However, a Canadian court would most likely agree to the pre-trial deposition of a witness who could be compelled to testify in the United States.

The proximate cause of Judge Presnell's ruling, issued Tuesday, was a motion saying the two lawyers in the case could not agree about where to conduct the deposition of a witness.

In what is being described as a precedent-breaking decision, a Federal district judge in Washington has ruled that a news organization has the right to be present at the pretrial deposition of a witness in a civil lawsuit.