Scientology and the legal system

The Church of Scientology has been involved in court disputes in several countries. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, question has been raised as to its motives. [cite web | first = Douglas | last = Frantz | title = An Ultra-Aggressive Use of Investigators and the Courts | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E3D71639F93AA35750C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work = | publisher = The New York Times | date = 1997-03-09 | accessdate = 2007-12-27 ] The Church says that its use of the legal system is necessary to protect its intellectual property and its right to freedom of religion. Critics say that most of the Church's claims are designed to harass those it perceives as its enemies. [cite news
last = Staff
first =
coauthors = Anderson Cooper
title = Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees - Inside Scientology
work = Anderson Cooper 360°
pages =
language =
publisher = CNN
date = April, 14, 2007
url = http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/14/acd.01.html
accessdate = ]

According to a U.S. District Court Memorandum of Decision in 1993, Scientologists "have abused the federal court system by using it, inter alia, to destroy their opponents, rather than to resolve an actual dispute over trademark law or any other legal matter. This constitutes 'extraordinary, malicious, wanton, and oppressive conduct.' ... It is abundantly clear that plaintiffs sought to harass the individual defendants and destroy the church defendants through massive over-litigation and other highly questionable litigation tactics. The Special Master has never seen a more glaring example of bad faith litigation than this." [RTC v. Robin Scott, U. S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 85-711-JMI (Bx) 85-7197-JMI (Bx), January 20, 1993, Memorandum of Decision [http://www.lermanet.com/cos/morejud.html] ]

Legal disputes initiated by Scientology often fall into one of the following categories:

* Religious discrimination cases, including recognition as a religious organization.
* Copyright infringement cases. Scientology's religious documents are copyrighted, and many are available only to members who pay for higher levels of courses and auditing.
* Libel and slander cases.

In the years since its inception, the Church of Scientology's lawsuits filed against newspapers, magazines, government agencies (including the United States tax collecting unit, the IRS), and individuals have numbered in the thousands. In 1991, "Time" magazine estimated that the Church spends an average of about $20 million per year on various legal actions,cite news|first=Richard|last=Behar|title=The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power|pages=50|publisher=Time Magazine|date=1991-05-06|url=http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Fishman/time-behar.html|accessdate=2006-08-09] and it is the exclusive client of several law firms.

The Church's view

Scientologists say that the church's main goal is to be recognized as a religion, which on occasion has met resistance from opponents (including national governments), and this has forced it to have recourse to the courts. In some instances the church has succeeded in overcoming such resistance, although occasionally this has required protracted court battles. [cite news |title=Anonymous Versus Scientology: Cyber Criminals or Vigilante Justice? |date=2008-02-06 |url=http://www.thelegality.com/archives/22 | work =The Legality |accessdate = 2008-01-25] Scientology's path to legal recognition as a religion in New Zealand took 48 years and several lawsuits.cite press release
title=IRD recognises Scientology church as charity
publisher= Human Rights Without Frontiers International
date=2002-12-27
url=http://www.hrwf.net/html/newzealand2002.HTM
accessdate=2006-08-09]

Other efforts have had less success. In 1999, the United Kingdom rejected an application for charity status and the attendant tax benefits.The Charity Commission (1999-11-17). " [http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Library/registration/pdfs/cosfulldoc.pdf Decision of the Commissioners on the application by the Church of Scientology (England and Wales) for registration as a charity] " (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-08-09.] The church applied for Canadian tax-exempt status in 1998,J. Saunders & T. Appleby, "Scientology Seeks Tax Receipt Status", The Globe and Mail, 19 January 1998, A1, A6.] was reportedly rejected in 1999,cite newsgroup|title=Charity status reported turned down|author=Gregg Hagglund|date=1999-11-14|newsgroup=alt.religion.scientology|id=[e-mail]|url=http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.religion.scientology/msg/38e3bce5f8b9dbbb|accessdate = 2006-08-09] and is not registered as a charity as of May 2006. [https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/sec/SrchLogin-e?login=true Canada Revenue Agency Charity List] ] In Austria, the organization withdrew its application to register as a "religious confessional community". [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71367.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2006] , U.S. State Department]

