WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A $2,500 settlement for compensatory damages will be paid by David Hamilton for violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
In the agreement made at a settlement conference on Jan. 7, the money will go to the victim Hamilton used force on outside the EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville, Ky., the U.S. Department of Justice announced Jan. 11.
Under the FACE Act it is unlawful for any person to use force to intentionally injure, intimidate, or interfere with, or attempt to injure, or interfere with anyone because they are or has been obtaining or providing reproductive health services.
The U.S. filed a lawsuit against Hamilton, a regular protestor, for allegedly violating the FACE Act on Jan. 30, 2010, after he grabbed and pushed a volunteer escort while they were ushering a patient to the front entrance of the center.
"It is absolutely crucial that those individuals who desire reproductive health services be able to obtain them in an environment that is free of interference, intimidation and fear," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "By continuing to enforce the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, we are helping to ensure that they are able to do so."
The FACE Act limits statutory compensatory damages to $5,000.
Hamilton no longer resides in the Louisville area, according to the Department of Justice.
This civil action was filed by Civil Rights Division Special Litigation Section Deputy Chief Julie Abbate and Trial Attorneys Aaron Fleisher and Jack Morse.
DOJ settles over FACE Act violations
