A 20-year legal siege has nearly ended for Joseph Scheidler on June 8, with a judge's order expected soon to dismiss a lawsuit against the American pro-life activist and several co-defendants.
On June 9, 1986, the National Organization for Women (NOW) brought suit against Scheidler, the head of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League, and other leading pro-lifers, under the federal RICO law designed to curb organized crime. NOW alleged that the defendants had engaged in a criminal conspiracy to restrain trade by attempting to discourage women from procuring abortions.
NOW v. Scheidler became a landmark legal case, in which abortion supporters sought to set new precedents discouraging pro-life activism. After an early court decision against them, the defendants were ordered to pay enormous legal damages to NOW. Facing the loss of their homes and personal possessions, the pro-lifers appealed, and the case eventually reached the US Supreme Court.
Before it was settled, NOW v. Scheidler had become the only case the history of the US legal system in which appeals were heard by the US Supreme Court on three different occasions. In 2003 the pro-life activists won an 8-1 victory in the high court, and again in February 2006, after NOW raised a new appeal, the Supreme Court ordered the charges dismissed.
Just one day short of its 20th anniversary, the lawsuit was finally scheduled to end. Following the US Supreme Court directive, Judge David Coar was to enter a judgment in favor of the defendants. But on a last-minute request from NOW, the judge agreed to postpone the final resolution of the case for two weeks. So, Scheidler observed, the case "slides into its 21st year." [snip] More
Tip O' the Hat to Catholic Report
No comments:
Post a Comment