US FDA Chief Refuses WLF Deposition

12 May 1996

US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler has refused to appear at a deposition in connection with the Washington Legal Foundation's First Amendment litigation against the FDA (Marketletter April 22). He has asked the court to quash the deposition, saying he is "a high-level government official who should not be subjected to the burdens associated with a deposition absent extraordinary circumstances."

WLF attorneys responded by vowing to obtain a court order for Dr Kessler to testify, saying that this is crucial to establishing that the FDA has been "running roughshod over First Amendment rights." WLF chief counsel Richard Samp said it was outrageous that Dr Kessler feels he is above the law and not subject to the same rules as anyone else, including President and Mrs Clinton.

The deposition concerns the WLF's suit challenging the FDA crackdown on dissemination of information on off-label uses of FDA-approved drugs and devices, which argues that FDA restrictions violate the First Amendment rights of both providers and recipients of such information.

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