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TALLAHASSEE - House Speaker Johnnie Byrd cannot be forced to testify in a lawsuit brought by an unpaid computer vendor, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom issued the order after reviewing the transcript in the case, which has been the subject of more than a year of litigation.
Hayes Computer Systems is seeking to prove that Byrd dismissed the company soon after he became speaker in 2002, partly for political reasons. House lawyers argued that forcing Byrd to give a deposition was harassment.
"A high government official should not be subject to compelled testimony every time a governmental entity within the official's authority is involved in a dispute over one of its (typically myriad) contracts," Sjostrom wrote.
The judge concluded that Byrd should not be compelled to testify until two conditions are met: Hayes must exhaust other means of getting the same information and must show the speaker is uniquely able to provide it.