The activities of the Church of Scientology are not prohibited or limited in any way in the European Union and Scientology enjoys the full freedom of any church in these countries. Some governments have labeled the church as a cult. Although the status is not changed or the freedom is not limited, Germancite web
url=http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/archives/background/scientology.html
title=Scientology and Germany, Understanding the German View of Scientology
publisher=German Embassy in Washington, D.C.
accessdate=2006-08-09] and Belgian government entities have accused Scientology of violating the human rights of its members and therefore called it a "totalitarian cult" and a "commercial enterprise," while a 1995 parliamentary report in France classified it, along with 172 other religious groups, as a "dangerous cult."French National Assembly [http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/rap-enq/r2468.asp Report of the Board of Inquiry into Cults] (1995-12-22, in French, [http://www.cftf.com/french/Les_Sectes_en_France/cults.html English translation] available)] In Russia, the government had refused to consider the church for registration as a religious organization, which became the subject of proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of "Church of Scientology Moscow v. Russia". The court decided that Russia's refusal to consider the Church of Scientology's application for registration as a religious community "had been a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights read in the light of Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion)."

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has expressed concerns that such government initiatives and activities, especially such as occurred in Francevague|date=March 2008, have "fueled an atmosphere of intolerance toward members of minority religious groups."cite paper
author= United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
title=2004 annual report
date=May 2004
url=http://www.uscirf.gov/countries/publications/currentreport/2004annualRpt.pdf#page=62
format=PDF]

Critics' views

Critics state that the ultimate aim of Scientology lawsuits is to destroy church opponents by forcing them into bankruptcy or submission, using its resources to pursue frivolous lawsuits at considerable cost to defendants. In doing so, they draw particular attention to certain controversial statements made by the church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, in the 1950s and 1960s.cite news | first=Joel | last=Sappell | coauthors= Welkos, Robert W. | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientology062990x,0,138179,full.story | title=On the Offensive Against an Array of Suspected Foes | work=Los Angeles Times | date=1990-06-29 | accessdate=2007-08-13] cite news | author = Charles L. Stafford | coauthors = Bette Orsini | title = Church moves to defend itself against 'attackers | url = http://www.antisectes.net/sp-times-scientology-special-report-pulitzer-price.pdf#page=6 | format = PDF, 905K | publisher = St. Petersburg Times | date = 1980-01-09 [http://sptimes.com/2006/webspecials06/scientology/Scientology_Special_Report.pdf#page=6 Original (18M)] ]

In 1994, Scientology attorney Helena Kobrin was fined $17,775 for filing a frivolous lawsuit.cite web|url=http://www.lermanet.com/cos/kobrinsanctions.htm|title=Scientology's Scientologist Attorney Helena Kobrin|accessdate=2006-08-09] U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema cited a frequently quoted statement of L. Ron Hubbard on the subject in the case of "Religious Technology Center vs. The Washington Post", on November 28, 1995:cite web
url=http://www.lermanet.com/scientologylegal/brinkema-washpost.txt
title=Religious Technology Center vs. The Washington Post]

:"The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than win. The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway, well knowing that he is not authorized, will generally be sufficient to cause professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly."—L. Ron Hubbard, "The Scientologist, a Manual on the Dissemination of Material," 1955

Critics also allege that the Church uses litigation as a cover for intimidation tactics, such as investigating the criminal records of opponents (or lack thereof) and subjecting them to surveillance and invasive inquiries, both to discourage further criticism and to ensure the opponent's unwillingness to fight the lawsuit. A policy letter by L. Ron Hubbard, distributed in early 1966, says:

:"This is correct procedure:" ::"(1) Spot who is attacking us." ::"(2) Start investigating them promptly for FELONIES or worse using own professionals, not outside agencies." ::"(3) Double curve our reply by saying we welcome an investigation of them." ::"(4) Start feeding lurid, blood sex crime actual evidence on the attackers to the press." :"Don't ever tamely submit to an investigation of us. Make it rough, rough on attackers all the way."" [http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/bfm/makeitro.htm Attacks on Scientology] " by L. Ron Hubbard, "HCO Policy Letter of 15 February 1966"]

Opponents of Scientology cite this passage, among others, to support their contentions that the church uses smear tactics to augment the effectiveness of legal threats.

