The next SEC vs Ripple court hearing could determine the outcome of the case, says attorney

• Ripple attorney John Deaton believes that Judge Sarah Netbrun can announce the case outcome in the next hearing.
• It will be interesting to see whether the SEC can use its DPP privilege to prevent itself from producing any documents.

It’s been more than a year since the Ripple vs SEC case began and analysts are expecting an outcome anytime this year. Many crypto market analysts believe that the outcome could be possible in Ripple’s favor.

Related: Did Ripple lie about not knowing XRP was a security?

The recent unsealing of two memos shows that the judge can dismiss the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple in the coming weeks. John E Deaton, the attorney representing over 65,000 XRP holders, believes that the next hearing could determine the outcome of the case. In one of his latest tweets, Deaton writes:

Judge Netburn’s decision on the motion for reconsideration will be the biggest decision in the @Ripple case. I say that b/c I don’t believe the motion to strike the FND is a significant one b/c the Judge isn’t deciding w/r Ripple had fair notice, but only w/r it can argue it.

The reconsideration motion contains all emails and drafts regarding the Hinman speech that states ETH is not a security. Deaton states that the final version of the speech mentions BTC and ETH but not XRP.

In the previous ruling on the deliberative process privilege (DPP), Judge Sarah Netburn asked the SEC to provide the drafts and emails of the Hinman speech. However, not happy with Netburn’s ruling, the SEC had filed for a counter-motion asking the court to reconsider.

The securities regulator further argues that Hinman’s draft is just a personal opinion and not public guidance. Also, the U.S. SEC is using the shield of DPP for not making those drafts public.

Deaton’s view on the case proceedings

Attorney John Deaton explains how the upcoming ruling will be crucial for the outcome of the lawsuit. He writes:

If Judge Netburn ultimately rules that the emails must be turned over, it is HUGE. Don’t forget, even if the SEC persuades her that the emails are covered under the DPP, she can still pierce the privilege and order the documents produced.

Even if the SEC persuades the Judge for protecting the documents via the DPP, the judge has other ways to pierce the privilege. Besides, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has also commented on the two memos unsealed last week. In his latest tweet last weekend, Garlinghouse wrote:

The truth is out for everyone to read. What we see is that the SEC waited 8 years to decide they disagreed with this analysis, decimating thousands and thousands of XRP holders (who they purport to protect) in the process. So much for being mission-driven…

In the latest development, supporters of Ripple have asked tech billionaire Elon Musk to join the fight against the SEC. Both Ripple and Elon Musk have found a common opponent in the SEC.