Anti-abortion
activists lose bid to dismiss California privacy case
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[June 22, 2017] By
Lisa Fernandez
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Two anti-abortion
activists charged with felony eavesdropping for secretly filming
abortion providers in California lost their bid for dismissal of the
case on Wednesday, but the judge ordered prosecutors to amend a criminal
complaint he deemed too vague.
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San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Christopher Hite gave the
state attorney general's office until mid-July to file a revised
complaint that describes the accusations in greater detail,
including specific dates, alleged victims and circumstances.
Hite ruled the identities of alleged victims would remain under
court seal and admonished lawyers to keep that information
confidential, after the defense team for one defendant, David
Daleiden, was found to have posted videos and other identifying
material online.
The judge declined to take disciplinary action against Daleiden's
lawyers, as urged by prosecutors, and also denied the defense's
request to toss out the case.
Daleiden, 28, and Sandra Merritt, 64, appeared in court on
Wednesday, but they are not expected to enter a plea until the
arraignment on July 17, the deadline set for the amended complaint.
Each is charged with conspiracy and 14 counts of invasion of privacy
for creating false identities as representatives of a fetal-tissue
procurement company to infiltrate a 2014 National Abortion
Federation meeting, then videotaping conference participants and
others without their consent.
Daleiden and Merritt have cast themselves as targets of a
politically motivated prosecution for their roles in "sting"
operations that exposed Planned Parenthood and related groups to
unwelcome scrutiny by conservatives in Congress during the run-up to
the 2016 elections.
Defense lawyers say Daleiden and Merritt acted as "citizen
journalists" employing well-worn undercover tactics of the news
media.
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Prosecutors counter that Daleiden and Merritt engaged in computer
hacking and criminal fraud to create false IDs and a sham corporate
entity to gain access to private meetings - behavior that bona fide
journalists would avoid as unethical.
Daleiden became an anti-abortion movement hero in 2015 after his
group, the Center for Medical Progress, circulated videos purporting
to show Planned Parenthood officials trying to profit from the sale
of aborted fetal tissue in violation of federal law.
The organization said Daleiden's heavily edited videos distorted its
lawful and ethical practice of seeking reimbursement only to cover
costs associated with such donations.
Daleiden and Merritt were indicted in January 2016 for using illegal
government IDs to covertly film a Planned Parenthood facility in
Texas, but that case was dropped.
(Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Bill Trott and Leslie Adler)
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