Good(ish) News on the Seidel Subpoena, and another Shoemaker Fishing Expedition

Update: Orac writes a much clearer and more convincing post on inequity of the McCormick subpoena.

As most of you know, Kathleen Seidel was issued an invasive and intimidating subpoena in a personal-injury case, by the vaccine-injury attorney Clifford Shoemaker. Ms. Seidel has no connection to that case.

I kept track of internet responses to the subpoena at this post.

The good news: Ms. Seidel announced yesterday that:

Last week, the First Amendment team at Public Citizen agreed to provide me with legal assistance. As of this morning, no response was forthcoming from Mr. Clifford Shoemaker, attorney for Rev. Lisa Sykes and Seth Sykes.

The not-so-good news: Clifford Shoemaker also issued a similar "fishing expedition"  subpoena personally to  Marie McCormick, M.D.   Dr. McCormick chaired the Institute of Medicine's Immunization Safety Review Committee, the subpoena demands that McCormack produce documents that are are readily available on the National Academies of Science website.

The McCormick subpoena is just as inappropriate as the Seidel subpoena.

Update: Skeptico has the perfect clarification:

There is an old saying in legal circles that if the facts are on your side, pound the facts; if the law is on your side, pound the law; if neither is on your side, pound the table.  Clifford Shoemaker, with neither the facts nor the law on his side, prefers to pound the table. Or more accurately, to pound his opponents with frivolous intimidatory subpoenas.

  As Ms. Seidel writes,

Dr. McCormick has my solidarity and sympathy — as do any other critical participants in public discourse about autism and vaccines who might join our ranks.

 

If you aren't an academic or a scientist, you may not have a clear picture of the structure and meaning of the National Academies of Science. It isn't part of government; it is an independent, non-profit body.

The Institute was incorporated on March 3, 1863,

the Academy shall, whenever called upon by any department of the Government, investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art, the actual expense of such investigations, examinations, experiments, and reports to be paid from appropriations which may be made for the purpose, but the Academy shall receive no compensation whatever for any services to the Government of the United States.

In the decades following 1863, the National Academy of Science (NAS) also established the  National Research Council, National Academy of Engineering Council (NAE), and the Institute of Medicine (IOM).  Each are not-for-profit membership organizations.  It is an honor to be elected to the NAS and its divisions.  However, membership also entails service.  As the IOM puts it:

The Institute of Medicine's members, elected on the basis of their professional achievement, serve without compensation in the conduct of studies, conferences, and other Institute inquiries into matters of national policy for health. Election to active membership is both an honor and a commitment to serve in Institute affairs

 

Technorati Tags: anti-vaccination, autism, dan olmstead, david kirby

Comments

[Dave Seidel]

Kathleen's motion to quash the subpoena has been granted:
http://neurodiversity.com/weblog/article/152

In addition, the judge has ordered Shoemaker to show cause why he should not be sanctioned.