> Brethren: This is good news-both forthose of us in the pro-life community and for those of us who are 'minority' rite clergy. Especially in this period of time with so many of our remaining civil rights being curbed (ala McCarthyism acc. to some) this should encourage us to speak out for the Kingdom of Christ both in this world andin the next. Te Deum! Blessings GDVW+ > Racketeering Law Doesn't Apply to Pro-life Protesters > > 8-1 Ruling a Victory for Operation Rescue and Joseph Scheidler > > WASHINGTON, D.C., FEB. 26, 2003 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. Supreme Court > ruled that federal extortion and racketeering laws cannot be used > against pro-life protesters sued for engaging in a nationwide plan to > shut down abortion clinics. > > The court's 8-1 ruling applies to protests of all sorts, not just at > abortion clinics, the Associated Press said. The decision lifts a > nationwide injunction that barred people from interfering with > abortion-clinic business. > > Chief Justice William Rehnquist, writing for the majority, said that > when protesters do not "obtain" property, they cannot be punished under > federal extortion laws. > > The ruling was a victory for Operation Rescue, pro-life leader Joseph > Scheidler and others, news services said. They were sued by the National > Organization for Women and others for tactics to block access to > clinics. > > The court's ruling is a victory for Operation Rescue, pro-life leader > Joseph Scheidler and others who had been ordered to pay damages to > abortion clinics and were barred from interfering with their businesses > for 10 years. Today's ruling ends that injunction. > > Numerous friend-of-the-court briefs had said that if abortion protests > were labeled as extortion, then all protest would be imperiled, the > Washington Times said in December. > > The punishments against the pro-lifers were meted out under provisions > of the 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known > as RICO, and the Hobbs Act, a 1946 law aimed at crushing organized > crime. > > * * * > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > > > -- > To unsubscribe, send ANY message to > <faithandlife-unsubscribe@...> ----------------------------------------- This email was sent using FREE Catholic Online Webmail. Please tell your family, friends and children about COL Webmail! http://webmail.catholic.org/ During the Lenten Season, please help support the mission of Catholic Online by purchasing goods and services from our sponsors at http://www.catholic.org/clife/lent