Scheidler v. National Organization for Women (2006)
| Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc. | |
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| Argued November 30, 2005 Decided February 28, 2006 |
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| Full case name | Joseph Scheidler, et al. v. National Organization for Women, Inc., et al. |
| Citations | 547 U.S. 9 (more)
126 S. Ct. 1264; 164 L. Ed. 2d 10; 2006 U.S. LEXIS 2022; 74 U.S.L.W. 4149; 19 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 120
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| Prior history | Complaint dismissed, 765 F.Supp. 937 (N.D. Ill. 1991); affirmed, 968 F.2d 612 (7th Cir. 1992); rehearing denied, 7th Cir., Aug. 4, 1992; cert. granted, 508 U.S. 971 (1994); reversed, 510 U.S. 249 (1994); rehearing denied, 510 U.S. 1215 (1994); remanded, 25 F.3d 1053 (7th Cir. 1994); complaint stricken in part, dismissed as to certain defendants; 897 F.Supp. 1047 (N.D. Ill. 1995); summary judgment granted in part to defendants, N.D. Ill. Sept. 23, 1997; permanent injunction granted to plaintiffs, N.D. Ill. July 19, 1999; affirmed, 267 F.3d 687 (7th Cir. 2001); rehearing denied, 7th Cir., Oct. 29, 2001; cert. granted, 535 U.S. 1016; reversed and remanded, 537 U.S. 393 (2003); remanded, 91 Fed. Appx. 510 (7th Cir. 2004); rehearing denied, 396 F.3d 807 (7th Cir. 2005); cert. granted, 125 S. Ct. 2991 (2005) |
| Holding | |
| The Hobbs Act did not apply to the use of violence to block access to abortion clinics, because physical violence unrelated to robbery or extortion falls outside the Act's scope. Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Breyer, joined by Roberts, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg |
| Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (Hobbs Act) | |
Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, 547 U.S. 9 (2006), was a lengthy and high-profile U.S. legal case interpreting and applying the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO): a law originally drafted to combat the mafia and organized crime, the Hobbs Act: an anti-extortion law prohibiting interference with commerce by violence or threat of violence, and the Travel Act: a law prohibiting interstate travel in support of racketeering.
The National Organization for Women ("NOW") as plaintiff filed the suit as a civil class-action in 1986 in federal district court on behalf of women seeking abortions and on behalf of various abortion clinics and providers. Plaintiffs sought monetary damages and injunctions under the RICO, Hobbs, and the Travel Acts, alleging that the defendants against whom the suit was filed are racketeering organizations engaging in a conspiracy to prevent access to health care facilities providing abortion services. The suit's named defendants were Joseph Scheidler and other pro-life/anti-abortion protesters and organizations who were members of the Pro-Life Action League (PLAL), and specifically the Oklahoma Pro-Life Action Network (PLAN). The underlying issues in the case concerning access to abortion and the coercive and violent tactics used by some to prevent such access formed a central rallying point for both sides of the national abortion debate.
The Circuit and Supreme courts heard appeals and the matter was eventually consolidated with National Organization for Women et al. v. Operation Rescue. The case was argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on three separate occasions. A 2003 ruling that non-economic violence does not violate the RICO Act left other federal charges intact, including associated monetary damages and a national injunction against interference with abortion clinic operations, but the entire matter remained unsettled until the final decision in 2006 when the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in favor of Scheidler and PLAN (see below).
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