Notable Scientology court cases

Notable Scientology court cases include the following:

Cases before the European Court of Human Rights

*On April 5, 2007, the Church of Scientology of Moscow won a judgment against the Russian government establishing its right to recognition as a religious organization. The European Court held that the government's refusal of registration “"... had no lawful basis... the Moscow authorities did not act in good faith and neglected their duty of neutrality and impartiality vis-à-vis the applicant's religious community."”.European Court of Human Rights first section [http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/viewhbkm.asp?skin=hudoc-en&action=html&key=61566 Judgment on Application no. 18147/02 by CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF MOSCOW against Russia] (2007-04-05). Retrieved on 2007-04-09.]

Cases in the USA

*Court case in 1976 concerning Operation Freakout, a church campaign targeting the author Paulette Cooper.

*Court case in 1979 and criminal convictions of 11 high-ranking officials regarding Operation Snow White, the largest program of domestic espionage in U.S. history.

*In 1984, the church began a legal battle with Gerry Armstrong that spanned two decades. The church sued Armstrong for providing confidential documents about L. Ron Hubbard to Armstrong's attorney. The court found that Armstrong's actions were justifiable and affirmed this conclusion in Church of Scientology v. Gerald Armstrong. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology_v._Armstrong] Armstrong settled his counter-claims with the church in December 1986 for $800,000 in exchange for his agreement to keep confidential his experience with the church. The church sued Armstrong for $10.5 million in 1995 and 2002 for allegedly violating the confidentiality agreement in 131 instances. A California appellate court awarded the church $321,923 in damages and $334,671.75 in attorneys fees in 1995, and $500,000 in damages in 2004. The court noted that "Armstrong makes no claim that he has complied, or will ever comply, with the injunction" and that Armstrong claims to now reside in Canada. ["Church of Scientology v. Superior Court", not reported in Cal.Rptr.3d (Cal.App. 1 Dist.), ¶¶2-7 [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology_International_v._Superior_Court] ]

*From the time its tax exemption was removed by the IRS in 1967, to the reinstatement of the tax exemption in 1993, Scientologists filed approximately 2,500 lawsuits against the IRS. Over fifty lawsuits were still active against the IRS in 1993, although these were settled after the church negotiated a tax exemption with the government.cite web | first = Douglas | last = Frantz | title = Scientology's Puzzling Journey From Tax Rebel to Tax Exempt | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E7DE1639F93AA35750C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work = | publisher = New York Times | date = 1997-03-09 | accessdate = 2007-10-26 ] cite web | first = Lucy | last = Morgan | title = Hardball: When Scientology goes to court, it likes to play rough – very rough. | url = http://www.sptimes.com/News/32899/TampaBay/Hardball.html | work = Special Report | publisher = St. Petersburg Times | date = 1998-01-28 | accessdate = 2007-10-26 ]

*The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was driven into bankruptcy in 1996 in part by a number of Scientology-related lawsuits (CAN had also been held liable for over $1 million in damages for the kidnapping and abusive deprogramming of a member of the Life Tabernacle Church, a church unaffiliated with Scientology [cite web | first = Steven | last = Goldsmith | title = Sect member awarded $5 million in kidnap case | url = http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/archives/1995/9510010074.asp | work = | publisher = Seattle Post-Intelligencer | date = 1995-09-30 | accessdate = 2007-12-29 ] ). As the TV news program 60 Minutes reported in 1997, Scientologists filed over fifty lawsuits against the non-profit organization, which spent over $2 million on its legal defense. After one court handed down a judgment of $1 million against CAN, the organization filed for bankruptcy and auctioned off its assets, which were purchased for $20,000 by a lawyer affiliated with Scientology.

