An atheist organization suing an Arkansas state senator over claims its members' constitutional rights were violated when they were blocked from the senator's social media accounts has scored a victory in federal court after the judge ordered the senator to turn over information requested by the organization before the case goes to trial.
Calling Sen. Jason Rapert's reasoning "repetitive boilerplate objections," U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker wrote in an order issued Tuesday that the objections were not a sufficient argument and gave Rapert, R-Conway, until Aug. 5 to comply. The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 3.
In a Jan. 8, 2019, complaint, American Atheists Inc. filed suit against Rapert alleging that he violated the U.S. and Arkansas constitutions by blocking members of the organization from accessing his official Twitter and Facebook accounts.
In September 2021, American Atheists Inc. filed an expedited motion to compel discovery in the matter, asking Baker to order Rapert to respond to two interrogatories and to supplement his responses to seven more, to produce relevant documents in those seven interrogatories and to pay the costs associated with filing the motion.
Rapert argued in court documents the discovery requests were overly broad and sought information and documents that are not relevant to the case. On some issues he sought to claim privilege to avoid turning over documents.
On Tuesday, Baker issued her order overruling Rapert's objections and ordered him to comply the plaintiff's request for production of the discovery items at issue. In her ruling, Baker also ordered the plaintiffs to submit a petition for attorneys' fees by Aug. 5.
"While the Court understands and appreciates Rapert's concerns," Baker wrote in the order, "those concerns do not absolve him from his duty to disclose discoverable information."
CORRECTION: The American Atheists Inc. lawsuit against state Sen. Jason Rapert is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 3. An earlier version of this story included an incorrect trial date.