On February 14, 2019, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Christopher Hite ordered that David Daleiden’s legal team will be allowed to present their affirmative defenses at an upcoming preliminary hearing to determine whether Daleiden and his co-defendant Sandra Merritt will stand trial on 15 felony charges of illegal taping, in connection with undercover videos that they made during their “Human Capital Project.” Defense testimony will include key expert witnesses, who will testify that Daleiden was reasonably seeking to investigate violent felonies in his investigative work, which is a complete defense under California law to illegal taping charges.
Thomas More Society Lawyers Will Challenge Intrusion of Planned Parenthood into Case, Sealing of Court Records and Names of Publicly Testifying Accusers
“This latest court order gives us the ability to prove the link between David’s actions and uncovering violent felonies by the abortion industry, and to show that these videos were all taken in public locations where the conversations could be easily overheard,” said Thomas More Society Vice President and Senior Counsel Peter Breen, representing Daleiden. Breen also noted that about half of the complaining witnesses whose names have been concealed will be called to testify.
However, the court also accepted the privacy claims of 14 Planned Parenthood workers and others and ordered their names sealed during the preliminary hearing, and ordered that any video shown during the hearing be sealed and inaccessible to the public. The court also allowed Planned Parenthood Federation of America and several of the complaining witnesses to participate in the prosecution, while denying the ability of the National Abortion Federation to do so.
As for Planned Parenthood’s desire to seal names of its workers, Breen called its claims “disingenuous,” stating that, “These abortion advocates are already very public. If you search for their names online, you will find them giving statements to the New York Times and the Washington Post, as well as actively attacking David Daleiden on social media; so, privacy does not really seem like a relevant issue here.” On the order to allow Planned Parenthood to “intervene,”
Breen responded that, “Planned Parenthood has sought to become a private prosecutor in this case, which is unprecedented. We are considering an immediate appeal of this order allowing Planned Parenthood into the case – to protect David’s right to a neutral, disinterested prosecutor dedicated solely to public justice – Planned Parenthood should not be allowed to pursue its campaign to overturn the scales of justice.”
Hite issued his latest order after a hearing on February 11, 2019. The original order to seal the names of the abortion workers was issued in 2017, when the charges against Daleiden and Merritt were first brought. The latest order came from Hite after he discovered that the workers’ names in question had been published on a pro-life website. The names had been hidden by the court because of prosecution claims that the abortion workers “are in fear of bodily harm.”
The new ruling allows for the video evidence recorded by Daleiden to be shown in open court, but then to be sealed immediately afterward. Though the public has the right to generally oversee the court process – including specifically to ensure due process and a fair trial – in this case they will be unable to view the key evidence unless physically sitting in the courtroom. According to Breen, “This is a significant imposition.” He referred to the prosecution as “politically charged,” and urged that the orders, both sealing the witnesses’ names and prohibiting public view of the videos, are “based on nothing more than a set of vague assertions by these unnamed complainants, many of whom are very public abortion advocates.”
Breen added, “We will continue to challenge any rulings that would close these hearings or conceal any evidence from the public, or would allow the abortion industry’s bias to interfere with David’s rights, or would allow Planned Parenthood to influence or control this prosecution.”
Read the latest Order of the Court, issued on February 14, 2019, by Judge Christopher C. Hite, in the Superior Court in the State of California County of San Francisco case, People of the State of California v. David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, here.