*In May 1991, "Time Magazine" published a cover story on Scientology. The Church responded by suing "Time" for $400 million, and a five-year legal battle ensued in which "Time" spent approximately $7 million defending itself in court. The case was eventually dismissed in the magazine's favor. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology_v._Behar/Opinion]

* Scientology has filed lawsuits against a number of Internet users, "The Washington Post" newspaper, over fifteen various Internet service providers in The Netherlands, and others concerned in the matter of Karin Spaink, a supporter of Arnaldo Lerma and other Internet activists who posted on her Web page excerpts from Scientology's copyrighted scriptures, which are withheld from the general public. This legal case included claims by Scientology that hyperlinks to alleged copyright infringements were also illegal. Spaink's case was taken all the way to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands; however, the Court rejected Scientology's claims in their entirety, including the claims regarding hyperlinks.cite news
title=NL Supreme court ends 10 year old Scientology case
url=http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.1/scientologycase
date=2006-01-18
publisher=EDRI
accessdate=2006-08-09]

*In 1998, Scientology (through subsidiary Bridge Publications) sued FACTNet for claimed copyright violations. When federal judge John Kane denied Scientology's request for summary judgment because FACTNet challenged Scientology's ownership of the copyrights of the documents, [cite web |url = http://news.com.com/2100-1023-217696.html |title = Scientology loses copyright round |accessdate = 2007-08-03 |last = Borland |first = John|date = 1998-11-09|work = CNET|publisher = ] a settlement was reached in 1999. The terms were that if FACTNet is ever found guilty of violations of church copyrights, they are permanently enjoined to pay the church $1 million. [cite web |url = http://news.com.com/Scientologists+settle+legal+battle/2100-1023_3-223683.html?tag=item |title = Scientologists settle legal battle |accessdate = 2007-08-03 |last = Macavinta |first = Courtney|date = 1999-03-30|work = CNET|publisher =]

*When the Church was charged with a felony count of practicing medicine without a license in the 1996 case involving the death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson, Florida asked for damages of approximately $15,000 to be awarded against the organization. The Church hired law firms and medical specialists at an estimated cost of over $1 million, waging a defense that eventually resulted in the case being dismissed due to lack of credible evidence. On May 29, 2004, the Church paid an undisclosed amount to settle a wrongful death suit brought on behalf of McPherson's estate. [cite news | last = Farley | first = Robert | title = Scientologists settle death suit | publisher = St. Petersburg Times | date = 2004-05-29 | url = http://www.sptimes.com/2004/05/29/Tampabay/Scientologists_settle.shtml | accessdate = 2007-09-01 ] An article on the suit describes legal attacks made by Scientology's attorneys:

::"interp|McPherson family attorney Ken Dandar has persevered through a seemingly endless barrage of legal attacks. There have been nine attempts to disqualify him, and four attempts to remove Lisa's aunt, Dell Liebreich, as executor of Lisa's estate. Scientology attorneys have filed bar complaints against both him and Lirot, lawsuits against Lisa's family, and motions to remove judges and move the case to other venues. When asked how going up against Scientology compares to normal litigation, interp|First Amendment attorney Luke Lirot replied, 'It's like comparing LSD to orange juice.' [...] The wrongful death case went through four judges in seven years."David S. Touretzky, "Razor" (Web-based magazine) article, " [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Scientology/ReleaseForms/archive/razor-article-2003.html A Church's Lethal Contract] ," January 2004]

*In the case of "Wollersheim vs. Church of Scientology" (1980), former member Larry Wollersheim sued the organization for mental distress, and was awarded $30 million in damages. On appeal, the award was reduced to $2.5 million. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Wollersheim_v._Church_of_Scientology] In 1996, Wollersheim was awarded an additional $130,506.71 in attorney's fees incurred while defending against a church lawsuit that was dismissed for violating a California law prohibiting strategic lawsuits against public participation. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology_v._Wollersheim] Scientology vowed not to pay the award, and the case dragged through the courts for 22 years, including two separate appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States and two additional appeals to the Supreme Court of California. In early 2002, the case was finally settled, with the Church of Scientology paying Larry Wollersheim $8,674,643.cite press release
title=Scientology cult pays $8,674,643 to ex-member to end 22-year legal battle.
url=http://www.factnet.org/letters/FACTNewsMay2002Wollersheim.html
publisher=Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network
date=2002-05-09
accessdate=2006-08-09] cite web | first = Tony | last = Ortega | title = Scientology's Crushing Defeat | url = http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0826,Scientologys-Crushing-Defeat,487758,2.html/full | work = The Village Voice | date = 2008-06-30 | accessdate = 2008-06-30 ]

