Judge Denies DOJ’s Motion to Strike GOP AGs’ Voluminous Fact Memo

Court rules include “no prohibition” against the attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri filing their 350-page supplemental fact memo in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction to block what they allege is the Biden administration’s collusion with Big Tech to censor right-leaning social media content in violation of the First Amendment (see 2303100002). So said a memorandum order (docket 3:22-cv-01213) signed Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty for Western Louisiana in Monroe, denying DOJ’s motion to strike the fact memo for the undue burden DOJ said it would put on the government to respond.

Doughty, a Donald Trump appointee, did grant DOJ a 20-day deadline extension to April 25 to respond to the fact memo. It was short of the 35-day extension the government sought and the Republican AGs opposed. DOJ had asked Doughty for an expedited ruling by Thursday on the motion to strike so it could get started on drafting the response to the fact memo if the motion were going to be denied, and the judge obliged the request a day earlier.

Besides asserting the voluminous fact memo puts an undue burden on the government to address it, DOJ argued the document was unauthorized without leave of the court to file it. Doughty’s order retroactively granted that leave. The judge “anticipated lengthy briefs would be provided by both parties” in the case, his order said. It cited “the substantial amount of discovery” that would be required, plus the 69 named defendants involved and the number of allegations asserted. It was on that basis he denied the motion to strike, it said.

The judge found good cause to grant DOJ the deadline extension, “but not to the extent requested,” said the order. The AGs’ reply will be due 15 days after DOJ files its response, it said. Doughty scheduled in-person oral argument May 12 at 9 a.m. CDT on the preliminary injunction motion. Each side will be given one hour for arguments, with additional time to answer questions from the court, said the order.