Another FACE blow: Judge denies DOJ request to muzzle pro-life activist
On January 16 I reported that a Florida court had dismissed a case brought against a pro-lifer by the Department of Justice based on the Freedom of Access to Clinics Act.
Well, last week a second of the eight cases the DOJ has filed since President Barack Obama took office received a serious blow.
On January 26 U.S. District Court Judge Philip Brimmer denied the DOJ’s request for a preliminary injunction against Denver pro-lifer Kenneth Scott, ruling “the Attorney General would not be reasonably likely to prove at trial that Scott physically obstructed employees of the Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains abortion facility in Denver,” according to the Thomas More Society, the Chicago law firm that is representing Scott.
In other words, the judge thinks the DOJ is going to lose this case. More from TMS:
The Attorney General’s primary legal theory is that a car that stops to speak to a sidewalk counselor constitutes a “physical obstruction” of access to an abortion facility and a violation of the FACE Act, punishable by a $10,000 fine and an injunction against sidewalk counseling at a particular facility.
Judge Brimmer’s ruling held that the brief delays experienced by cars waiting for others to finish their conversations with Ken Scott were not the kinds of “unreasonable delays” contemplated by the FACE Act. Judge Brimmer also held that the balance of the equities weighed in favor of Ken Scott.
As evidence the DOJ submitted videos taped by Planned Parenthood that supposedly demonstrated Scott violating FACE. TMS has posted them on YouTube. They’re laughable.
With real terrorists and awful crimes being committed in the United States, this is what the DOJ thinks is worth spending its time on? Five federal prosecutors have been assigned to this case. Really?
Apparently 2-3 car traffic jams – one of them in a parking lot for crying out loud – are now threats to our national security. Don’t forget any stopped cars were speaking to Scott willingly. The DOJ submitted no evidence that Scott physically blocked cars…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CKAiKQemHM&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUOg-Pa-V3M&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
View the other three videos here, here, and here.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
“With real terrorists and awful crimes being committed in the United States, this is what the DOJ thinks is worth spending its time on?”
As in Germany following the Reichstag Fire Decree in 1933, the DOJ deems the most heinous of crimes as those that challenge the world-view of the establishment. Fortunately enough checks and balances yet exist in the US to curb this judicial thuggery.
Oh, please. How has this not been laughed out of court already?
My, My! don’t you realize…they have to keep the traffic flowing, so they can keep those DOLLARS flowing?
Mustn’t impede “leading the sheep to the slaughter” (as it were).
Why..if someone actually stops to LISTEN, they might actually have a moment to pause and change their minds, then the “slaughterhouse” might actually be out some BLOOD MONEY.
Can’t let THAT happen….why, they have large houses, expensive cars and vacations to pay for, for heaven’s sake!
Those poor, poor put upon abortionists! ;)
Praise God!
They are not trying to win, just trying to scare people off with threats of charges and lawyers fees. This is the most cynical, backhanding administration in our nation’s history.
Who built one-way IN and one-way OUT? Planned Parenthood. They have only themselves to blame.
A fast food restaurant can have upwards of three automobile entrances. Yet their 50,000 square-foot building has … one.
I often sidewalk counsel outside of the Riverside Planned Parenthood. There are always two security gaurds present. One car stopped in the driveway and talked to me. Another car was behind this car and was waiting to also enter the parking lot. I did not tell the drive to stop, the driver stopped on her own. Yet the security guard ran over and started to yell at me and warned me that he’d have me arrested if that were to ever happen again. I wasn’t breaking any laws. It was the drive who decided to stop and remain stop. Those who protect abortion will stop at nothing to make sure that those who oppose it are stopped. :(
As sidewalk counselors, we should keep an eye on the traffic – and sometimes our PP would send out people to drive a car behind someone who stopped to talk with me (that was a rarity, but it did happen).
Most of the time, I just tell the driver to move their car to another place so we can still keep talking. No problems.
Yes – PP usually wants one entrance and one exit. At our local PP, there are multiple entrances and exits, a sidewalk that is on two sides of the building, and a public alley-way on the third side. we have good access, thankfully.
Huh. So Planned Parenthood and the DOJ are getting up in arms because a few cars had to wait 30 seconds or so before they could progress.
One wonders that neither PP nor DOJ have sued the city for installing traffic lights anywhere about. If a protester “obstructing” a vehicle for 30 seconds creates problems, I can’t imagine that forcing drivers to wait for up to 2 minutes for traffic flow can be tolerated.