Life Legal Defense Foundation Pleased “Freedom of Access” Case Won’t Go to Trial
Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net
Louisville, KY (January 10, 2013) The Life Legal Defense Foundation announced that after three years, pro-life sidewalk counselor David Hamilton has resolved the lawsuit brought against him by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
Dana Cody, Executive Director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, stated, “This case has been dismissed without an injunction, without a fine, and for a nominal amount. It’s been three years since David Hamilton was unjustly arrested and sued by the federal government. Eric Holder’s pro-abortion connections are well known, and his sentiments toward the pro-life movement have long been evident. Those facts caused this case to appear as part of an Obama administration campaign of intimidation.”
Hamilton was arrested in January 2010, after crossing through a line of pro-abortion protesters who had illegally blocked the sidewalk in front of a downtown Louisville abortion clinic. Not part of that protest, Hamilton had walked through it while speaking with a woman entering the abortion clinic.
“The initial charges against Hamilton were appropriately dismissed by the local police,” explained Cody, “but almost a year later, Holder filed a lawsuit against him under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. This case is just one of many lawsuits he has filed against pro-lifers in minor situations.” She added that many of these cases have already been resolved or decided in favor of pro-life advocates, but not without a great waste of taxpayer money and considerable infringement upon citizen rights.
In an ironic twist, the agreed-upon settlement will go to pro-abortion protester Jane Fitts, something that she herself has testified was unwarranted. Fitts, who has no connection with the abortion clinic, was participating in the illegal blocking of the clinic by an abortion rights group and was jostled, but unharmed, by an unknown subject. Hamilton denied being the jostler and no witnesses, nor Fitts, ever identified him as such.
Hamilton eventually agreed to settle as it brings a degree of closure to the case and prevents further attempts by Holder to pursue an injunction against him.
The Life Legal Defense Foundation provided support for attorneys Michael Hirsh of Atlanta and Vince Heuser of Louisville, who represented Hamilton.
About the Life Legal Defense Foundation
Life Legal Defense Foundation is a non-profit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens, committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation. For more information, go to www.lldf.org.
