Posts Tagged ‘ND 88’
Posted by Thomas More Society (July 17, 2010 at 7:46 am)
Trespass Cases Against the “ND88″
“ND88″ Attorneys Allege “Viewpoint Discrimination” in Criminal Prosecutions
South Bend, Ind.—This week, another pretrial hearing was held in St. Joseph County Criminal Court involving the criminal trespass charges that the University of Notre Dame and the county prosecutor continue to press against the “ND88.” In a key ruling, Chief Judge Michael Scopelitis confirmed that Thomas More Society attorneys may take a deposition of a Notre Dame official, the former Director of Residential Life at the University.
The ND88, a group of pro-life demonstrators including Alan Keyes, Norma McCorvey and Fr. Norman Weslin, were arrested on Notre Dame’s campus in May 2009, while praying the rosary, singing religious hymns and bearing peaceful, prayerful witness to the sanctity of life as part of a demonstration against Notre Dame’s honoring of President Barack Obama during its Commencement exercises. [Continue reading ...]
Posted by Thomas More Society (May 4, 2010 at 9:59 pm)
Monica Miller, head of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society in southeastern Michigan and herself one of the “ND88” whom Notre Dame had arrested for protesting the Obama Commencement at Notre Dame almost a year ago, conducted another, similar protest last Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the campus of the University of Michigan.
The occasion? It was the latest Commencement appearance by president Obama, this time at the University of Michigan’s 2010 Commencement.
Perhaps amazingly to some folks, these photos show that such protests can be conducted without arrests, jailing and prosecution of protesters—something that may come as a surprise to those guarding the gates at Notre Dame’s celebrated campus. [Continue reading ...]
Posted by Thomas More Society (April 27, 2010 at 9:41 am)
For Immediate Release
Chicago, Ill.,—In a major ruling—which ultimately could prove decisive for the defense—St. Joseph County, Ind., Superior Court Chief Judge Michael P. Scopelitis lifted a stay order that barred lead defense attorney Tom Dixon from pursuing discovery from Notre Dame officials. Dixon represents the 88 pro-lifers who peacefully assembled against the Catholic university’s decision to honor the vehemently pro-abortion President Barack Obama. By allowing discovery, Judge Scopelitis authorizes Dixon to pursue testimony under oath from said officials who were key decision makers in the arrest of the ND88. It will also allow him to subpoena documents that may shed light on the college’s apparent inconsistency regarding the arrest and prosecution of other groups and individuals participating in similar on-campus events.
“The lifting of this stay on discovery is very significant,” said Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society. “A Notre Dame alumni group, Sycamore Trust, recently reported that homosexual rights and anti-ROTC protesters received, at worst, mere slaps on the wrist for leading unauthorized protests on campus. We believe that through discovery we may well uncover evidence that the Notre Dame police engaged in ‘viewpoint discrimination:’ that the university singled out the ND88 for especially harsh treatment.” [Continue reading ...]
Posted by Thomas More Society (April 26, 2010 at 8:00 am)
Judge Scopelitis, the judge in the trial of the ND 88, has lifted the stay of discovery in the case. The ND 88 are the pro-life activists arrested for walking on the property of the University of Notre Dame in protest of the school’s honoring of President Barack Obama in May of 2009.
This leaves lead attorney Tom Dixon free to pursue depositions and find out more about the events that lead to the arrest of the ND88. Read the Notice of Deposition to see what Tom is seeking to find out, including:
- Who gave authority to the Notre Dame Police Department to arrest the ND88
- Who decided that the listed Defendants were not allowed on campus during the month of May, 2009, and when those decisions were made
- Notre Dame’s policies and practices regarding demonstrations on campus
- All communications between Notre Dame and any outside policing entities regarding the treatment and arrest of these Defendants and which communications occurred prior to the arrests
And much more . . .
Case Documents
Posted by Thomas More Society (April 5, 2010 at 12:02 pm)
Judge Scopelitis’ ruling confirms that evidence of defense is fact-based; does not speak to merits of ND88’s legal defense
Chicago, Ill.—The Thomas More Society announced today that their motion to dismiss filed in St. Joseph County Superior Court has been denied by Judge Scopelitis. In light of the recent death of Linda Schmidt from terminal cancer and the mounting serious health complications and personal challenges experienced by several members of the ND88, the Thomas More Society continues to explore every legal opportunity to bring relief to these peaceful pro-lifers. This includes petitioning the Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C, president of Notre Dame, to request that the charges be dropped.
“We understand Judge Scopelitis’ ruling to have been a strict application of a procedural rule, and we respect that decision. However, he did not rule on the merits of our legal defenses or our constitutional challenges to the validity of the charges. [Continue reading ...]
