPETRATOR" in Plaintiffs complaint, as well as in all of the other complaints filed against CUSD raising similar allegations (22CV04395; 25 22CV03051 ; and 22CV04877). These matters have been consolidated for purposes of depositions only pursuant to the Stipulation and Order dated November 20, 2023. The Second 26 Amended Complaint in this action alleges sexual abuse "in the early and mid 1970's." (Second Amended Complaint, 118, page 4, lines 23-24.) 27 2The acts alleged in the Second Amended Complaint are alleged to have occurred in the 28 1970's. The acts subject to the criminal action against Williams are believed to have occurred between 1982-1987. GRIFFITH 4 TliORNBURGH, UP ATIORNEYSANOCOUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE 8EASTF1GUEROASTREET-STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA. CA 83101-2782 1 The information contained in the subpoenaed documents is discoverable information 2 essential to all parties to this proceeding. Any information contained in the criminal records 3 pertaining to Mr. Williams, who is the named alleged Perpetrator in this case (and all three of 4 the other cases filed against CUSD making similar allegations - see fn. 1 below), is highly 5 relevant to the parties' further discovery and pretrial investigation efforts, and preparation for 6 litigation. 7 CUSD files this motion to unseal 3 all records filed with this Court by the Sheriff's 8 Office in response to its subpoena, and for disclosure and dissemination of, or alternatively, 9 authorized full access to, those unsealed discovery documents to CUSD and Plaintiff 10 (conditioned on its similar agreement to be bound by any protective order entered to ensure the 11 parties use and review of the documents is consistent with protecting any confidential 12 information contained in the documents). 13 II. LEGAL STANDARD 14 To begin with, California's discovery statutes " ' must be construed liberally in favor of 15 disclosure," as "[l]iberal discovery is provided for the sole purpose of preparation and trial, or 16 the settlement of, litigated disputes." (Mercury Interactive Corporation v. Klein (2022) 158 17 Cal.App. 4th 60,117.) 18 The Sheriff relies upon sections 11167 and 1167.5 of the Penal Code when claiming that 19 Virgil Williams' s investigation file is confidential and not subject to disclosure. Section 11167 20 provides that reports of suspected child abuse shall include certain information. It also provides 21 that the identity of all persons who report child abuse shall be confidential and disclosed to 22 certain persons or agencies, "or by court order." (Pen. Code §1 l 167(d)(l).) (Emphasis added.) 23 Thus, this Court is authorized to issue an order disclosing reports of Virgil Williams's suspected 24 child abuse. 25 /Ill 26 27 28 3 CUSD seeks only to unseal the documents as to it and all the other parties to this action and does not seek to unseal the documents to the public. GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP ATIORN EYSANOCOUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE BEASTFIGUE ROASTREET -STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101 -2762 1 Moreover, section 11167.5 (relied upon by the Sheriff) provides that reports of child 2 abuse are confidential, but they may be disclosed to persons or agencies to whom disclosure is 3 permitted under section 11167. (Pen. Code § ll 167.5(a).) And, as referenced above, section 4 11167 authorizes the disclosure of the reports pursuant to Court order. 5 The sealed records rules, California Rules of Court Rule 2.550 and 2.551, are 6 inapplicable to the records filed by the Sheriffs Office in this Court in response to CUSD's 7 discovery request. See Rule 2.550 (a)(2) and (3); Mercury Interactive Corporation v. Klein, 8 (2022) 158 Cal.App.4th 60, 120-21. 9 III. ARGUMENT 10 The parties to this action are entitled to obtain discovery "if the matter either is itself 11 admissible in evidence or appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible 12 evidence." (Civ. Proc. § 2017.010.) There is good cause to unseal and disclose or otherwise 13 permit full access to the discovery documents to the parties to this action as the documents are 14 highly relevant to the proceedings. The documents produced by the Sheriffs Office in response 15 to CUSD's subpoena seeking criminal records pertaining to Mr. Williams, the alleged 16 Perpetrator in the matter, are highly relevant to the parties' pretrial discovery, investigation, and 17 litigation preparation. There may be facts referenced in the criminal records that would be 18 relevant to the underlying case issues. 