SPT: Permanent Injunction
The judge calls for a halt to loud skirmishes and says if either side
wants to protest the other, Clearwater police must have a one-hour notice.
By ROBERT FARLEY
ST. PETERSBURG -- Like a principal separating two schoolyard rivals, a
Pinellas County judge on Friday ordered the Church of Scientology and its
critics to back off.
No more yelling and whistling and carrying on.
No more waving signs in the faces of church members as they get off a bus
to grab a bite to eat.
Stop the spying.
And if you want to picket each other, give Clearwater police a one-hour
heads-up.
Hoping to put an end to the over-the-top antics played out between the two
sides on the streets of downtown Clearwater, Circuit Court Judge Thomas E.
Penick added the words "permanent" to an injunction requiring the two
groups to stay 10 feet away from each other.
But he also added a few new rules to the sometimes bizarre warfare between
the church and its nemesis, the Lisa McPherson Trust. McPherson was a
36-year-old Scientologist who died in 1995 after 17 days in the care of
Scientology staffers.
While the order seeks to end harassment on both sides, it specifically
targets several trust activities.
For example, if trust members want to demonstrate in downtown Clearwater,
they'll need to be quiet about it. The order prohibits either side from
yelling, shouting, whistling or singing, or blowing a horn whistle or
other noisemaker that creates a "loud and raucous noise" that would
disturb "reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities."
The order also expands the previously established no-picketing zone to
prohibit the trust from waving signs across from the Watterson Street curb
where Scientology members often get off buses to enter a Scientology
cafeteria. The cafeteria is also about a block from the headquarters of
the Lisa McPherson Trust.
The requirement to give Clearwater Police at least an hour's notice of an
impending picket came at the suggestion of the Police Department, which
had been criticized by some for allowing Scientology to hire off-duty
officers for security. The church paid off-duty officers more than
$150,000 since January 2000 to provide security daily on Watterson Street,
according to city records.
In his order, Penick stated that practice "has raised serious legal and
ethical questions about their responsibilities and the source of funds
paying them."
Clearwater police legal adviser Robert J. Surette says the one-hour
advance notice of pickets may eliminate the need for the off-duty
officers.
"That will enable (Clearwater) Chief Sid Klein to allocate his resources
in advance to ensure the rights of both sides are protected and peace is
maintained," Surette said.
Surette said police were frustrated by frequent calls to arbitrate
"juvenile, nit-picky" incidents between the two sides.
Clearwater lawyer F. Wallace Pope, who represents the church, noted the
privilege of hiring off-duty police officers is extended to every resident
and organization in Clearwater.
But he otherwise applauded Penick's order.
"It sets forth some guidelines that I think will go a long way to keeping
the peace in downtown Clearwater," he said.
Stacy Brooks, president of the Lisa McPherson Trust, was less enthused.
"I think the idea that there's a need to keep the peace is a concept
manufactured by Scientology," she said. "What Scientology is trying to do
is whittle away our civil rights in Clearwater."
Penick concluded after hearing several days of testimony in November that
while the two sides may not ever be able to get along, he'd prefer the
public not have to continue to foot the bill to arbitrate their disputes.
"The financial hemorrhaging must be stopped," Penick stated.
28 Jul 2001
Judge rebukes Scientologists, critics
St. Petersburg Times
July 28, 2001
http://www.sptimes.com:80/News/072801/TampaBay/Judge_rebukes_Sciento.shtml