Extract from David Horrigan’s article “Remembering Judge Waxse, a Champion of Cooperation in E-Discovery”
The Honorable David J. Waxse, retired United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Kansas, passed away earlier this month. To say Dave Waxse was a legal legend in the field of e-discovery law doesn’t do his contributions justice.
With his intellectual prowess, quick wit, impish grin, and concern for those who might have the legal deck stacked against them, the Gentleman from Kansas made the law a better place for those who had the good fortune to learn about the law from him.
A Data Law Pioneer
Legal opinions on data issues are now somewhat common, but they weren’t when Judge Waxse ascended to the federal bench in 1999. Nevertheless, the judge became a preeminent jurist in the fields of e-discovery and related data law fields.
If your electronic data were about to be invaded by an over-zealous government data sweep, Judge David Waxse was your friend.
In cases such as In re Search of Three Cellphones and In re Search Warrants for Information Associated with Target Email Accounts/Skype Accounts, Judge Waxse blocked attempts to seize data he where he found those attempted data grabs “too broad and too general.”
Judge Waxse’s contributions to the field of e-discovery law are substantial—perhaps most importantly as a champion for the concept of cooperation in e-discovery.