Posted by Thomas More Society (March 3, 2010 at 11:28 pm)
TMS renews call for Notre Dame President Fr. Jenkins to prefer human rights to property rights and ask the prosecutor to drop all charges against the ND 88
Chicago, Ill.—Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of Chicago’s Thomas More Society—the national public interest law firm whose legal team is defending the Notre Dame 88—is sad to report the death of ND88 client Linda Schmidt who died after a courageous battle with terminal cancer.
“It is with a heavy heart that we report that Linda Schmidt died early last night. While she will be missed by her family and loved ones, as a woman of tremendous faith she will no doubt spend eternity with our Lord,” stated Brejcha. “But our grief at losing this dedicated pro-life heroine is greater given the grim truth that she lived her final days under this cloud of criminal charges instigated by Notre Dame, which remained pending even as she departed this life.”
[Continue reading ...]
Posted by Thomas More Society (February 5, 2010 at 10:09 am)
Don’t miss this commentary by Brian Simboli, Ph.D. on the Notre Dame 88 situation.
Brian, who got his Ph.D. at Notre Dame, provides some stirring thought on why the ND 88 need continued support from pro-life advocates.
Posted by Thomas More Society (January 26, 2010 at 11:25 am)
Indiana attorney Tom Dixon, who represents the “Notre Dame 88,” just learned that Judge Jenny Pitts Manier has formally accused him of violations of Indiana lawyer disciplinary rules, because he argued that she should “recuse” or remove herself from the cases. Dixon argued that a reasonable person may view the judge as biased against the “ND 88,” due to the judge’s husband having financial ties to Notre Dame, where he is a noted emeritus professor and outspoken opponent of Catholic teaching on human sexuality.
After briefing and argument in the Trial Court, Judge Manier denied the initial request for recusal, but agreed with the ND 88 attorneys that the issue should be certified for immediate consideration by the Indiana Court of Appeals. After the appeal was underway but before it was decided, Manier reversed her earlier decision and recused herself.
Details to follow as we learn more…
Posted by Thomas More Society (January 26, 2010 at 10:03 am)
Fr. Jenkins, president of Notre Dame who joined the Notre Dame delegation to the March for Life, held last Friday in Washington, D.C., came face to face with large banners urging him to “Free the ND88″ and many thousands of leaflets also calling out for his taking steps to end criminal prosecutions of the “ND88.”
Pro-Choice President at a Catholic University
These are 88 pro-lifers who peaceably bore witness to the sanctity of life last May, 2009, by entering upon Notre Dame’s famous campus just outside South Bend, Indiana, in a solemn, prayerful procession intended to counterbalance the anti-life message bound up with this Catholic university’s decision to invite pro-abortion president Obama to give the Commencement address to graduating students last May.
Notre Dame also saw fit to bestow an honorary doctor of laws degree on the president, whose Administration already had marked him as the most pro-abortion leader in our nation’s history. Indeed, the actual Commencement ceremony was utterly adulatory toward the president, without a word of dissent or opposition to his pro-abortion record, let alone to his pro-abortion agenda — an agenda that now includes a health care proposal that would negate the Hyde Amendment and usher in an era of tax-supported abortions, thereby assuring a vast expansion of abortion in the U.S., far from the touted net reduction in abortions that Mr. Obama had promised to work for as president during his run for office.
The statue of Our Lady, “Notre Dame,” who stands atop of the university’s famous Golden Dome and crowns its Main Building, might have wept real tears when the president was greeted with rousing applause during his nationally televised graduation speech when he advocated “stem cell research,” without distinguishing between embryonic stem cell research, which destroys innocent human lives but which his Administration now promotes, on one hand, and adult stem cell research, which pro-lifers support, which has proven to yield tangible medically successful results, and which does not harm or destroy any human lives.
Pro-Lifers Arrested for Peaceful, Prayerful Witness
It was mainly during the days leading up to the Commencement when those 88 pro-lifers, who were bearing a cross and/or praying the rosary and not causing any disturbance whatsoever, suddenly found themselves halted by campus security police and were then arrested and hauled off to jail in handcuffs.
[Continue reading ...]
Posted by Thomas More Society (January 18, 2010 at 1:16 pm)
LifeSiteNews.com is spearheading a new petition calling on University of Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins to drop the charges against the ND 88.
The ND 88 are pro-life people who walked on Notre Dame’s campus in protest of President Obama’s scandalous commencement speech there in May of 2009. Find out more about the ND 88 and get all the latest news on the case here.
As of this writing, over 4,000 people have signed the which has recently gained Human Life International as a con-sponsor. The Thomas More Society certainly hopes Fr. Jenkins will hear the outcry of all these faithful pro-life people. Join your voice to theirs by signing the petition today.
