Years worth of an executive’s personal emails, discussing details of his finances and purchases, are obtained and combed over by dozens of people against his will, and some are even posted on the Internet for all to see.

If I relayed that scenario to you, you would probably expect the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN to express outrage and concern, bemoan the lack of privacy in today’s society, and canvas public-interest groups for quotes calling for public and private action; if it turned out it had been done by a member of the executive branch, some would call for impeachment. But when the emails are Larry Ellison’s, they were obtained through civil discovery (Jan. 31) by plaintiffs’ lawyers in a lawsuit rehashing allegations made in two other completed lawsuits, and released to the public by a judge, the Chronicle and CNN shrug their shoulders and print them in a front-page article. (Carrie Kirby, “Inside look at a billionaire’s budget”, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 31; CNN, Feb. 1). More on the Ellison litigation at Point of Law Nov. 23 and links therein.

Filed under: procedure