A group of peaceful pro-life advocates continues to be besieged by the New York Attorney General despite a ringing victory in a lawsuit filed against them by the Attorney General of the State of New York. The State appealed after the federal judge presiding over the case refused to issue a preliminary injunction against members of Church@TheRock in Brooklyn, New York. The Thomas More Society has continued to defend the First Amendment rights of these pro-life advocates in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on September 26, 2019.

Attorney General's Office Chooses to Appeal Judge Amon's Order

“These men and women have had their day in court and their free speech rights were affirmed from the bench, but that was not good enough for the attorney general’s office," said Thomas More Society Special Counsel Martin Cannon.

Barbara Underwood and her staff chose to appeal Judge Amon’s order and continue to pursue an unwarranted injunction based on fabricated evidence. Her successor, Letitia James, is continuing the unjust prosecution of a baseless lawsuit,” exclaimed Thomas More Society Special Counsel Martin Cannon, who represents the wrongfully accused pro-life advocates.

In July 2018, U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon, of United States District Court – Eastern District of New York, denied the State’s request for an injunction in People v. Griepp et al. The federal lawsuit, filed in June 2017, charged the Church@TheRock members with harassment of abortion-bound women outside the Choices Medical Clinic abortion facility in Jamaica, Queens without any proof, despite the attorney general’s targeted surveillance campaign.

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The charges, originally brought by now-disgraced former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, targeted ten pro-life sidewalk counselors who are members of the Church@TheRock in Brooklyn, New York. The attorney general’s accusations lacked any evidence and were rejected by federal district court. The lawsuit accused these pro-life advocates, who politely offer abortion-bound women information on life-affirming alternatives, of engaging in "a weekly pattern of threatening, obstructive, and violent activity." In August 2018, Underwood, Schneiderman’s successor, appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, claiming that the district court got it wrong. James, who was elected attorney general in November 2018, continues to prosecute the case.

Schneiderman, who resigned in May 2018 over allegations of physical and sexual abuse, filed suit, alleging violations of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act). Schneiderman sought both preliminary and permanent injunctions, compensatory damages, and additional monetary penalties against the pro-life advocates.

Cannon itemized the key problems with the State’s case in a Cross Appeal Reply Brief filed by Thomas More Society attorneys:

• The prosecution lacks evidence of obstruction and other acts with which they have charged the life advocates.
• The Attorney General lacks standing to enforce a cited city act (City Act § 8-805), which allows an injunction to be sought by “a patient, owner, or operator of an abortion facility” who believes that someone has interfered with their ability to access.
• The cited FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) and related State and City Act provisions are facially unconstitutional.

“The FACE Act specifically exempts constitutionally protected advocacy from its prohibitions,” Cannon explained. “Judge Amon obviously agreed. After a three-week trial on the preliminary injunction, she systematically rejected the credibility of the State’s witnesses, the merits of the State’s arguments, and the request for the injunction itself.”

For More Information:

Read the Cross Appeal Reply Brief for All Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants filed by Thomas More Society attorneys, June 17, 2019, with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in People v. Griepp et al. here.

Read more about the New York Attorney General’s attempt to prevent abortion-bound women from being offered information on life-saving alternatives and the Thomas More Society’s defense of peaceful pro-life advocates, in the case People v. Griepp et al., here.