DOJ Gets Nuked By RI Judge For 'Appalling' Lack Of Candor - Above the Law

"“This reckless disregard for the duty of candor owed to a federal court is appalling?”"

"“not the first time” the lawyer in question “acted in ways that appear to deviate from the norms of professional conduct?”"

"“to prescribe or administer any legally marketed device to a patient for any condition or disease within a legitimate health care practitioner-patient relationship,”"

"“locate” their investigation in the Northern District of Texas, so as to avail themselves of the hospitality of the courthouse in Fort Worth, home of Judges Reed O'Connor and Mark Pittman. On April 30, the DOJ filed a petition to enforce a subpoena for records served on Rhode Island Hospital, some 1,700 miles away. Hours later, Judge O'Connor granted it, without even allowing the hospital the chance to reply."

A court condemned a DOJ lawyer’s conduct as appalling for reckless disregard of the duty of candor owed to a federal court. The court also noted the conduct was not the first instance of actions appearing to deviate from professional norms. The lawyer, acting in a DOJ enforcement role, pursued subpoenas targeting trans children and their medical providers, seeking patient records including sensitive identifiers and treatment information. The legal theory relied on off-label drug use to invalidate labeling, while the FDCA protects legally marketed medical devices and practitioner-patient relationships. Courts quashed subpoenas, and the DOJ then used a self-help approach by relocating enforcement to the Northern District of Texas. A petition to enforce records was granted quickly without allowing the hospital to reply, and later enforcement was refused based on the government’s initial declaration; the Fifth Circuit also rejected relief.

Read at Above the Law