Posted on 09/14/2007 11:10:36 AM PDT by Pyro7480
Outcome of this morning's Planned Parenthood/Aurora hearing
Posted by the Chicago Tribune:
After a hearing this morning, Planned Parenthood and Aurora officials are waiting to hear which federal judge will hear their dispute over whether a Planned Parenthood clinic can open Tuesday as scheduled.
Planned Parenthood filed suit Thursday seeking an emergency court order requiring the city to permit a new clinic to open, and the case was assigned randomly to U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle.
But at a hearing before Norgle this morning, lawyers from both sides agreed that the case might properly belong in front of U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall, who is handling a similar lawsuit, filed last month by Pro-Life Action League.
I called pro-life attorney Jason Craddock, who attended the hearing. Bottom line: The Court didn't deal this morning with the restraining order PP requested against the City to open Tuesday. It punted, upon agreement by both sides.
But if PP agreed to Kendall, that's not good. Although Bush II appointed her, he did so upon the recommendation of Durbin and Obama, who submitted her name with accolades. There is absolutely no way Durbin in particular would have recommended Kendall were she not a wool-dyed liberal.
I doubt Aurora attorneys have any idea who they're up against. They cannot play nice with PP.
I called Joe Scheidler about that aforementioned PLAL lawsuit. He said PLAL filed it against the City of Aurora for "its inability to give us any direct answers whether we could keep our crosses up and assemble." Joe said police kept changing the rules (as recently as last night... more on that later). So PLAL sued for violation of First Amendment rights.
The timing for the PP emergency injunction hearing? According to the Trib:
If Kendall accepts the case, she is expected to hold a hearing on the matter Monday, said Christopher Wilson, an attorney for Planned Parenthood.
Continue reading the story on page 2.
Gemini Office Development LLC applied for the permits, not revealing until recently that Planned Parenthood would operate the clinic.
Aurora officials want to delay the opening while they investigate whether Gemini fully disclosed the purpose of the clinic during the permitting process.
Wilson said after the hearing this morning that it was generally known that Gemini was related to Planned Parenthood. He also said that whether city officials knew that was irrelevant.
"You can't treat us differently" than other medical facilities, Wilson said. "That's not permitted under the law. We provide a constitutionally protected service."
An attorney for Aurora declined to comment after the hearing.
Trombley has said 13 appointments already have been scheduled for Tuesday, the planned opening day of the $7.5 million, 22,000-square-foot medical facility at 3051 E. New York St. on Aurora's east side. The clinic, one of the group's largest in the country, will offer reproductive health-care services, including abortions.
The construction site has been the scene of round-the-clock protests by people opposed to abortion since the end of August. More than 1,000 abortion protesters demonstrated outside the clinic Aug. 25, and another large protest is scheduled for Saturday.Steve Trombley, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area, has said the lawsuit was necessary because the group has lost faith in the objectivity of the city. A letter Wednesday from Aurora said the city would not issue a permanent occupancy permit -- even though the city already issued a temporary occupancy certificate -- until an investigation is completed into how the clinic was approved for construction.
This is the reason why the courts are so important.
Pro-life ping!
BTTT
I wonder why GWB would appoint a judge recommended by Durbin and Obama?
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