Tustin : Trial Date Set for Abortion Protesters

A court date was set Wednesday for what Operation Rescue leaders say is the county’s first trial of anti-abortion demonstrators.

Forty protesters, who pleaded not guilty last month, will face a jury trial Aug. 27 on charges stemming from a demonstration at a Tustin family-planning clinic on Good Friday.

Most of the protesters were charged with failure to disperse, and a few were also charged with resisting arrest, Deputy Dist. Atty. Christine Simmons said.

Four protesters who pleaded no contest to the charges were placed on three years’ informal probation and agreed to pay $280 apiece to cover police costs related to the protest and an additional $175 in fines, said Operation Rescue spokeswoman Susan Finn.

Almost 100 officers from four law-enforcement agencies responded to the nine-hour protest in April, accumulating a bill of more than $14,000--about half of which will be paid by Tustin, according to city officials.

“I’m very pleased that there is a court acknowledgment that a protester has a financial obligation for the cost of the protection that the city must provide to keep law and order,� Tustin Mayor Richard B. Edgar said.

Finn said Operation Rescue leaders across the nation generally recommend that protesters not pay restitution.

“Basically, we are doing a good in the community,� Finn said. “We’re saving the lives of babies, and we’re helping women and we naturally feel we shouldn’t pay the Police Department when we’re helping them with their job. I think we’ll see a day soon when the police will be restored to protecting the lives of unborn babies.