Pending USSC Case: Scheidler v. NOW

This session the USSC will be hearing arguments in 2 cases, Scheidler v. NOW and Operation Rescue v. NOW. Both cases are closely tied together and decisions will likely be handed down concurrently.


The basic jist of both cases is this: Scheidler and Operation Rescue were both sued by NOW years ago for organizining "Right to Life" protestors. In some cases the protestors were over-zealous and damaged property or physically restrained people entering clinics were abortions were known to occur.

NOW sued both groups under the Federal RICO Statutes and the most recent rulings by the appeals courts have favored NOW's position. The courts however, awarded not only financial (i.e. "treble") awards to NOW but also issued "prior restraint" injunctions to both groups prohibiting their activities in the future.

Now the cases sit before the US Supreme Court. The argument here is that the RICO statues make no provision for a civil case ruling to allow pre-emptive relief. Arguments are being made that prior restraint injunctions not only infringe on 1st Amendment rights but violate provisions of the Hobbs Act.

What are your views on these cases? How do you think the court should rule?

(I'll provide WWW links to relevant materials as I find them!)