Scientology Lies

By Bill Prescott, Sun staff writer

TAMPA - The Church of Scientology's request to prevent Clearwater from holding public hearings to investigate its operations was denied Friday in federal court.

In a four-page order, U.S. District Judge William Castagna ruled that the "asserted religious nature" of Scientology "cannot and does not insulate it from" the public hearings the city intends to start Wednesday.

City officials expressed satisfaction that the investigative proceedings will go forward while church spokesman Hugh Wilhere deemed the setback just "the first round."

"The suit still stands," Wilhere said.

Castagna made no ruling on the main point of the Scientologists' suit, a request that a preliminary injunction be ruled to stop the city's investigation.

The sect filed the suit Tuesday to ask that an emergency hearing be held in federal court. It called the city's public hearings "a willful, malicious, bad-faith effort by the city" to violate the church's and its members' right to free speech and religious liberty.

It asked that the court enjoin the city from holding the hearings.

Named as defendants were the city, Mayor Charles LeCher, the four city commissioners, City Manager Anthony Shoemaker and Boston attorney Michael Flynn, who the city hired as a consultant for the public hearings.

A day later, Castagna wrote that he could not fit an emergency hearing into his schedule prior to the city proceedings. With the consent of the Scientologists' lawyer Paul B. Johnson, Castagna decided to treat the injunction suit as a request for a temporary restraining order.

The city submitted details about the hearings and contended that they will examine only non-religious secular activities of the Church of Scientology. City officials have said the hearings will be held to aid the City Commission in determining whether both charitable solicitation and consumer fraud ordinances should be enacted.

In his Friday order, Castagna wrote that the ordinances the city is considering are within its power to enact.

"The holding of public hearings is simply a part of the legislative process, and the asserted religious nature of the (church) cannot and does not insulate it from the investigative phase of this process," the judge wrote.

He decided the church's suit "fails to disclose any specific facts upon which a claim of infringment of First Amendment or other constitutional protections could be sustained."

Castagna wrote also that the church had not put forth enough evidence to cause him to bar Flynn from the public hearings or prevent city money from being spent on the proceedings.

Johnson predicted that if the emergency hearing had been granted, he could have presented enough evidence to prove his case. He lamented that he had tried to approach the City Commission in an attempt to convince it to abandon the hearings. The commission's refusal to hear his arguments, he said, forced him to file the suit.

Undaunted, Johnson said, "The lawsuit is still a viable lawsuit in that (the church) will have an opportunity to present evidence that the (proposed) legislation is anti-Scientology."

He said a final decision has not been made whether the church will participate in next week's public hearings.

Flynn called Castagna's order legally "sound" and said, "We're all ready to go, and the witnesses are on the airplane. The city of Clearwater will be very interested in hearing what has gone on inside their city for the past five years."

LeCher said he has heard many "alleged horror stories" about Scientology activities.

"I don't know if they're true and we, the people, would like to find out," he said. "The public has a right to know."