DNA ISSUE
PLAINTIFF’S FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES TO DEFENDANT LYNN SWITZER JULY 14, 2011
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS AMARILLO DIVISION
HENRY WATKINS SKINNER,
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
Plaintiff, vs. LYNN SWITZER, District Attorney for the 31st Judicial District of Texas, Defendant.
Civil Action No. 2:09-CV-281
PLAINTIFF’S FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES TO DEFENDANT LYNN SWITZER Comes now Plaintiff Henry Watkins Skinner (the “Plaintiff”), who hereby serves the following interrogatories on Defendant Lynn Switzer (the “Defendant”) pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 33. INSTRUCTIONS 1.
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(1), you must answer these interrogatories
personally. 2.
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(2), you must serve your responses, and any
objections, on undersigned counsel within 30 days after you have been served with these interrogatories. 3.
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(3), you must answer each interrogatory, to the
extent it is not objected to, separately and fully in writing under oath. 4.
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(4), you or your attorney must state with
specificity the grounds for objecting to an interrogatory.
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Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(5), you must sign the answers, and your attorney
must sign any objections. 6.
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5), if you withhold information called for by
these interrogatories by claiming that the information is privileged or subject to protection as trial preparation material, you or your attorney must (a) expressly make the claim; and (2) describe the nature of the documents, communications, or tangible things not produced or disclosed and do so in a manner that, without revealing information itself privileged or protected, will enable the Plaintiff and the Court to assess the claim. 7.
If you object to or otherwise decline to answer any portion of an interrogatory,
you must provide all information called for by that portion of the interrogatory to which you do not object, identify the portion of the interrogatory to which you do object, state the basis for your objection, and state whether or not you possess responsive information that is being withheld pursuant to that objection. 8.
These interrogatories are continuing in nature. Provide supplemental responses in
a timely fashion to reflect any and all responsive information that may be available. DEFINITIONS 1.
“Each item of evidence to be tested” means each item identified in paragraph 36
of the Complaint for which the Plaintiff seeks DNA testing. Specifically, those items are: a.
vaginal swabs taken from Twila Busby at the time of her autopsy;
b.
Twila Busby’s fingernail clippings;
c.
the knife found on the front porch of the house where the murders occurred;
d.
the knife found in a plastic bag in the living room of said house;
e.
the dish towel also found in said plastic bag; 2
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f.
the windbreaker jacket found on the living room floor of said house; and
g.
any hairs found in Twila Busby’s hands.
2.
“Present” and “currently” mean as of the date these interrogatories are answered.
3.
“Location” means physical location, identified by city and state, street address or
other readily recognized landmark, floor, room number, and, if applicable, locker number. 4.
“Known” means your best knowledge and belief after you have made reasonable
inquiry. 5.
“Identity” means name, title, and employer.
6.
“Custody” means physical possession or control. Under this definition, more than
one person may have custody. 7.
Any interrogatory asking for your description of the “condition” of an item of
evidence calls for a statement of whether the item appears from visual observation to consist of or contain biological material. Such interrogatory does not require you to form a judgment as to whether that material is sufficient in quantity or quality to be tested, and it does not require you to obtain expert advice in that regard. INTERROGATORIES Interrogatory No. 1: With respect to each item of evidence to be tested, state: (a)
Whether its present location is known;
(b)
If its present location is known: (1)
Its present location;
(2)
The identity of the person who currently has custody of the item;
(3)
The chain of custody of the item since it came into the possession of law enforcement personnel; and
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The current condition of the item.
If its present location is not known: (1)
Its last known location and the date the item was last known to be at that location;
(2)
The identity of the person last known to have custody of the item;
(3)
The chain of custody of the item up to the point in time its location was last known;
(4)
The last known condition of the item; and
(5)
Whether the item is known to have been intentionally discarded or destroyed, and, if so: (i)
The date the item was discarded or destroyed; and
(ii)
The reasons why the item was discarded or destroyed.
Interrogatory No. 2: In 2007, in response to the Second Motion for DNA Testing filed by Plaintiff in the 31st District Court of Gray County and in accordance with the requirements of Art. 64.02(a)(2) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, you informed that court that, “[t]o the best of the State’s information, knowledge and belief, the items sought to be tested are still available for testing, the chain of custody is intact, and the items are in a condition to be tested although the State has not sought expert opinion in that regard.” State with particularity: (a)
the “information, knowledge and belief” upon which you relied in making that statement in 2007;
(b)
whether you or anyone under your direction actually located and physically examined any of the items sought to be tested before making that statement in 2007, and, if so: (1)
who conducted such examination; and
(2)
the condition at that time of each of the items of evidence to be tested; and
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