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Article: Justices weigh RICO in protests; Pro-lifers' tactics at abortion clinics termed as extortion.(NATION)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- December 5, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Julia Duin, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Supreme Court justices used a 1986 abortion case to debate the limits of political protests yesterday, professing skepticism as to whether protests that shut down a business could be called extortion.
At issue was Joseph Scheidler v. National Organization for Women (NOW), in which a jury found two pro-life groups and three individuals guilty of using extortion to shut down abortion clinics.
The case has taken on larger free-speech implications because of how it allows the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act - a statute originally passed to combat organized crime - to be applied to ...