The Next Battle: SF City Attorney subpoenas a Vaccine Exemption Writing Doc under a Public Nuisance Theory
Yesterday afternoon and today, there is a nationally breaking story about San Francisco physician Ken Stoller receiving a subpoena from the San Francisco City Attorney for all his medical records for all vaccine exemptions he has written.
The City’s Attorney’s action has been widely publicized in the California press and TV media, and
and nationally, so far in the Wall Street Journal and the Beast.
Of course, most of these stories key in on the increase in the reported number of measles cases which has most people alarmed. And that creates a challenging environment.
For what it’s worth, I haven’t found a single direct precedent for a government agency using a public nuisance theory on which to base an investigation seeking medical records for a possible public nuisance violation. I have seen a legal professor advocate using public nuisance as a basis to directly challenge families with PBEs/religious exemptions, but that hasn’t turned into a case, so far as I can tell. Maybe the City Attorney thinks going after a physician is an easier target.
One thing I’m fairly confident about: If they get away with it here, expect this to play at a theater near you soon, since every state, save West Virginia and Mississippi has physicians writing medical exemptions.
I have it on good authority that Dr. Stoller’s lawyer is carefully reviewing the subpoena and applicable law. Since the vaccine exemptees are the unnamed vectors of the alleged public nuisance, at some point, some of them might have something to say about the subpoena, especially those who don’t live in San Francisco.
The other issue of concern is that there does not appear to be any evidence that Dr. Stoller or any of the other exemption writing doctors have engaged in fraudulent exemption writing. It all seems to stem from Senator Pan’s unsupported allegations to sell SB 276. They can’t be getting exemption information from the schools because the records are federally privacy protected under FERPA. It’s unlikely that any of Dr. Stoller’s patients have turned over medical records, so a fair question, which hopefully will be asked, is what is the specific factual basis of the investigation?
Finally, to families who received medical exemptions from Dr. Stoller, I have it on good authority that no action will be taken without first informing you of a decision to comply with the subpoena, if that’s what happens. Despite the fact that the subpoena seeks the redaction of personal identifying information, there are still California constitutional privacy issues affecting the patients, which will be discussed at a different time and place. It is possible that some of these families may come forward publicly in some protected forum.
And lastly, my good authority referenced above is me. I am Ken Stoller’s attorney.
Here is the LA Times about the case.
https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-vaccines-herrera-stoller-exemption-20190508-story.html
Wish me luck (and prayers humbly accepted also).
Rick Jaffe, Esq.
rickjaffeesquire@gmail.com
24 thoughts on “The Next Battle: SF City Attorney subpoenas a Vaccine Exemption Writing Doc under a Public Nuisance Theory”
Fight the good fight, sir! Thank you for what you’re doing. Prayers and God’s strength behind you!
Prayers And thank you for everything you do you
Thank you for protecting our rights. We stand with Dr. Stoller.
Best of luck. Thank you for keeping us posted.
Good luck and prayers for you and your client.
This smells like Dorit Reiss. Praying hard!
Thanks for all you are doing. Dr Stoller is a good guy and did everything by the book as far as I can see. I cannot imagine how they have a shred of a case against him. But as we know, this is a witch hunt. Looking for an example to be made, hanged in the public square, and has little to do with what is just, right, ethical, moral.
This will most likely backfire against those behind it as it gives an opportunity for the facts, and actual cases, real people real lives being harmed by these policies and witch hunts, to come out into the public awareness and tell their stories. The truth will come out eventually, the facts, to counter all the fear mongering from Pan and in the news lately.
Thank you for all you are doing!
All the best of luck with this fight !
We stand by you.
Best of luck! My full support in your endeavor and Dr Stoller.
We stand with Dr Stoller!
Prayers coming for you, Sir!
Thank you for standing up to help protect our children and our rights.
You are my hero! You and the good doctor.
Sending prayers to fight the good fight to you and Dr. Stoller! This case will set precedent for future battles. Glad you are the lawyer on it!
