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Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Ind. Gov't. - "Fired prisons chief Ed Buss still talks; Gov. Rick Scott not happy "
Did you follow with interest the ILB entries from Aug. 24th and Aug. 26th on former Indiana Corrections head Ed Buss' short career in a similar position in Florida, under the heading "Buss out as Florida Corrections Head."
If so, you will want to read this story today by Steve Bousquet, Tampa Bay Times columnist. Particularly interesting is the part about whether a department head may be compelled to testify in a lawsuit against the state:
"It's a common principle that high-ranking people in government don't testify," [Florida Governor] Scott told the Times' Katie Sanders on Monday. "And the problem is that if they change that, what's going to happen is you're going to have people that won't want to take these jobs because what's happened is they'll always be in depositions or testifying?"After a state judge ruled Buss had to answer questions, the governor's office appealed, citing cases in which agency heads were given immunity from testifying.
The state argued that it's a settled legal principle that agency heads should not be required to testify when the information sought is available elsewhere. Scott's attorneys called the PBA's "scorched-earth" approach "intrusive," and said it would do "irreparable harm" to state government.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 27, 2011 02:48 PM
Posted to Indiana Government