Kathleen Seidel's Blog: Influence Means You Get Subpoened

This much we know.  Kathleen Seidel's blog "Neurodiversity," which deconstructs autism vaccine litigation, has influence.  Why else would those she discusses have issued a subpoena for the documents used for her blog posts?  After all, the subpoena, reports Walter Olson on Overlawyered.com, "contains no indication of defaming anyone or violating any other legal rights of any party."

Olson and those posting comments opine that the party issuing the subpoena - plaintiff lawyer in autism vaccine litigation Clifford Shoemaker - might be on a fishing expedition and/or attempting to intimidate.  And in our legal system that can be done. 

The defendant, though, also can do things.  Seidel's response has been to self-draft a motion [we bloggers have to learn more about pro-se litigation] to deep-six the subpoena. If the motion isn't granted, then we bloggers have to think twice before we take on specific lawyers.  The author of the former Troll Tracker did just that - took on two Texas patent lawyers - and he and his employer Cisco have been sued.

Comments

[Martin Sturman, MD]

Magisterially outrageous, the subpoena involving Kathleen's blog, Neurodiversity. I have written a blog today and published a previous newsletter on the subject of vaccines and autism, in case anyone is interested. Whether truth will help, I hope to offer it.-MS

[Liz Ditz]

I am one of the bloggers named in item 5 of the subpoena.

If your readers are interested, I'm keeping a running list of reactions to the Seidel subpoena at I Speak of Dreams:

http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2008/04/kathleen-seidel.html