Case dismissed against activists in Planned Parenthood undercover video lawsuit

[jpak]

Source: click2houston.com

HOUSTON - The case was dropped Tuesday against activists in the center of a Planned Parenthood undercover video lawsuit.

Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Planned Parenthood Center for Choice and Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains joined the federal lawsuit against David Daleiden and the people behind the discredited video smear campaign that targeted Planned Parenthood health centers and staff.

The expanded lawsuit stated that anti-abortion activists engaged in an elaborate, illegal conspiracy in order to block women’s access to safe and legal abortion.

The lawsuit claimed Daleiden and his co-conspirators maliciously deceived and trespassed on private property of both affiliates. It also expanded the damages caused by Daleiden and his co-conspirators’ reckless actions and dangerous rhetoric, contributing to a hostile climate in Louisiana, Texas and Colorado, that enabled increased political and violent attacks against Planned Parenthood health centers and other abortion providers.

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Read more: http://www.click2houston.com/news/case-dismissed-against-activists-in-planned-parenthood-undercover-video-lawsuit

[marybourg]

1. Great reportage (not).

I read the linked article 2x. No information on why the case was dismissed. The 1st sentence in the OP above is the only info about the dismissal.

[2naSalit]

2. Dropped or dismissed?

Two entirely different results. Dropped means the Plaintiff decided to not press on to a trial. Dismissed means the court (Judge) refused to hear it. Which is it? It really matters which one is the actual truth here.

[niyad]

3. here is a bit more, but still no real information.

(what in the HELL is wrong with the harris county prosecutor--another woman-hating pos????)

. . .


HOUSTON --
A Texas judge on Tuesday dismissed the last remaining charge against two California anti-abortion activists who made undercover videos of themselves trying to buy fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood.

District Judge Brock Thomas dismissed the tampering with government records charge against 27-year-old David Daleiden and 63-year-old Sandra Merritt upon the request of the Harris County prosecutor's office.

. . . .
http://abc13.com/news/last-charge-dismissed-against-anti-abortion-activists-in-planned-parenthood-case/1443457/

[SeattleVet]

4. Poorly written or edited article. Only by very closely reading do you find...

that it appears that is was the state case that was dropped when the various Planned Parenthood organizations joined the federal case, which covers a lot more ground. That is, PP dropped the state case and moved to the federal one.

[niyad]

5. thank you, that certainly helps.

[Panich52]

7. Hope that means these terrorists face more serious penalties

PP also probably agreed to have it moved it to feds because of insipid misogyny that infects Texas officials at all levels.

[SeattleVet]

8. More charges, heavier penalties...

and removing it from a state where there was more of a chance that the prosecutor was going to throw the case (he came out and said that they shouldn't have been charged to begin with).

Good move, overall.

[cynzke]

9. NOT A LAWSUIT....

This was the criminal case filed against David Daleadan and cohort. Sounds like the State's case was dismissed on technical matters and enough evidence. Hear is a link....FORGET THAT IT IS A BREITBART LINK(UGG!), the legal information explains the reasons for dismissal.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2016/07/26/breaking-remaining-charges-planned-parenthood-videographers-dismissed/

[SeattleVet]

11. Thank you for the clarification!

The original articles were extremely poorly written/edited. It was hard to get any real info from them.

[niyad]

6. republican brock thomas

[ca3799]

10. It appears the trespass case is dropped but not the Federal Rico case

I don't see any info on the Houston trespass case in the Harris County Court Records online.

My PACER account says the federal RICO case is in discovery.

[Calista241]

12. More from NPR

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/26/487490938/judge-drops-charges-against-anti-abortion-activists-behind-covert-recordings

David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt used fake IDs when they approached the organization. They were indicted for tampering with government records, a felony charge. Those charges have now been dismissed on technical grounds.

...

Daleiden, 27, was charged with a misdemeanor for attempting to buy human organs. That charge was dismissed last month on a technicality, U.S. News and World Report says, because prosecutors hadn't acknowledged that some fees are legally allowed in organ transfers. (If that sounds familiar, just scroll up: it's reminiscent of Planned Parenthood's critique of the activists' video.)

...

As Jennifer Ludden reported earlier this year, Planned Parenthood has filed a civil suit against Daleiden in California. "They say that he lied his way into medical conferences, secretly recorded people without their consent and violated confidentiality contracts that he and others signed," she says. The group is seeking monetary damages for conspiracy and fraud.

[Ford_Prefect]

13. Federal racketeering charges await them yet. Much heavier legal penalties and harder to "fix".

The Feds don't do spurious RICO work. It has traction and a future or they would never have allowed it to be filed, let alone go to discovery. Feds Do NOT like to lose these so they are very particular about how and who and evidence provided as the basis.

But Daleiden's legal troubles aren't over yet. A lawsuit filed last summer against CMP by the National Abortion Federation is ongoing, as is a suit filed by Planned Parenthood in California in January, accusing the CMP of racketeering, illegally creating and using fake driver's licenses, and invading the privacy of, and illegally recording, Planned Parenthood officials and staff.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/anti-abortion-activist-david-daleiden-cleared-felony-charge

[former9thward]

14. Wrong and wrong.

The federal cases are not criminal cases as you are trying to imply. They are not cases filed by the federal government. They are civil and potential penalties are not more severe. Much less.