Opinion ID: 1698486
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: amended permanent injunction

Text: THIS CAUSE came before the court for hearing on the motion of petitioners for sanctions and modification of the permanent injunction entered by this court, (The Honorable Wallace H. Hall), dated September 30, 1992, and the court having taken three days of testimony and having carefully considered the evidence and the legal arguments makes the following findings: A. That despite the injunction of September 30, 1992, there has been interference with ingress to the petitioners' facility known as the Aware Woman Clinic located on the northwest corner of U.S. Highway One and Dixie Way in the City of Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida. The interference to ingress has taken the form of persons on the paved portions of Dixie Way, some standing without any obvious relationship to others; some moving about, again without any obvious relationship to others; some holding signs, some not; some approaching, apparently trying to communicate with the occupants of motor vehicles moving on the paved surface; some marching in a circular picket line that traversed the entrance driveways to the two parking lots of the petitioners and the short section of sidewalk joining the two parking lots and then entering the paved portion of the north lane of Dixie Way and returning in the opposite direction. (See drawing attached.) Other persons would be standing, kneeling and sitting on the unpaved shoulders of the public right-of-way. As vehicular traffic approached the area it would, in response to the congestion, slow down. If the destination of such traffic was either of the two parking lots of the petitioners, such traffic slowed even more, sometimes having to momentarily hesitate or stop until persons in the driveway moved out of the way. B. The number of people on any one day would vary from a handful to a crowd of four hundred. The composition of the crowd would include some of the named respondents in this cause; some persons who were loosely associated with the respondents' organizations, Operation Rescue and Operation Goliath; some who were present in support of the clinic (pro-choice); some law enforcement officers engaging in crowd and traffic control (from five officers on light days to as many as fifty officers on other days); and some representatives of the print and television media. The frequency with which persons would appear at this location would range from once a week to three times a week with the largest gatherings usually on Saturdays. C. Associated with such gatherings would be noise emanating from singing, chanting, whistling, loudspeakers on the exterior of the clinic broadcasting music, individual portable radios (boom boxes), and occasional bullhorns. Individuals of the partisan groups would shout and yell at each other, frequently approaching so closely as to be in each other's face trying to out-sound the other, occasionally using boom boxes at full volume as an assist. D. The Melbourne Police Department officers on the scene on some occasions erected temporary barricades (saw horse type) in an effort to put some distance between the partisan groups. The respondents and those aligned with them, remained primarily in the public right of way (paved and unpaved). The pro choice people would be on the edge of the clinic's lawn and parking lot (private property) but occasionally attempting to share the sidewalk with the opposition. On at least one occasion in order to give more room for people, the police barricaded the north lane of Dixie Way so that two-way vehicular traffic was confined to the single south lane. E. As traffic slowed on Dixie Way and began its turn into the clinic's driveway, the vehicle would be approached by persons designated by the respondents as sidewalk counselors attempting to get the attention of the vehicles' occupants to give them anti-abortion literature and to urge them not to use the clinic's services. Such so-called sidewalk counselors were assisted in accomplishing their approach to the vehicle by the hesitation or momentary stopping caused by the time needed for the picket line to open up before the vehicle could enter the parking lot. F. The clinic has fences on its west and north side, and persons would occasionally place a ladder on the outside of the fence and position themselves at an elevation above the fence and attempt to communicate by shouting at persons (staff and patients) entering the clinic. On one occasion the communication to a clinic staff person took the form of an attempt to invoke the wrath of God by shouting, I pray that God strikes you dead now!. G. On other occasions since the entry of the injunction on September 30, 1992, the respondent, Cadle, and others in concert with him approached the private residences or temporary lodging places of clinic employees. These approaches included not only direct communication with the occupants (sometimes the home alone, minor children of the occupants), but also carrying signs, walking up and down on the sidewalk or street in front of the residence, shouting at passersby, contacting (ringing doorbells of) neighbors, and providing literature identifying the clinic employee as a baby killer. H. On one occasion the respondent, Cadle, with others went to the vicinity of the motel where a staff physician was temporarily staying and demonstrated. While respondent, Cadle, remained outside just off the premises of the motel, others went upon the premises of the motel, some entering the motel lobby, yelling child murderer and baby killer. The doctor testified that as a result of such activity his departure for the clinic was delayed by one-half hour. I. The same staff physician testified that on one occasion while he was attempting to enter the parking lot of the clinic, he had to stop his vehicle and remained stopped while respondent, Cadle, and others took their time to get out of the way and while doing so were yelling and screaming at the doctor, Baby killer  We don't want you here in Melbourne. This physician also testified that he witnessed the demonstrators running along side of and in front of patients' vehicles, pushing pamphlets in car windows to persons who had not indicated any interest in such literature. As a result of patients having to run such a gauntlet, the patients manifested a higher level of anxiety and hypertension causing those patients to need a higher level of sedation to undergo the surgical procedures, thereby increasing the risk associated with such procedures. The doctor also testified that the noise of singing, chanting, shouting and yelling could be heard through the walls of the clinic and caused stress in the patients during surgical procedures and while recuperating in the recovery rooms. The doctor also testified that he observed some patients turn away from the crowd in the driveway to return at a later date. He testified that such delay in undergoing the procedures also increased the risk associated therewith. J. On another occasion the doctor was followed as he left the clinic by a person associated with the respondents who communicated his anger to the doctor by pretending to shoot him from the adjoining vehicle. As a result of the foregoing demonstrations and activities, and after a physician similarly employed was killed by an antiabortionist at a clinic in North Florida, this doctor terminated his employment with the clinic. K. Further the testimony of witnesses shows: 1. That license tag numbers of the clinics patients are recorded by the respondents or persons in concert with them and then are traced through state records to obtain the home address of such persons who are subsequently contacted by the respondents. 2. That on occasion repeated, nearly simultaneous, multiple telephone calls are made to the clinic, jamming its telephone lines. The jamming of the clinic's telephone system, makes it impossible for clinic staff to summon an ambulance to transfer any patient to the hospital should an emergency arise. 3. That patients and staff are sometimes followed in a stalking manner when they leave the clinic, giving such persons a feeling of great apprehension.