Motion
to
Dismiss Charges against Notre Dame 88 to be Heard Thursday
Lawyers for the 88 pro-life protesters who were arrested on the
University of Notre Dame's campus earlier this year will be heading to
court Thursday in St. Joseph County, Indiana, to argue in favor of a
motion to dismiss the charges against the pro-lifers.
Currently trespassing charges are pending against the 88, who were
arrested on Notre Dame property while protesting the commencement
speech and honorary law degree given to pro-abortion President Barack
Obama in May. If convicted, the pro-lifers could face up to 1 year in
jail and a $5,000 fine.
Despite repeated requests from lawyers from the Thomas More Society,
who are representing the pro-lifers, that Notre Dame request that the
charges be dropped, University President Fr. John Jenkins has continued
to refuse to do so.
In response to those who have contacted Jenkins expressing concern
about the charges, Fr. Jenkins has responded by saying that Notre Dame
doesn't have the power to drop the charges against the 88. However,
while this is technically true, Thomas More Society Chief Counsel Tom
Brejcha told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that "it's almost frivolous" for
Jenkins to suggest that Notre Dame's asking that the charges be dropped
wouldn't have "decisive influence" on whether the prosecutions go
forward or not.
Notre Dame's "own security forces would be indispensible witnesses in
these cases," Brejcha pointed out. "Their active cooperation is
required for the cases to go forward."
"To say that Notre Dame has no power is flatly wrong," Brejcha stated.
"They always have the power to ask. And their asking would, in our view
and based on our many years of practicing law in Indiana and elsewhere,
would have great weight with the prosecutor."
Jenkins has also responded to concerned pro-lifers by saying that the
university has already requested leniency by offering "pre-trial
diversion" to the protesters.
Accepting the offer of "pre-trial diversion" would mean that the
defendants would have to pay court costs of several hundred dollars,
avoid any trouble with the law for 1 year, and promise to stay off
Notre Dame property for a certain period of time, in exchange for the
charges being dropped after a year, pending satisfactorily meeting the
conditions.
But Brejcha told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that while some of the arrested
protestors have accepted the offer "because of the coercive impact of
the fact that they have to pay for expenses and have this thing hanging
over their heads," the rest have refused to do so because "they don't
think they did anything wrong."
Brejcha said that he recently encountered Fr. Jenkins in Chicago, where
he asked the priest why he hasn't asked that the charges be dropped.
Jenkins countered that he had already asked for leniency, and asked,
"Why won't they (the protesters) take this pre-trial diversion?"
Brejcha said that he responded, "Well, Father, like Dr. King, whose
relation with Fr. Hessburgh you celebrated at the commencement … like
Dr. King these folks don't think they did anything wrong."
There is also the complicating factor that the offer of pre-trial
diversion only extends to those who have had no prior involvement with
the criminal justice system. But, "of course, some of these pro-lifers
do," said Brejcha. They "are up in years and were active in the rescue
movement back in the 80s and early 90s," and have been arrested in the
past for pro-life activities.
Brejcha also said that, based on his conversation with the university
president, the irony of the situation - of the pro-lifers being
"arrested by Our Lady's university which professes to espouse pro-life
values" - seemed "to be lost" on Jenkins.
"Jenkins intends to march in the March for Life on Jan 22," said
Brejcha. "Yet, one of the people who is being prosecuted is Norma
McCorvey. The whole purpose of that march to advocate for the overturn
of Roe v. Wade regime. And of course Jane Roe is Norma McCorvey and
she'll be facing prosecution in St. Joseph County before an Indiana
jury for marching on Notre Dame. So the irony of that is also lost on
him."
UPDATE:
The
judge hearing the case of the 88 pro-life protesters who were arrested
for trespassing on Notre Dame property earlier this year granted a
motion to stay the charges pending an appeal into the question of
whether she should recuse herself from the case due to bias.
Judge Jenny Pitts Manier, who is assigned to the case of the 88
pro-lifers who were arrested while protesting President Obama's
commencement address at Notre Dame in May, is married to Notre Dame
Professor Edward Manier. In addition to several writings revealing his
pro-abortion beliefs, the Professor Manier donated "a significant sum
of money" to Barack Obama's Presidential campaign in 2008, as well as
additional donations to other pro-abortion candidates in the U.S.
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Source:
LifeSiteNews.com
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Date:
December 2, 2009
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The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in
Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state
coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of
Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our
society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political
persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic
backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has
been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the
human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that
every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is
dedicated to restoring the right to life to the unborn, and protection
for the disabled and the elderly. Click here to learn more about the IFRL.