Mom didn’t want 7-year-old testifying in Florida book ban case. Judge says she must
One of the parents who is suing a Florida school board over books banned from the district’s shelves tried to protect her 7-year-old daughter from testifying in the case.
A federal judge denied the mother’s motion to prevent her daughter’s deposition, siding with the Escambia County School Board’s argument that the student’s testimony is “necessary,” court records show.
The mother had argued that an interrogation of her daughter, who just finished first grade, by the Escambia County School Board’s legal counsel would be an “undue burden” on her, according to court documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
“It would require (her) to devote time away from family and friends to prepare for her testimony and to face questioning by opposing counsel in deposition — an experience that is enormously difficult and stressful for adults, let alone a seven-year-old.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zachary C. Bolitho ruled on July 22 that the girl has to testify, an order shows.
“Only (the child) can testify as to her thoughts, interests, desires, and efforts to access the books at issue in this case,” Bolitho wrote.
It’s the latest development in the civil case, first filed in May 2023, by Escambia County parents, authors, PEN America and Penguin Random House that challenges the school district’s removal and restriction on certain books from school libraries.
The lawsuit argues that the bans target books “by or about people of color and/or LGBTQ people” and are unconstitutional.
The school board declined McClatchy News’ request for comment on July 24. Patty Hightower, one of the board’s members, told McClatchy News that the board “cannot comment on open litigation.”
The school board’s legal counsel didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Limits on the girl’s deposition
The girl’s mother argued that her daughter doesn’t need to testify — because she could testify in her place — about the books she has expressed interest in reading, according to her motion for a protective order.
In a statement attached to the filing, the woman named three books that she says her daughter is interested in reading from her school’s library: “And Tango Makes Three,” “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” and “When Aidan Became a Brother.”
“I want (her) to be exposed to books about different kinds of families and family structures and different kinds of people getting married so that she can better relate to friends and family who are nonbinary or in same-sex relationships, and generally be exposed to differences in the world,” the woman wrote.
The school board’s legal counsel disagreed in a legal filing, noting that the child is also a plaintiff and “through her mother, chose to sue the board.”
“The child has unique knowledge about her likes and desires and, more importantly, her efforts to obtain these books from her school library,” the filing says.
In Bolitho’s July 22 order, he noted that these issues are “critical” to the case.
The school board’s filing also argued that the court should not “rely exclusively on (the girl’s) mother’s alleged recitation of what (she). communicated to her.”
Bolitho partly denied the mother’s motion for a protective order when it came to preventing her child from testifying.
He sided with her in ruling that the girl’s deposition should be limited, the filing shows.
“The Court is sensitive to the issues presented by deposing a young child,” Bolitho wrote.
According to his ruling, the school board’s legal counsel can question her in a deposition limited to 90 minutes.
Judge rules school officials must testify, too
The Escambia County School Board wanted its own protective order that would prevent board members, the school district Superintendent Keith Leonard and the former superintendent from having to testify.
Bolitho denied the board’s motion on July 19.
The school board’s legal counsel had argued that the board members have “legislative privilege” that protects them from depositions, according to a July 19 order from Bolitho.
In an order, Bolitho wrote that “If the individual Board members wish to assert legislative privilege, then they must do so personally.”
By restricting access to books, the lawsuit argues that the school board is violating the First and 14th Amendments.
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