The case is Planned Parenthood Federation v. Center for Medical Progress, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 20-16068.
Abortion foes largely lose $2.4 mln appeal over Planned Parenthood videos
Anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress, its founder David Daleiden and others on Friday lost most of their challenge to a $2.4 million judgment entered against them after a jury found they broke the law by secretly recording Planned Parenthood employees.
A unanimous panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the defendants' argument that their scheme, which involved creating a fake company and fake identities to infiltrate Planned Parenthood conferences and secretly record employees, was journalism protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Circuit Judge Ronald Gould wrote that the right to free speech cannot shield illegal conduct, such as forging signatures or breaking contracts. He said the decision did not impose any restrictions on journalistic speech but simply reaffirmed "the established principle that the pursuit of journalism does not give a license to break laws of general applicability."
The panel did overturn one part of the jury's verdict, which found that the defendants violated the Federal Wiretap Act by secretly recording their conversations with Planned Parenthood employees, writing that the law generally allows recording by a party to a conversation. That part of the verdict accounted for less than $100,000 in damages.