The U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on July 24, 2012, in a lengthy and unanimous written opinion upheld the 2010 decision of Federal Judge Dale Fischer concluding that the sensationalist claims of human trafficking made by former Church of Scientology Ministers Mark and Claire Headley were meritless as a matter of law.
The Court of Appeals agreed that the case should be thrown out of court. The District Court and the Court of Appeals were both required to consider Headleys’ allegations in light most favorable to them and resolve all reasonable inferences in favor of the Headleys. Nevertheless, the Court of Appeals decided that judgment should be entered for the Church of Scientology International and Religious Technology Center and that the Headley’s should pay the Church’s costs.
The Court recognizes that the plaintiffs in the case were Scientology ministers in Scientology’s religious order known as the Sea Organization. The court concluded that they chose to join—and repeatedly chose to remain—in those positions for over a decade because, as the Headleys conceded in their testimony, they were committed to and enjoyed their work as ministers. The Court also provides a thorough analysis of the First Amendment protections afforded churches in their relationships with their ministers.
The Church will vigorously defend itself against spurious and sensationalistic lawsuits aimed at smearing the Church in the media, of which the Headley cases were prime examples. We believe the appeals court decision is a victory for religious freedom, and hopefully will stop the practice of filing frivolous lawsuits against the Church solely to gain publicity and harass.