19 The actions of Mr. Williams, and the knowledge or lack of knowledge of CUSD of those 20 actions, are crucial factors in this litigation. Accordingly, CUSD requests this Court order the 21 documents be disclosed and disseminated unsealed to it and the other parties to this action. In 22 making this request, CUSD does not, at this time 4, challenge the position of the Sheriffs Office 23 24 4 Notably, the privacy interests of the criminal defendant referenced in the materials, Mr. Virgil Williams, are moot as the defendant is long-deceased; the substance of the Plaintiffs' 25 complaints centers on crimes alleged to have been committed in a time period ranging from 1972-1981, and therefore any alleged child victim referenced in the reports (including any of the 26 individual plaintiffs in this action) is now an adult. Finally, the identity of any mandated reporter or alleged child victim (protected by Penal Code section 11167 and 11167 .5) contained 27 in the documents will not be disseminated to the public or disclosed by the parties, pursuant to the proposed protective order. The CUSD otherwise reserves its right to challenge the blanket 28 confidential designation of any of the produced documents, or to seek modification of any protective order entered in this case. _:~~,:~~1.:°or:~~~:~~~ BEASTFIGUEROASTREET-STE 300 EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762 1 that all of the responsive documents produced are deemed confidential pursuant to Penal Code 2 sections 11165 and 11165.7, and agrees to be subject to a protective order regarding its use and 3 handling of the documents, as follows (or as otherwise specified by the Court): 4 Plaintiff and Defendant, CUSD, their attorneys, attorneys' staff, expert consultants, investigators, and witnesses shall agree to keep all information 5 contained in the responsive documents confidential and not disclose it to anyone else. If, and when, any of the information is filed in Court, the parties shall 6 redact all names of any victim of child sexual abuse and or mandatory reporters 7 from the documents filed. Further, if any discovery document is utilized by either of the litigants or attached to a pleading later filed, the parties will agree to 8 redact all protected names in the document. 9 IV. CONCLUSION 10 For the foregoing reasons, the CUSD requests that this Court order that the documents 11 filed under seal by the Sheriff in response to its subpoena be unsealed and made available to the 12 parties to this action conditioned only on the parties' agreeing to be bound by a protective order 13 entered by the Court. 14 Dated: December 18, 2023. GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP 15 16 By:_ ~ _ Craig Price _ o--"' ~-- - 17 John Eck, Attorney for Defendant 18 Carpinteria Unified School District 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE B EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762 1 DECLARATION OF JOHN C. ECK 2 I, John C. Eck, declare as follows: 3 1. I am an attorney, licensed to practice before the courts of the State of California, 4 and am a partner in the law firm of Griffith & Thornburgh, LLP _ I am counsel of record for 5 Defendant Carpinteria Unified School District ("CUSD") herein. I have personal knowledge of 6 the following facts and could and would competently testify thereto if called upon to do so. 7 2_ This case involves child sexual abuse claims alleged to have occurred around 50 8 years ago involving Mr_ Virgil Williams, a prior employee of CUSD. My law firm sought, first 9 through a public records request dated September 27, 2023, then through the issuance of a third- 10 party subpoena on the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office ("Sheriffs Office") dated October 11 23, 2023, the following Criminal Records: 12 Any and all police reports, investigation reports and supplemental reports re Virgil Filmore Williams (birth 1-10-32; death 1-24-10) from 1982 to 1987. Santa Barbara 13 Court criminal case no. 160864; police report #C-253552. 14 3_ In response to our records request of September 27, 2023, the Sheriffs Office 15 indicated that the records sought were confidential and exempt from public disclosure pursuant 16 to sections 11167 and 11167 _5 of the Penal Code. The Sheriff instructed my office to issue a 17 subpoena, and it would submit the responsive records under seal to the Court. Therefore, my 18 office issued its subpoena on October 23, 2023, a true and correct copy of which is attached 19 hereto as Exhibit 1. Email correspondence between my office and the Sheriff's Office is 20 attached hereto as Exhibit 2. The Sheriff submitted under seal responsive documents with the 21 Court on November 15, 2023. 22 4. In order to fully litigate this matter, it is important that the parties have access to 23 the records produced by the Sheriffs office as soon as possible to further evaluate this case and 24 possibly determine how it will proceed. On December 11, 2023, my assistant, Kim Cordero, 25 contacted the clerk's office to schedule the hearing on the matter. She was informed the earliest 26 date available on the Court's calendar to present this matter is March 1, 2023 _ That is over two 27 months away_ How this case proceeds could depend on the information contained in the 28 GRI FFIT!i & TiiORNS URGH, LLP ATIORNEYS ANO COUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE 8 EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762 1 Sheriffs records. It is imperative that the parties have the opportunity to immediately review 2 the produced discovery documents in full in order to determine how best to properly and 3 promptly continue to litigate this case. CUSD is requesting full access to those sealed discovery 4 documents to both itself and Plaintiff - condition on an agreement to be bound by a protective 5 order. 