Pro-Lifers Win Final Victory
After 28-Year-Long Case Closes
by Ken Klukowski 1 May 2014, 9:11 AM PDT
Everyone who practices abortion law in
federal court knows about NOW v. Scheidler, the organized crime conspiracy case
litigated by the Thomas More Society that has pitted pro-abortion and
anti-abortion activists against each other since 1986. Now it’s finally over.
The pro-life forces won.
“This suit began 28 years ago and has been
to the Supreme Court three times. All defendants who stuck it out to the end
(some settled) prevailed across the board,” Judge Frank Easterbrook began his
opinion, writing for a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
In 1986, the National
Organization for Women (NOW) -- a feminist group that is militant
about pushing abortion rights -- sued an
anti-abortion coalition called the Pro-Life Action Network (PLAN) under the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. In laymen’s terms,
NOW accused pro-lifers of being legally the same as an organized crime
syndicate. They also brought counts under anti-trust law.
This case was litigated by the Thomas More
Society, a pro-life public-interest law firm with a Roman Catholic religious
orientation. The case that gave birth to the Chicago-based organization.
The U.S. District Court for
the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the case in 1991. The
Chicago-based Seventh Circuit then affirmed that dismissal on appeal, holding that
RICO only applies for profit-making enterprises. The U.S. Supreme Court
reversed in a unanimous decision in 1994, holding that RICO can apply to
nonprofit organizations, so the suit could proceed.
The case was reassigned to a new district
judge, David Coar, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, and finally went to trial
in 1998. Judge Coar ruled in favor of NOW in 1999, awarding $257,000 plus
attorneys’ fees.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed this judgment
in 2001, but the Supreme Court reversed again, this time ruling in favor of
Thomas More and Scheidler/PLAN. But looking at the case for the third time, the
Seventh Circuit decided that the Supreme Court had overlooked one part of the
RICO verdict, and tried to send the case back to Coar in the district court.
Thomas More instead asked the Supreme
Court to take the case a third time, which it did. The justices ruled
unanimously in 2006 that the lower court needed to finally dismiss the entire
case on the merits.
This judgment of dismissal was final in
2007. After that, Thomas More filed a bill for court costs. Then nothing
happened for years.
Much of this case’s long and exhausting
history is due to the inexcusable delay of Judge David Coar of the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He failed to do his job
for three years after a bill for court costs was submitted to him, then retired
before ruling on it.
So the matter was assigned to another
judge, who issued a ruling two years later (which is also an unjustified delay,
even for such a long and complex record). Then this new judge, Charles Norgle,
issued a judgment for $63,000, which amounts to a measly $2,300 per year.
So this last round was argued before the
Seventh Circuit for a fourth time on April 18, 2014. The court issued its
decision just eleven days later, which is a lightning-fast speed typically
reserved for dire emergencies.
In this final round, NOW objected to
Thomas More lawyers filing sworn affidavits regarding their time sheets and documents
for the case, arguing this was not enough to be awarded attorneys’ fees.
Easterbrook’s reaction was, “Why not? No statute or rule requires more.” He
noted that NOW argues that Thomas More lawyers must go through every document
from 1986 through 2007 to show why it was necessary for the litigation. “That
would be preposterous,” Easterbrook decided.
Then NOW argued that because Thomas More
waited three years to avoid pestering the court, those lawyers had somehow
forfeited their rights. It’s true the anti-abortion lawyers could have done
something to nudge the district court, but they were not required to do so. Not
only that, but the pro-abortion lawyers could have pressed the liberal Coar to
issue a ruling if they thought they could win with him. “Nagging judges to act
on motions under advisement is not essential to preserving one’s rights,”
Easterbrook commented.
This case may set a record. It took 28
years, was heard by the Supreme Court three times (the Court only takes 1
percent of the cases offered to it -- ever), and involved four decisions from
the court of appeals. As Easterbrook concluded his opinion, “This litigation
has lasted far too long. At last it is over.”
U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Ann
Claire Williams is a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the 7th Circuit, and a trustee at the Carnegie
Corporation of New York.
Note: Newton
N. Minow is an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of
New York, a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP,
and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Newton N.
Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP,
and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
R. Eden
Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP
Gary
Scott Feinerman was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP,
and is a judge for the U.S. District Court -
Northern District of Illinois.
Barack Obama
was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP, and an attorney
for ACORN vs. Illinois State Board of Elections.
Association
of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
was the plaintiff in ACORN vs. Illinois State
Board of Elections.
Sidley
Austin LLP was the legal adviser for the Association
of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).
David
F. Hamilton was a canvasser for the Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), is a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, and Lee H. Hamilton’s nephew.
Lee H.
Hamilton is David F. Hamilton’s uncle, an honorary
trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank),
and was a co-chair for the Iraq Study Group.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was
a member of the Iraq Study Group, is an honorary
trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s
great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society.
Cyrus
F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Valerie
B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Rahm I.
Emanuel is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
the Chicago (IL) mayor, Ari Emanuel’s brother, and was the White House chief of
staff for the Barack Obama administration.
Ari Emanuel
is Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, and the co-CEO & director for William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.
Barbra
Streisand is a William Morris Endeavor
Entertainment client, and the founder of the Barbra
Streisand Foundation.
Barbra
Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America, the Center for
American Progress, and Demos.
George Soros
is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations,
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open
Society, a contributor for MoveOn.org, and
a supporter for the Center for American
Progress.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for People for the
American Way, the Center for American
Progress, and Demos.
Margery
Tabankin is a director at People for the American Way,
and the treasurer for the Barbra Streisand
Foundation.
Julian Bond
is a director at People for the American Way, and a
co-founder for the Southern Poverty Law
Center.
James
Rucker is a director at the Southern Poverty Law
Center, a co-founder for ColorOfChange.org,
was a director at Green for All,
and a director of grassroots mobilization for MoveOn.org.
Van Jones was
a co-founder for ColorOfChange.org, a senior fellow
at the Center for American Progress, is the
founder of Green for All, and a trustee at Demos.
Marsha
Levick is a director at the Southern Poverty Law
Center, and was the executive director, legal defense fund for the National Organization for Women (NOW).
No comments:
Post a Comment