Likening ongoing proceedings before Delaware Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly to a “criminal prosecution”, IP Edge LLC-tied plaintiff Backertop Licensing LLC has apprised the court that Backertop and its sole owner Lori LaPray will not appear, either in person or remotely, at a planned July 20 hearing and that “Backertop has instructed its attorneys not to produce any documents” going forward. The plaintiff did so in an extraordinary document styled as a “Notice of Objection to and Non-Participation in Judicial Inquisition”. In it, Backertop declares that Judge Connolly “has abandoned the adversarial framework that is a hallmark of [the US] legal system and that affords constitutional safeguards to those facing potential sanctions, including criminal prosecution”; that Judge Connolly “has been compelling Backertop and Ms. LaPray to provide testimonial and documentary evidence without advising them of their rights in the face of a possible criminal prosecution”; and that Backertop and LaPray therefore “respectfully decline to participate further” in what they term a “transparently invalid” proceeding. New counsel David L. Finger of Finger & Slanina, LLC filed this document on Backertop’s behalf two days after Judge Connolly denied Backertop’s “motion for reconsideration” of a prior order requiring LaPray to appear in person at the July 20 hearing.