DEACON FOR LIFE

Were there to be no support in the whole history of ethical and moral thought, were there no acknowledged confirmation from medical science, were the history of legal opinion to the contrary, we would still have to conclude on the basis of God's Holy Word that the unborn child is a person in the sight of God. He is protected by the sanctity of life graciously given to each individual by the Creator, Who alone places His image upon man and grants them any right to life which they have.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Thomas More Society Wins Significant Victory for Free Speech

Thomas More Society Wins Significant Victory for Free Speech

Ensures Constitutional Rights of Pro-Life Protesters in Maryland

HARFORD COUNTY, Md.,

July 14, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Judge Richard D. Bennett has ruled that local police violated seven pro-life demonstrators' constitutional rights while peacefully participating in a "Face the Truth" display along a Maryland highway.

Judge Bennett ruled that the decision of the Maryland State Police to order pro-life demonstrators to leave Harford County, Maryland when motorists complained about the demonstration clearly violated their First Amendment rights, and the MSP violated the Fourth Amendment when they arrested the pro-lifers for their failure to obey an unlawful order.

The Court also found that any reasonable officer would have known that both the order to leave the county and the subsequent arrest were unconstitutional. The plaintiffs' First and Fourth Amendment claims against the Troopers will proceed to a jury trial for the assessment of damages only. In addition, the Plaintiffs will go to trial on their claim that MSP violated the First Amendment when they arrested pro-lifers for exercising their First Amendment right to call for an end to legalized abortion.

"This is a terrific victory on the merits, with the court holding, as a matter of law, that the MSP wrongly arrested the protestors without probable cause for failing to obey an unlawful order to leave Harford County, thus violating their First Amendment rights," said Pat Gillen, Thomas More Society special counsel who represented seven of the pro-life demonstrators.

For more information or to speak with a representative of the Thomas More Society about this case, please contact Tom Ciesielka at 312-422-1333 or tc@tcpr.net.

About the Thomas More Society
Founded in 1997, the Thomas More Society is a national public interest law firm that exists to restore respect for life in law. Based in Chicago, the Thomas More Society defends the sanctity of human life, the family and religious liberty in courtrooms across the country. The Society is a nonprofit organization wholly supported by private donations. For more information or to support the work of Thomas More Society, please visit www.thomasmoresociety.org.