6 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the 7 foregoing is true and correct and that this declaration is executed this 181h day of December, 8 2023, at Santa Barbara, California. 9 10 11 /'JohnG.Eck 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 GRIFFITH & THORNB URGH, LLP ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE 8 EAST FIGUEROA STREET - STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA, CA 9310 1-2762 SUBP-010 ATTORNEY OR PARTY WITHOUT ATTORNEY (Name, SI ale Bar number, and address): FOR COURT USE ONLY Craig Price SBN 51361 - Griffith & Thornburgh , LLP 8 E. Figueroa Street, Suite 300 Santa Barbara, CA 93101 TELEPHONE NO : (805) 965-5131 FAX NO (05) 965-6751 E-MAIL ADD RESS: price@g-tlaw.com ATTORNEY FDR (Name): Defendant Carpinteria Unified School District SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA STREET ADDRESS: 1100 Anacapa Street MAILING ADDRESS: CllY AND ZIP CODE: Santa Barbara, CA 93101 BRANCH NAME: Anacapa Division PLAINTIFF/PETITIONER: JOHN DOE CLG03277 DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT: CARPINTERIA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT CASE NUMBER: DEPOSITION SUBPOENA 22CV05053 FOR PRODUCTION OF BUSINESS RECORDS THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, TO (name, address, and telephone number of deponent, if known): SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, ATTN: CRIMINAL RECORDS 1. YOU ARE ORDERED TO PRODUCE THE BUSINESS RECORDS described in item 3, as follows: To (name of deposition officer) : Santa Barbara Superior Court, Clerk for Department 4, Judge Geck On (date): November 15, 2023 At (time) : 9:00 a.m. Location (address): 1100 Anacapa Street, Department 4, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Do not release the requested records to the deposition officer prior to the date and time stated above. a. jg] by delivering a true, legible, and durable copy of the business records described in item 3, enclosed in a sealed inner wrapper with the title and number of the action, name of witness, and date of subpoena clearly written on it. The inner wrapper shall then be enclosed in an outer envelope or wrapper, sealed, and mailed to the deposition officer at the address in item 1. b. Dby delivering a true, legible, and durable copy of the business records described in item 3 to the deposition officer at the witness's address, on receipt of payment in cash or by check of the reasonable costs of preparing the copy, as determined under Evidence Code section 1563(b). c. Dby making the original business records described in item 3 available for inspection at your business address by the attorney's representative and permitting copying at your business address under reasonable conditions during normal business hours. 2. The records are to be produced by the dale and time shown in item 1 (but not sooner than 20 days after the issuance of the deposition subpoena, or 15 days after service, whichever date is later). Reasonable costs of locating records, making them available_ or copying them, and postage, if any, are recoverable as set forth in Evidence Code section 1563(b). The records shall be accompanied by an affidavit of the CJ.Jstodian or other qualified witness pursuant to Evidence Code section 1561. 3. The records to be produced are described as follows (if electronically stored information is demanded, the form or fonns in which each type of information is to be p roduced may be specified): Any and all police reports, investigation reports, and supplemental reports re Virgil Fil more Williams (birth 1-10-32; death 1-24-10) from 1982 to 1987 . Santa Barbara Court crimi nal case no. 160864; po lice report #C-25 3552. D Continued on Attachment 3. 4 . IF YOU HAVE BEEN SERVED WITH THIS SUBPOENA AS A CUSTODIAN OF CONSUMER OR EMPLOYEE RECORDS UNDER CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE SECTION 1985.3 OR 1985.6 AND A MOTION TO QUASH OR AN OBJECTION HAS BEEN SERVED ON YOU, A COURT ORDER OR AGREEMENT OF THE PARTIES, WITNESSES, AND CONSUMER OR EMPLOYEE AFFECTED MUST BE OBTAINED BEFORE YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PRODUCE CONSUMER OR EMPLOYEE RECORDS. DISOBEDIENCE OF THIS SUBPOENA MAY BE PUNISHED AS CONTEMPT BY THIS COURT. YOU WILL ALSO BE LIABLE FOR THE SUM OF FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS AND ALL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM YOUR FAILURE TO OBEY. Date issued: Oct. 23, 2023 Craig Price (lYPE OR PRINT NAME) (Proof of service on reverse) Page 1 of 2 Form Adopted ror Mandatory Use Code of C,vil Procedure,§§ 2020 410-2020 440; Judicial Council of Calirornia DEPOSITION SUBPOENA FOR PRODUCTION Governmenl Code, § 68097 1 SUBP-010 IRev