Court to consider legality of some abortion protests - Nation - Abstract - Brief Article

National Catholic Reporter, May 3, 2002 by Gill Donovan

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to use an abortion protest case to consider how far authorities may go in using anti-racketeering law to prosecute protesters involved in civil disobedience and violence.

The court said it will consider appeals from Operation Rescue, antiabortion leader Joseph Scheidler and others who were mandated in 1998 to pay damages to abortion clinics and barred from interfering with their business for a decade, the Associated Press reported.

The justices will determine whether lower courts went too far in applying the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act to activities of antiabortion protesters.

The case will not consider the constitutionality or legality of abortion itself, but rather the application of federal extortion law and the anti-racketeering statute.

The National Organization for Women and abortion clinics in Wilmington, Del., and Milwaukee had sued antiabortion groups under the racketeering law to defend themselves against what they described as violent tactics. Their lawyers argued in court papers that antiabortion protesters exaggerated the free-speech aspects of their case.

The case will be scheduled for oral arguments in the term that begins in the fall.