SOMIS : Reporter Ordered to Surrender Notes

A federal district court in Los Angeles on Monday ordered a Times reporter to produce notes taken during interviews with three laborers who had worked on the Somis flower ranch of Edwin M. Ives, charged with enslaving workers during the 1980s.

U.S. District Court Judge Consuelo B. Marshall also ordered Times reporter Daryl Kelley to turn over notes from interviews with Asst. U.S. Atty. Carol Gillam, who is prosecuting Ives.

The judge said she will examine the notes to determine their importance to the defense’s case.

Times attorney Glen A. Smith had argued that the defense request for the notes was an infringement on freedom of the press and would have a chilling effect on news gathering. He also argued that the pretrial subpoena was premature, if warranted at all.

Attorneys for Rony Havive, a former ranch foreman who is also charged in the slavery case, argued that the notes could be used to impeach potential witnesses and might contain information that would support Havive’s plea of innocence. They said the interview with Gillam could support the defense’s allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Defense attorneys say Gillam has improperly shared evidence in her criminal case with attorneys representing 26 former ranch employees in a lawsuit. Gillam and the civil attorneys have denied the charge.

The Times has not decided whether it will appeal the order.