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Hearings Begin In Journalist's Freedom Of Information Lawsuit Against DEA

Federal Courthouse in downtown Providence.
RIPR FILE
Federal Courthouse in downtown Providence.
Federal Courthouse in downtown Providence.
Credit RIPR FILE
/
RIPR FILE
Federal Courthouse in downtown Providence.

  A judge in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island began hearings Wednesday in a lawsuit against the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency, spurred by a local journalist.

Providence-based writer Phil Eil, says he’s fought for more than five years to obtain access to thousands of pages of public evidence from a pill-mill trial, about which he plans to write a book.

“I think it’s long overdue that the press and the public have access to the evidence, and I hope the judge will agree with that and say this has gone on long enough,” said Eil. 

The ACLU of Rhode Island is representing Eil. ACLU Director Steve Brown said the DEA has unfairly denied Eil the documents he requested.

“We’re not saying he’s entitled to all of them. We do recognize that there are privacy concerns,” said Brown. “But the DEA has really engaged in a wholesale denial of literally thousands of documents.”

The case in question involves a Chicago doctor found guilty of distributing millions of opioids at clinics across Ohio. The physician, Dr. Paul Volkman, was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences, one of the lengthiest criminal sentences for a physician in U.S. History.

Eil requests documents related to the case as part of his research for a book he was hoping to write.

One of Eil's attorneys told Esquire Magazine that the DEA refused to release the bulk of the documents due to concerns involving medical privacy.

Copyright 2016 The Public's Radio

John Bender is RIPR's Morning Edition Producer; he researches stories, interviews newsmakers and writes scripts for the morning news. He also does additional reporting throughout the day for general reporting and special projects.
Sophie Kasakove

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.