January 1, 2012) OF BUSINESS RECORDS www. courts ca gov EXHIBIT "1" 9 PROOF OF SERVICE Doe v. CUSD Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Anacapa Division, Case No. 22CV05053 I, Evelyn R. Downs, declare: I am employed at Griffith & Thornburgh LLP in the County of Santa Barbara, tale of California. I am over the age of 18 and not a party to the within action. My business address is 8 East Figueroa Street Suite 300, Santa Barbara, California 93101. My email address is downs@g-tlaw.com. On Oct. 23, 2023, I served the document(s) described as DEFEI\TJ>ANT CUSD'S DEPOSITION SUBPOENA FOR PRODUCTION OF BUSINESS RECORDS on the interested parties in this action as follows: By placing the original thereof enclosed in a sealed envelope addressed as follows or as listed below: D BY MAIL: As follows: I am' readily familiar' with the fiITTl's practice of collection and processing correspondence for mailing. Under that practice it would be deposited with the U.S. postal service on that same day with postage thereon fully prepaid at anta Barbara, California, in the ordinary course of business. I am aware that on motion of the party served, service is presumed invalid if postal cancellation date or postage meter date is more than one day after date of deposit for mailing in affidavit. D BY OVERNIGHT COURIER: I enclosed the documents in an envelope or package provided by an o ernight delivery carrier and addres ed to the per ons at the addresses listed above. I placed the · nvelope or packag for collection and overnight delivery at an office or a regularly ulilized drop box of the vernight deliver carrier. ~ BY E-MAIL: Per agreement between the parties for electronic service of documents, I caused the document to be sent to the persons at the e-mail address listed above. I did not receive, within a reasonable time after the transmission, any electronic message or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful. ~ (STATE) I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that Barbaram~ the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on Oct. 23, 2023, at Santa Evelyn R. Downs 10 Doe v. CUSD Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Anacapa Division, Case No. 22CV05053 Plaintiff's Counsel: Pedro "Peter" de la Cerda, Esq. Edwards & De La Cerda, PLLC 1341 W. Mockingbird Ln Ste 580W Dallas, TX 7 524 7 E-mail peter@edwardsdelacerda.com Ryan Cavanaugh, Esq. Edward J. Kelley Constant Legal Group LLP 737 Bolivar Rd. , Ste. 440 Cleveland, OH 44115 E-mail: ryan@constantllp.com ed@constantllp.com Defendant's Co-Counsel: Eric J. Bengtson DAVIS, BENGTSON & YOUNG, APLC 1960 The Alameda, Suite 210 San Jose, CA 95126 Email: eric@dby-law.com jheaton@dby-law.com 11 John Eck From: Evelyn Downs Sent: Monday, October 23, 2023 3:08 PM To: 5850 Public Records Center Cc: snc4967@sbsheriff.org; Craig Price Subject: RE: [Records Center] Public Records Request :: P001575-092723 - Subpoena and Acknowledgment of Receipt attached Attachments: Notice And Acknowledgment Of Receipt-Civil - to Sheriff - 10-23-23.PDF; Deposition Subpoena For Production Of Business Records - to Sheriff_s Office - 10-23-23.PDF Sergeant McCoy, Thank you for your response email below regarding our public records request. Please find attached our Deposition Subpoena for the records to be delivered, sealed to the Santa Barbara Superior Court, Department 4, in the Doe v. Carpinteria Unified School District lawsuit. If you would accept service of the Subpoena via email so that the school district may forego service of process fees, it would be appreciated. If you agree, please sign and return the Notice of Acknowledgment of Receipt of the Deposition Subpoena . When the records are ready to mail to the court, please send me via email or mail an Itemized Statement of the clerical/copy costs and we will have a check issued promptly. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Evelyn R. Downs, Para.legal G,,.-, GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH.L P '&l 41 lOUITS UO ( U HIO!i l s1R(I I 7~ 8 E. Figueroa Street - Suite 300 Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Ph: 805-965-5131 Fax: 805-965-6751 This email message and any attachments are Intended only for the use of the recipient(s) named above and may contain Information that is confidential , subject to attorney-client privilege, and/or may be exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution. copying or use of this communication is strictly prohibited . If you received this email message in error, please immedlalely notify the sender by replying to this message or by telephone and destroy the material in its entirety, whether in electronic or hard copy format. From: SBSO Public Records Center Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2023 1:06 PM To: Evelyn Downs Cc: snc4967@sbsheriff.org Subject: [Records Center] Public Records Request:: P001575-092723 1 EXffiBIT "2" 12 --- Please respond above this line --- O ffice h er iff Re: Public Records Request of September 27, 2023. Reference#: P001575-092723 Dear Paralegal Evelyn Downs: The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office has identified records that appear to be responsive to your records request dated September 27, 2023. Any information found is confidential and exempt from public disclosure according to the California Public Records Act. More specifically: Per California Penal 11167 and 11167 .5, the requested records are exempt from release. If you are still interested in obtaining the aforementioned records a subpoena will be needed. In addition, due to the type of records requested, it would need to be sent under seal to the seated Judge of the current court case. Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please respond to this email. Thank you . Sincerely, Mike McCoy Criminal Records Sergeant Records To monitor the progress, update this request, or download responsive records, please log into the Public Records Center. GoVO\ 2 13 1 PROOF OF SERVICE Doe v. CUSD 2 Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Anacapa Division, Case No. 22CV05053 3 I am employed in the County of Santa Barbara, State of California. I am over the age of 18 and am not a party to the within action; my business address is 8 East Figueroa Street, Suite 4 300 Santa Barbara, California 93101-2762· my business email address is cordero@g-tlaw.com. 5 On December 18, 2023, I served the foregoing document described as EX PARTE APPLICATON FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND 6 DISCLOSE TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES; AND DECLARATION OF JOHN C. ECK IN SUPPORT 7 on interested parties in this action as follows: SEE ATTACHED SERVICE LIST 8 9 D BY MAIL: by placing D the original~ a true copy thereof enclosed in sealed envelopes 10 addressed as shown above or on the attached service list. I am "readily familiar" with the firm's practice of collection and processing correspondence for mailing. Under that 11 practice it would be deposited with the U.S. postal service on that same day with postage thereon fully prepaid at Santa Barbara, California, in the ordinary course of business. I 12 am aware that on motion of the party served service is presumed invalid if postal cancellation date or postage meter date is more than one day after date of deposit for 13 mailing in affidavit. 14 D BY OVERNIGHT COURIER: I enclosed the documents in an envelope or package provided by an overnight delivery carrier and addressed to the persons at the addresses 15 listed above or on the attached service list. I placed the envelope or package for collection and overnight delivery at an office or a regularly utilized drop box of the 16 overnight delivery carrier. 17 D BY FACSIMILE: I caused to be transmitted the document described herein via the fax number listed above or on the attached service list. Upon completion of said facsimile 18 transmission, the transmitting machine issued a transmission report showing the transmission was complete and without error. 19 D BY PERSONAL SERVICE: I delivered said document by hand to the addressee listed 20 above or on the attached service list. 21 ~ BY E-MAIL (Pursuant to CCR 2.251 and CCP 1010.6): I caused the document to be sent electronically to the person at the e-mail address listed above or on the attached 22 service list. I did not receive, within a reasonable time after the transmission, any electronic message or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful. 23 D BY ELECTRONIC FILING SERVICE PROVIDER (EFSP) (Pursuant to CCR 2.251 and 24 CCP 1010.6): I am readily familiar with the firm's practice for filing electronically. I caused e-service notification to be electronically sent through the certified, court 25 approved EFSP, to the address which was listed as the designated service contact 011 the EFSP. 26 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. · 27 Executed on December 18, 2023, at Sant~~~JW1EJ«'.~ 28 GRIFFITHÞBURGH,LLP - - -- - -- - - -- -- - -- - ~- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ATTORNEYSANDCOUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE BEASTFIGUEROASTREET-STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762 1 SERVICE LIST 2 3 Counsel for Plaintiff 4 Pedro "Peter" de la Cerda 5 Edwards & De La Cerda, PLLC 1341 W. Mockingbird Ln Ste 580W 6 Dallas, TX 75247 E-mail: peter@edwardsdelacerda.com 7 Ryan Cavanaugh 8 Edward J. Kelley Constant Legal Group LLP 9 737 Bolivar Rd., Ste. 440 Cleveland, OH 44115 10 E-mail: ryan@constantllp.com: ed@constantllp.com 11 12 Co-Counsel for Defendant Carpinteria Unified School District 13 Eric J. Bengtson 14 Davis, Bengtson & Young, APLC 1960 The Alameda, Suite 210 15 San Jose, CA 95126 E-mail: eric@dby-law.com 16 17 Courtesy copy: Julie Heaton jheaton@dby-law.com 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 GRIFFITH & THORNBURGH, LLP ATIORNEYS AND COUNSELORS EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER TO UNSEAL DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSE 8 EAST FIGUEROA STREET-STE 300 TO PARTIES UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101-2762