Email from Associate AG David Leith re Grier Investigation

From: “Leith David” [email protected]
Date: May 11, 2009 9:15:32 PDT
To: Professor X
Subject: RE:

Professor X,

I want to provide a clear statement of what we are willing to do.  I hope this will minimize the possibility of misunderstanding or surprise, and that it will give you the information you need to make an informed decision.

This proposal arises from my request at our May 5 meeting that we try to reserve some part of our focus to forward-going objectives, as opposed to retrospective matters.  Responsive to that request, you suggested that we all take a time-out, which I agreed sounded like a good idea.  Our resulting proposal is as follows:

We will not finally conclude our review of the allegations in your complaint against Melinda Grier until after August 1, 2009.  The draft letter that we shared with you would become our interim determination.  You could provide comments on our draft letter up until August 1, 2009, if you remain interested in actively pursuing the issue at that time.  If we receive comments, we would resume our review and complete it in due course.  If we do not receive comments, our interim determination presumptively would become final.

In the meantime, you would cease all public records requests and related petitions (withdrawing any pending requests or petitions), you would cease all complaints (including complaints about UO employees), and you would cease all other communications, including emails, to UO or other state officials.  (The scope of the time-out is in recognition of the fact that your zeal causes issues to become encompassing when they are entertained at all.  The idea is to provide all parties a much-needed opportunity peacefully to reflect.)

In the event that action is taken during the time-out that is inconsistent with these terms, the time-out would end and the constraint against issuance of our final determination before August 1 would be dissolved.  We would notify you that any information you would like to provide responsive to our interim determination would be due by a date certain one week following that notice, and we would issue our final determination in due course after that deadline.

These terms are set out more precisely than I would have preferred, but I believe the clarity is essential in these circumstances.  If you would prefer to forgo the time-out, that also is fine, of course.  I look forward to your decision.  Thanks, — Dave@doj.state.or.us>@doj.state.or.us>@doj.state.or.us>