page_title: Scientology and law
section_title: Scientology court cases
hierarchical_section_title: Scientology and law / Scientology court cases
caption_attribution_description: Grand Jury Charges, Introduction, "United States of America v. Mary Sue Hubbard"
context_page_description: The Church of Scientology has been involved in court disputes in several countries. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, questions have been raised as to its motives. 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 Suppressive Persons, people who impede the progress of the Scientology movement.
  In the years since its inception, the Church of Scientology's lawsuits filed against newspapers, magazines, government agencies, 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, and it is the exclusive client of several law firms. 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.' ...
context_section_description: Notable Scientology court cases include the following:
caption: Grand jury charges from the case of United States of America v. Mary Sue Hubbard (DDC, 1979).
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