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Davidians want federal papersBy Michelle Mittelstadt WASHINGTON -- Attorneys for surviving Branch Davidians and relatives of those who died during the 1993 Waco siege appear headed for a showdown with federal lawyers over the government's refusal to turn over information that the plaintiffs demanded in their wrongful-death lawsuit. The plaintiffs' lawyers, who expect to go to trial early next year in their civil suit against the government, say they believe that federal agencies are wrongfully withholding critical evidence by claiming that it is classified or falls under Privacy Act protection. "There are a lot of documents which have been turned over to us, large portions of which have been blacked out," said lead counsel Michael Caddell, calling some of the evidence critical to his case. "And that, we'll be taking up with the court." Caddell said he anticipates filing motions asking U.S. District Judge Walter Smith in Waco to examine the government's privilege claims. He intends to bring up the matter when both parties meet privately with the judge on Oct. 15. Caddell's concern is shared by co-counsel James Brannon, who represents the estates of the three children that Davidian leader David Koresh had with his legal wife, Rachel Jones. The children, and others Koresh fathered with different women, were among about 80 people who died during the fiery end to the 51-day standoff. The Justice Department had no comment on the lawyers' complaint. Caddell questioned the government's decision to black out passages "in virtually every case" from post-siege interviews that FBI agents in Waco were required to complete. "We're entitled to know everything that they heard or saw or did on April 19," Caddell said. Brannon is challenging the government's refusal to provide the names of certain participants in the final assault. "They cannot hide behind any laws, any statutes to inflict wrongful deaths on American citizens and then say, `You can't ever find out who these people were,' " he said. "I don't believe the Supreme Court of the United States says that. And believe me, we will take it that far to find out the names of these perpetrators if we have to." Caddell said that although some privilege claims may be legitimate, he doubts that all the assertions are merited and wants Smith or a court- appointed special master to review the disputed items.
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