In Yesterday’s Under the Fedora I noted that it was disgraceful that even a single juror in the Mark Houck case was willing to vote guilty in a case that was all about the basic freedom of religion.
Apparently this disgrace has been rectified.
A Philadelphia jury acquitted Mark Houk, the devoted Catholic father of seven, of federal assault charges for supposedly shoving an abortion clinic volunteer.
Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation, said via email: “We are, of course, thrilled with the outcome. Mark and his family are now free of the cloud that the Biden administration threw upon them. We took on Goliath – the full might of the United States government – and won. The jury saw through and rejected the prosecution’s discriminatory case, which was harassment from day one. This is a win for Mark and the entire pro-life movement. The Biden Department of Justice’s intimidation against pro-life people and people of faith has been put in its place.”
What’s worth noting is that one juror was dismissed and replaced with an alternative:
One of the 12 jurors deciding the fate of the pro-life father of seven Mark Houck in Philadelphia federal court has been replaced by an alternate.
The alternate took the place of the original juror at approximately 1:30 p.m. Monday, when deliberations began again. Defense lawyers for Houck could not comment on the reason for the replacement.
The jury began deliberations on the case on Friday but said they were “deadlocked” and would not come to a decision that night.
Legal insurrection notes that the juror who was replaced didn’t take part in deliberations but once he was out it took only an hour to acquit.
Make of that what you will.
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