The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard arguments en banc Tuesday for Planned Parenthood of Columbia/Willamette, et al. v. American Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA), et al., also known as the “Nuremberg Files” case. The Feminist Majority Foundation, along with several reproductive rights groups, filed an amicus brief urging that the Ninth Circuit re-hear the case en banc after a three-judge panel reversed a jury decision that found ACLA liable for threats of violence under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The American Medical Association and 43 members of Congress also filed other amicus briefs supporting a re-hearing.
In 1999, the court previously ruled that “WANTED” posters and Internet sites targeting and threatening doctors were “true threats” and not protected free speech by the U.S. Constitution. As a result, the jury awarded plaintiffs a $107.5 million judgment. Then, in March 2001, a three-judge panel reversed that determination claiming that the First Amendment protected ACLA’s actions.
Media Resources: Feminist Majority Foundation; Law.com, 12/12/01
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
