Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 1, 1990 TAG: 9005010231
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Saul, one of more than 30 protesters who formed a human barricade in front of the Roanoke Medical Center for Women in a Feb. 28 demonstration, was convicted of trespassing.
Roanoke General District Judge Richard Pattisall imposed a suspended sentence of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine - the same punishment given to 28 other protesters two weeks ago.
Saul, of Boones Mill, was unable to attend that hearing because he was in jail in Prince Georges County, Md., for refusing to pay a fine in a similar case.
After serving 13 days of a 15-day term for contempt of court, Saul was released a week ago - as determined as ever to air his anti-abortion views.
"I had no contempt for the court," he said. "I had contempt for a law that is unlawful."
Saul, 38, has organized "sidewalk counseling" efforts in which he and other abortion opponents gather at the Second Street clinic each Wednesday and try to talk women out of getting abortions. Recently, clinic officials say, Saul has attempted to coax women into a nearby van to view videotapes of abortions.
As tension between demonstrators and clinic officials has grown in the past year, Saul and clinic director Mary Nottingham have developed a rivalry as divisive as the issue that separates them.
Saul was one of four protesters who charged Nottingham with assault last spring after she sprayed him with a garden hose. The charge was later dismissed.
Their most recent clash came Monday, when Saul - acting as his own attorney - called Nottingham as a witness.
At one point during the protest, Nottingham testified, Saul "left his group, jumped up on a Dumpster like the master of the universe and was leering and sneering in a very derogatory manner."
Later in the hearing, as Saul leaned forward across the defense table, Nottingham turned in the witness stand to face her questioner head-on.
Saul: "Just what does the master of the universe look like?"
Nottingham: "He looks like some fellow who is trying to enforce his own personal, moral convictions on other people."
Saul: "I try not to use my own convictions; I try to use God's morality."
Nottingham rolled her eyes.
Like the other protesters who were convicted of trespassing two weeks ago, Saul sought to justify his actions with what he called a "necessity defense."
Such a defense, the protesters argued, would entitle them to break the law in order to prevent "imminent threat or harm" - in this case, what they contend to be the killing of unborn babies.
"My only defense is to try to preserve the human life," Saul said.
But as Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Melvin Hill pointed out, the defense was based on a personal belief about abortion that was not relevant to a charge of trespassing.
When clinic officials came to work the morning of Feb. 28, they found the front and back doors of the building blocked by protesters who linked arms, sang hymns and refused to let anyone enter unless promised there would be no abortions conducted at the clinic that day.
After a three-hour standoff, police moved in, carried the protesters away and charged them with trespassing.
Judge Pattisall, who has urged the protesters to find a more suitable way to express their opinions, delivered his most stern warning Monday.
"You folks are not criminals," he said. "But you're well on your way because of the direction you're taking."
In giving the protesters suspended jail terms and fines, Pattisall ordered them to refrain from future illegal gatherings. Many of the protesters, including Saul, have said they plan to appeal Pattisall's ruling.
If they lose on appeal and are fined, some of the protesters may refuse to pay the fines - which is what got Saul in trouble in Maryland last month.
Saul said Monday he could not "in good conscience" pay a $100 fine for trespassing at a Prince Georges County abortion clinic last spring.
While serving his sentence for contempt of court, Saul conducted Easter services in jail, held Bible study sessions and counseled several troubled inmates.
"All in all, it was a very satisfying experience," Saul said of his time in jail.
by CNB