Dr Stoller has been my grandson’s physician for more than a decade. He knows how to treat very specific conditions and has always been on target for all he has recommended for us. When you need a brain surgeon, you don’t go seek the services of a proctologist. When you have brain injury and immune disorders, you seek someone who knows what to do. Thank you for representing him and we stand by him 100%!
Thank you for supporting medical freedom!!
Thank you and Dr. Stoller for fighting for our medical freedom! May Almighty God put His hands on both of you and help you win this battle!
Thank you Mr. Jaffe for defending Dr. Stoller and fighting to protect our vulnerable children! Also, thanks for keeping us so well informed about SB276 and educationing us about all of our options.
Dr Stoller followed the letter of the SB277 mandatory vaccination law as I explain below. Very much related to this attack on Dr. Stoller and those writing medical exemptions, Senator/Dr Pan proposes to reduce medical exemptions for students in CA with proposed SB276. But at what cost, both financial and human? And is the problem statement he has given when he announced the bill, and in various communications since, even completely true? What do the verifiable facts tell us? California’s own data tells us kindergarten exemptions are significantly reduced from 9.9% before SB277 to 4.5% total currently (see table and document link below). 0.7% are medical exemptions, that is about 4,000 kinder students with medical exemptions. There has been just a slight increase in medical exemptions, to be expected, while other exemptions (personal, religious) of course dropped and disappeared due to SB277 restrictions. If we use the 0.7% Medical Exemption rate being used for kindergarten (As they were promised they would have MEs), we times 6,186,278 by 0.7% and we can estimate 43,303 students total with medical exemptions in a state of over 40 million people. (Inconsequential. The CDC even says that every year approximately 120,000 children do not even mount an immune response to MMR. That is over 2.2 million children since the year 2000.). California’s own data tells us our kindergarten vaccination rates exceed targets as 95.1% of kindergartners are vaccinated.(1)
There is no crisis here. No valid problem in need of a solution. There is really no such thing as a “fake” medical exemption from vaccines when it is provided by a licensed doctor who has met with and examined the patient’s family and medical history and assessed their risk of harm.
The science is not as settled as some would have you believe, so the state must stay out of the doctor patient relationship and parental decision making. Recent measles fear mongering in the news is simply not justified if one looks at the actual numbers… 44 cases in California, various locations (mostly individuals, not “outbreaks”,) this year so far and no deaths. It is not spreading like wild fire. We have cases every year.
The current process for handling and reviewing medical exemptions works. A new study in 2018, reviewing medical exemptions in CA since Sb227, found 60 Medical Board complaints regarding medical exemptions since SB277 was implemented a few years ago. Majority dismissed. No violations found. And CA health officers found few or no problematic exemptions. Getting a medical exemption is next to impossible already because doctors are afraid they will be targeted and unjustly harassed or even loose their license, even though SB277 authors said they would not go after doctors and they would be able to write MEs as needed.
Senator Pan and Senator Allen both said we would have medical exemptions during SB277 testimony, based on family history and any concerns doctors judged to warrant exemption. Quotes and video of their comments are easily found/available to those interested. Governor Brown, and SB277 language also gave us medical exemptions…
Governor Brown said we would have medical exemptions when he signed SB277. Here is the office of the governor signing statement where he says exemptions may be written by physicians when there are “circumstances, including but not limited to, family medical history, …” and “This, SB277, while requiring that school children be vaccinated, explicitly provides an exception when a physician believes that circumstances – in the judgment and sound discretion of the physician – so warrant. https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/SB_277_Signing_Message.pdf
SB277 text says “If the parent or guardian files with the governing authority a written statement by a licensed physician to the effect that the physical condition of the child is such, or medical circumstances relating to the child are such, that immunization is not considered safe, indicating the specific nature and probable duration of the medical condition or circumstances, including, but not limited to, family medical history, for which the physician does not recommend immunization, that child shall be exempt from the requirements”…
Doctors and parents took those statements as true, fact, sincere, and sought valid medical exemptions to protect children from further harm. Will the state of CA reimburse parents for the cost of appointments and tests to get the MEs they pursued based on these statements by public officials? Based on the language granting MEs in SB277? I estimate that could be between $20 million to $40 million depending on the number of medical exemptions which are tossed out if SB276 passes.
