In the first of two days of closing arguments in Planned Parenthood’s retaliatory lawsuit against CMP, Judge Orrick read 105 pages of jury instructions, PPFA lawyers spent the better part of their three hours mischaracterizing evidence, and defense attorneys Peter Breen and Charles LiMandri delivered compelling arguments before the jury.
- PPFA’s lead trial counsel lied to the jury saying that CMP did not report Plaintiffs Planned Parenthood Orange & San Bernardino Counties or Planned Parenthood Mar Monte to law enforcement agencies in their respective jurisdictions. In fact, CMP had produced the reports to law enforcement in discovery in the case and Planned Parenthood has been aware of them for over a year.
- Defense attorney Breen delivered opening remarks for the defense, stating that CMP’s undercover work cut through a curtain of secrecy to expose crimes being committed by the Plaintiffs. Exposing those crimes required undercover work in order to surface information for the public.
- PPFA did not challenge the content of the videos, instead they chose to sue the messenger. Breen argued this is important because a ruling against CMP in essence is shutting down the flow of information for investigative reporting necessary for a free society.
- The Plaintiffs attempted to discredit Daleiden’s work by claiming Dean Alberty, one of the whistleblowers featured in ABC’s 20/20 investigation of fetal trafficking, lied to Congress in his sworn testimony in 2000. LiMandri set the record straight and underscored that Alberty never recanted his sworn Congressional testimony about witnessing infanticide in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kansas while harvesting body parts.
- Trotter attempted to discredit Daleiden’s pre-undercover, comprehensive research by alleging some sources were inaccurate or outdated. LiMandri countered the Plaintiffs’ criticisms by citing CDC statistics, testimony from Advanced Bioscience Resources‘ Procurement Manager Perrin Larton and CEO Linda Tracy, and contemporary reports about fetal experimentation from scientific research journals.
- LiMandri played a clip of Gloria Feldt, PP president during ABC’s 20/20 investigation, in which Feldt states anyone who breaks the law by selling the body parts of aborted babies must be held accountable through investigation and prosecution under the law. He asked the jury to take Feldt at her word.
Closing arguments continue at 8 A.M. on Wednesday, November 13, in San Francisco Federal District Court at 450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102, in Courtroom 2 on Floor 17.
