Elderly Pro-Life Sidewalk Counselor Acquitted Despite Accusations at Notorious Wichita Venue
Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312.422.1333, tc@tcpr.net
(July 26, 2017 – Wichita, KS) Thomas
More Society attorneys have achieved victory on behalf of pro-life
sidewalk counselor David Schmidt. Schmidt, who volunteers with Kansas
Coalition for Life, was acquitted of battery on July 25, 2017, by a
Sedgwick County District Court jury.
The
charges against Schmidt, who is 74-years-old and largely blind, arose
from a dispute over pro-life signage outside of Wichita’s South Wind
Women’s Center. South Wind is well known for being the abortion
facility previously run by notorious late-term abortionist George
Tiller.
On
the day in question, South Wind clinic security guard John Rayburn
approached Schmidt’s sign, which was on the ground near Schmidt in the
public right of way, and announced his intention to take it. Schmidt
objected and physically resisted the guard’s effort to remove the sign.
Rayburn then had Schmidt charged with assault.
A
judge ruled that the guard had no right to interfere with Schmidt’s
sign, and that Schmidt had the right to use reasonable physical force in
defense of it. Subsequently, the Kansas jury found that Schmidt was
reasonable in the amount of force he used.
Schmidt
is one of many sidewalk counselors who volunteer their time to the
Kansas Coalition for Life. A group of approximately 75 volunteers rotate
throughout the week to provide a constant presence outside of South
Wind’s abortion center. They
display coalition-owned signage as they pray and share life-affirming
messages with the public. The volunteers’ primary purpose is to inform
and assist abortion-minded women who are entering the clinic.
Thomas
More Society attorney Martin Cannon defended Schmidt against the
battery charges arising from his pro-life witness outside of the South
Wind abortion facility.
About the Thomas More Society
The
Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to
restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty.
Headquartered in Chicago and Omaha, the Thomas More Society fosters
support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal
services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States
Supreme Court. For more information, visit www.thomasmoresociety.
