This brief excerpt from a two day depo on 9-18 and 19 shows the extent to which Scientology has already won the wrongful death case (see pages 0222-0224 in particular [Minton, deponent, Beach, Court]) IMHO: MR. MERRETT: I'm going to object for 9 relevance and the scope of the July 19th order. This is a 10 posting about a charity run in Clearwater. Doesn't mention 11 any witnesses; doesn't mention any payments; doesn't mention 12 any pressures. 13 THE COURT: What's the materiality of that? 14 MR. MOXON: It's -- the Lisa McPherson Trust 15 came to try -- intimidated people from the church who were 16 putting on a charity run. Many of whom were witnesses in 17 this case. It's part of their whole thing to cause the -- 18 you know, infect the jury pool and get the media that were 19 there to criticize the race and to intimidate Scientologists 20 participating in it. 21 MR. MERRETT: Can we get the names of the 22 witnesses? 23 THE COURT: I'm going to let it be answered. 24 MR. MERRETT: Your Honor, I just wonder, as a 25 matter of record, because I think counsel is just making 0220 1 this up, if we could just get the name of the witnesses who 2 were intimidated. That should be easy. 3 THE COURT: Do you have the names? 4 MR. MOXON: People who were intimidated? 5 THE COURT: Yes. 6 MR. MERRETT: The witnesses. 7 MR. MOXON: There's over 200 witnesses on the 8 witness -- 9 MR. MERRETT: Which of -- 10 MR. MOXON: -- list. 11 MR. MERRETT: -- them were intimidated -- 12 MR. MOXON: There were -- 13 MR. MERRETT: -- in this race, is what I want 14 to know, your Honor. 15 THE COURT: Well, if it's to show a pattern 16 of conduct by people involved with the trust insofar as 17 creating bad publicity of the defendant, I'm going to allow 18 it to be inquired into. 19 MR. MOXON: Okay. 20 MR. MERRETT: But -- but -- but that's going 21 to be done on counsel's representation, without him being 22 required to tell us who these witnesses are, who were 23 supposedly intimidated. 24 THE COURT: That's correct. 25 MR. MERRETT: Okay. But we can assume he'll 0221 1 be accountable for that -- 2 THE COURT: I -- 3 MR. MERRETT: -- representation later. 4 THE COURT: -- don't know what you can 5 assume. 6 (Defendant's Exhibit Number 21 marked for identification.) 7 BY MR. MOXON: 8 Q I've marked as Exhibit Number 21 a posting to the 9 Internet dated July 26th, 1998 concerning an incident at 10 your home where you say you shot a shotgun over the heads of 11 OSA employees, you say. Is this your posting? 12 MR. MERRETT: Same objection, your Honor. 13 This is in New Hampshire. Now, how many of these people, I 14 wonder, were witnesses? 15 THE COURT: Overruled. 16 MR. MERRETT: If I can just ask your Honor, 17 so when I deal with this, litigating it, what -- what is the 18 relevance with respect to witnesses and payments or pressure 19 to an incident that happened 2000 miles away -- 20 THE COURT: Well, it -- 21 MR. MERRETT: -- with nobody who's identified 22 as a witness? 23 THE COURT: It tends to show the motive of 24 Mr. Minton, both on behalf of himself and on behalf of the 25 trust, and the bad blood he has; his involvement in this 0222 1 case -- 2 It's hard to distinguish the trust, Mr. Minton and 3 the plaintiff in this case. They're so intertwined, as a 4 matter of fact, it almost appears that Lisa McPherson has 5 been overshadowed by the activities of the trust and 6 Mr. Minton in pursuing this case against the Scientologists. 7 That's the way it appears to me. 8 MR. MERRETT: Well, I have to object at this 9 point, because you've obviously been fed some kind of 10 information that's not a matter of record. 11 THE COURT: All I know is what I've heard 12 here in these depositions. I have no interest in the -- 13 Scientology; I have no interest in Mr. Minton; I have no 14 interest in the trust. All I know is what I've been hearing 15 in this and what I've been reading from the motions and what 16 you've told me what the orders have been, both of you. And 17 that's the way it appears to me. 18 MR. MOXON: Well, if -- 19 MR. MERRETT: Well, she's still dead. She 20 still died in their hotel. Mr. Minton wasn't there. He's 21 not a witness to the case. 22 THE COURT: I'm just -- 23 MR. MERRETT: His loathing for Scientology is 24 not a material issue. 25 THE COURT: I'm just telling you how it 0223 1 appears it's developing to me; that Mr. Minton and the trust 2 seem to have as great a interest in the outcome of this case 3 as the estate of Lisa McPherson has. Just from all the 4 activities and goings-on. And I only judge that based on 5 what I've heard. 6 MR. MERRETT: Well, there certainly has been 7 no evidence of any financial interest on their part. 8 THE COURT: Doesn't necessarily need to be a 9 financial interest. But everybody is actively -- Mr. Minton 10 and the trust and the estate seem to be actively pursuing 11 this case against the Scientologists. 12 And I'm just basing it on what I've heard. I've 13 made no independent investigation. 14 MR. MERRETT: I -- I -- I'm -- well -- 15 THE COURT: I mean, you haven't been here for 16 every deposition, have you? 17 MR. MERRETT: No, I haven't. 18 But I would renew my objection with respect to the 19 scope of the order that we're here on, the one that 20 Mr. Moxon claims to be sailing under -- 21 THE COURT: Okay. 22 MR. MERRETT: -- which restricts it to 23 evidence of payments to or pressures upon witnesses. 24 THE COURT: Well, I'm enlarging it to that 25 extent, where I think this is all material. 0224 1 THE DEPONENT: I would point out that as of 2 this date, the Lisa McPherson Trust was at least 18 months 3 away from existing.

Bob Minton