Judge rules against making Steve Jobs' taped deposition public

December 18, 2014

Apple may have scored a major victory in its recent iTunes antitrust case this week, but the wins keep on coming. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers said on Wednesday that Steve Jobs' deposition, videotaped shortly before his death in 2011, will not be made public.

Judge Rogers outlined her decision in a ruling released Wednesday:

Here, the Court agrees with the Eighth Circuit and concludes that the Jobs Deposition is not a judicial record. It was not admitted into evidence as an exhibit. Instead, the Jobs Deposition was merely presented in lieu of live testimony due to the witness's unavailability, and was and should be treated in the same manner as any other live testimony offered at trial. As is typical of all live testimony, it is properly made available to the public through its initial courtroom presentation and, subsequently, via the official court transcript, the latter of which is the judicial record of such testimony.

The decision comes after drama unfolded last week between media outlets nd lawyers over whether Jobs' deposition should be made public. On one side, media outlets argued that the deposition is a matter of court record and is more compelling than the written transcripts that were made available. On the other side, Apple's lawyers denounced media claims by stating that they only wished to show a "dead man."

Sources: Apple Insider; Scribd (via Apple Insider)