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Lead Samsung lawyer defends decision to send rejected evidence to media

Lead Samsung lawyer defends decision to send rejected evidence to media

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Samsung's lead counsel in the Apple v. Samsung case filed a personal declaration this morning confirming that he authorized the release of the statement to media outlets regarding the excluded Samsung and Apple design documents.

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John Quinn, Samsung's lead counsel in the Apple v. Samsung case, filed a personal declaration this morning confirming that he was the one that authorized the release of a statement to media outlets regarding the Samsung and Apple design documents that had been repeatedly excluded from evidence by Judge Lucy Koh. The judge became noticeably angry when she learned of Samsung's press statements yesterday, while Quinn was away from court, and demanded the lawyer's declaration to explain exactly what his role was in releasing this information to the media.

"I approved and authorized the release of a brief statement."

The declaration is pretty straightforward, explaining that Samsung's statement was not a general press release — directed only to members of the media who had specifically requested further details — and did not constitute a legal or ethical violation. With regard to the latter, his declaration notes that "all of the material in the excluded trial exhibits at issue was previously in the public record" and that the release "was not motivated by or designed to influence jurors."

Quinn also took the opportunity to fire back at Apple's in-court accusations that Samsung's press statement constituted contempt of court, claiming that such "false representations by Apple's counsel publicly and unfairly called my personal reputation into question and have resulted in media reports likewise falsely impugning me personally."

It's difficult to say exactly where Koh will come down on this side issue now that the dust has settled a bit, but in the end the trial will go on — without the excluded evidence. We're in court everyday for the trial and will keep you updated.