Lawyer’s Video Can Be Inspected for Child Porn Before Discovery

A woman can give the FBI a video she claims depicts child pornography before first producing it for discovery in her case against a Houston lawyer, the Texas Supreme Court held Tuesday in reversing a prior ruling from the court.

“A trial court must determine whether discoverable material is protected before ordering production to protect the alleged minor,” the justices wrote in a per curiam opinion. Requiring discovery before allowing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine whether the video contains child sexual abuse material “risks further harm to the alleged minor.”

The decision stems from a lawsuit Magdoline ...