
Krizz
Oprah, Paris Hilton subpoenaed in lawsuit over Canadian border crossing
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
A Detroit record producer has subpoenaed Paris Hilton, Oprah, Mick Jagger and more than three dozen other celebrities to appear in Detroit on Sept. 22 to testify in his $900 million federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination by Canadian border officials.
But a law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law said it is unlikely the 41 entertainment figures will have to appear at Cobo Center to give depositions in Jerome Almon's lawsuit.
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Without being well-versed on the facts of the case, I think that autograph-seekers should not start lining up for the event," Professor Lawrence A. Dubin said today.
Almon, 42, who heads the rap label Murdercap Records, filed a lawsuit in January in U.S. District Court in Detroit alleging he and other black rappers are unfairly harassed and detained by officials at the Canadian border.
Canadian officials have denied they discriminate on the basis of race.
Almon said today he is subpoenaing black celebrities such as Oprah, Spike Lee and Snoop Dogg because he wants them to testify about their own problems experienced at the Canadian border.
And he wants white celebrities such as Martha Stewart and Paris Hilton, who have both done jail time, to testify about how comparatively easy it is for them to cross into Canada, often receiving "red carpet" treatment, he said.
"I'm dead serious," said Almon, who alleges he has been repeatedly detained and harassed by Canadian officials since 1992 and had his entry to Canada banned indefinitely in 2003, despite providing officials with documents showing he has no criminal record.
Hilton plans to visit Toronto Sept. 5 to shoot a film, despite being recently released from jail on repeat driving offenses, he said.
Almon said he had to rent a room at Cobo Center for the depositions.
Dubin said a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit can subpoena anyone, but in certain cases those who receive subpoenas can seek court orders overturning them.
"A judge has the responsibility to see that a litigant does not abuse the discovery process," Dubin said.
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