The criminal jury proceedings have been suspended in California indefinitely for the man who made the famous undercover “Planned Parenthood sells baby body parts” videos.
Undercover journalist David Daleiden was set to be in court on Monday but the preliminary hearing was vacated late on Friday.
An order handed down by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, has suspended “all further proceedings” in the criminal prosecution of Daleiden and his co-investigator, Sandra Merritt.
The California Supreme Court will now move to consider a petition for review filed by the defendant’s attorneys.
Thomas More Society President and Chief Counsel Tom Brejcha, who is part of Daleiden’s defense team said, “We are grateful for this welcome development and hopeful that the California Supreme Court will choose to hear and decide the extremely critical issue raised in this appeal, namely, whether a prosecutor may exercise his or her powers to enforce the criminal laws on a selective, politically discriminatory basis.”
The case against Daleidon is being prosecuted by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, the former chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, who has been closely allied with Planned Parenthood.
According to Brejcha, California has not previously charged any other news gatherers who operate undercover in the quest to address matters of public concern. Exposé videos are routinely publicized in mainstream media, including KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. Attorney General Becerra has not cited any “politically neutral” basis for prosecuting these defendants, while ignoring the same conduct on the part of other journalists.
Brejcha cited California law mandating that prosecutorial powers be wielded fairly and even-handedly, applying penal laws equally to all citizens, without political bias or favoritism. Here, he noted, “the earmarks of discrimination and bias are all too glaringly apparent.”
In California, Daleiden and Merritt have both been charged with 15 criminal felony counts for non-consensual eavesdropping and conspiracy as a result of their videotapes, which revealed alleged involvement of abortion industry workers in illegal baby body parts trafficking.
The Thomas More Society also has been defending Daleiden across the country as Planned Parenthood Federation of America, together with multiple affiliates, and the National Abortion Federation have brought civil lawsuits against him.