* In "Religious Technology Center v. Gerbode", 1994 WL 228607 (C.D. Cal. 1994) (against Frank A. Gerbode, inventor of Traumatic Incident Reduction), a Rule 11 sanction of $8,887.50 was imposed against Helena Kobrin, an attorney for the Church, for bringing baseless, frivolous claims. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Religious_Technology_Center_v._Gerbode]

Cases in the UK

*Bonnie Woods, a former member who began counseling people involved with Scientology and their families, became a target along with her husband Richard in 1993 when the Church of Scientology started a leaflet operation denouncing her as a "hate campaigner" with demonstrators outside their home and around East Grinstead. She and her family were followed by a private investigator, and a creditor of theirs was located and provided free legal assistance to sue them into bankruptcy. After a long battle of libel suits, in 1999 the church agreed in a settlement to issue an apology [ [http://www.escapeint.org/legal/apology.htm Apology to Bonnie Woods] from the Church of Scientology and other defendants, 8 June 1999.] [http://www.daisy.freeserve.co.uk/apology.htm Text of apology] to Bonnie Woods] and pay £55,000 damages and £100,000 costs to the Woods. [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/scientology/Scien140.html "Stars' cult pays out £155,000 over hate campaign"] , Richard Palmer, The Express, 8 June 1999.] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,292357,00.html "Scientologists pay for libel"] , Clare Dyer, The Guardian, 9 June 1999.] [cite web
url=http://www.daisy.freeserve.co.uk/bonniewoods.htm
title=Woods vs. Scientology Court Case
accessdate=2006-08-09]

Cases in Canada

*In "R. v. Church of Scientology of Toronto, et al." (1992), the Church of Scientology was convicted on two charges of breaching the public trust, and seven members were convicted on various charges.

*In "Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto", Justice Casey Hill, at that time a Crown attorney involved in the "R. v. Church of Scientology of Toronto" case, sued and won CAD$1,600,000 for libel, the largest libel damage award in Canadian history. During the case, it was shown that a file had been kept on him as an "Enemy Canada." In their decision (1995), the Supreme Court of Canada found:::"In this case, there was ample evidence upon which the jury could properly base their finding of aggravated damages. The existence of the file on Casey Hill under the designation "Enemy Canada" was evidence of the malicious intention of Scientology to "neutralize" him. The press conference was organized in such a manner as to ensure the widest possible dissemination of the libel. Scientology continued with the contempt proceedings although it knew its allegations were false. In its motion to remove Hill from the search warrant proceedings, it implied that he was not trustworthy and might act in those proceedings in a manner that would benefit him in his libel action. It pleaded justification or truth of its statement when it knew it to be false. It subjected Hill to a demeaning cross-examination and, in its address to the jury, depicted Hill as a manipulative actor." [Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto, lexum-scc2|1995|2|1130]

ee also

*Scientology and the Internet

References

External links

;Church of Scientology
* cite web
title = Church of Scientology International Human Rights Department
work = Scientology's official site in regards to the acceptance of the church as a religion
url= http://www.scientology.org/humanrights/
publisher = Church of Scientology
* cite web
title = Scientology in the News: Press Office
work = Questions and Answers about the Church's actions to uphold religious freedom, copyright law and trade secret protections on the Internet
publisher = Church of Scientology
url = http://www.scientology.org/scnnews/intern_1.htm
* cite web
title = Links related to Scientology and legal cases
work = Yahoo directory of Scientology and legal cases
url= http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Religion_and_Spirituality/Faiths_and_Practices/Scientology/Legal_Cases/
publisher = Yahoo!

;Critical and other sites
* cite web
title = Google Erasure of Anti-Scientology Links
work = specific legal actions about intellectual property on Google
url= http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Intellectual_Property/Copyrights/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act/Google_Erasure_of_Anti-Scientology_Links/
publisher = Open Directory Project
* cite web
title = Scientology Court Files
work = a site critical of Scientology
url= http://www.xenu.net/archive/CourtFiles
publisher = Xenu.net
* cite web
title = Scientology and the Legal System
work = a site critical of Scientology
url= http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Scientology_and_the_Legal_System
publisher = SubGenius

* cite web
title = Chilling effects
work = a clearinghouse of legal documents
url= http://www.chillingeffects.org/search.cgi?search=scientology
publisher = Chilling Effects