The judgement of the doctors – specialists – experts awarding the MEs must be respected over all other government opinions/processes. You don’t go to a specialist with child’s complicated bleading edge medical questions and then ask the DMV to review your treatment plan. Absurd.
Dr. Stoller has been a hero, helping parents in very difficult circumstances to understand what is happening and the latest science. He has helped protect children and people in need of protection from increasingly heavy handed state policies influenced, hijacked, by the Pharma lobby funded by hundreds of millions of dollars of Pharma industry money – this is the public nuisance we need to all focus our attention on if we are interested in furthering public health.
maybe all unvaccinated adults, all people flying into san francisco, all people driving into san francisco may also be a “nuisance” and shold also therefore be sued…where is the boundary of reason here? keep fighting–you represent all of us
Would it not then follow that all chioldren under age 1 would also be considered a nuisance bc they are not vaccinated…and all adults who have not been checked yet for their titers a nuisance?
Will be praying for Dr. Stoller and many thanks to Richard Jaffe for representing this fine physician!
Best to you both…
Tried to put this comment on LA Times site but no success: My child ended up in the ICU after the hep-B shot he got at age 8 hours. He didn’t need it, I was hep-b negative, but the sweet nurse convinced me to get it, even though I was confused about why. After he had the reaction, she was no where to be seen. The first 3 days of his life were spent with him connected to tubes. A neurologist later advised me to stop all his vaccines. And when he was 5, I took a philosophical exemption because it was easy to get, and I had moved and the dr hadn’t put this in records. Because he didn’t have to. Because we used to trust mothers and doctors to balance what the right thing is. We used to say in California that we trust the mother to make the right choice for her body. And of course for her children. The herd immunity was fine even when only 90% of the herd was vaccinated. And now, something like 97% is. When SB277 passed, I needed to switch the exemption to be medical. I went to three drs, and none wanted to give me the exemption. Then I noticed I could do titres, so I did that and didn’t have to get him any more shots. Had I had harm my son ago by another vaccine, I would have literally moved out of state. So anyhow, the medical exemption rate was something like .3 % and now it’s .7 %. That’s POINT 3 and POINT 7. It almost “tripled” but its deceptive to say that. Vaccines don’t always work. They have had no liablity since 1987 and little incentive to fix them. So Pharma PR directs you to attack vaccine injured and blame the vaccine failiure on them. This is ludicrous. It doesn’t solve the problem. And it literally terrorizes famiies that witnessed serious injuries. Instead of attackign the vaccine injured, why not regain our trust by training doctors to recognize vaccine-injury, developing treatments to reverse injury, and investing in new disease prevention techniques that match other advances in the 21st century. Blaming vaccine injured is cruel. IT would be like forcing a family who lost a loved on in a 737 Max to get on another 737 Max, then blaming them if the 737Max rehabilitation effort fails because they refuse. Do some research about the vaccine court, VAERS, etc. Vaccine injury is real, it’s way too common, and exemptions are very hard to get. Only a few doctors have the courage. Only a few doctors have taken the time to learn about them and understand them. They are pioneers. How about interviewing the 1000 families that went to testify to Sacramento? Let’s think. What’s their motivation? Never before have dems and liberals believed the word of a profit making corp about its products safety before the word of its fellow americans. And part of the reason is media failure. As the vaccine schedule increases, serious vaccine injury WILL come to someone you love. It’s only a matter of time. And you will desperately wish for a doctor who can treat it and support you. Becuase God knows, no one else will.
I have a hired a friend to send paper letters of all the vaccine research to every politician, and then go after the news reporters, and then print out these types of stories and pt them on cars in the parking lots of big stores. any way we can we still need to get the word out..maybe we can rent a big bilboards..
the pic doctors hearts are wounded. we need those families to go nits educating the public in any way possible–and if la times wont take us we call 1000 other places–pod casts etc–we start our own, we take jobs in powerful places so our word can be heard–just like other oppressed cultures have in the past. try farmers markets–under holistic health data sales
Good luck to you and Rick and Ken. My family and I sincerely appreciate the work you are doing to protect our rights and our health.