"That these defendants were willing to frame their critics to
the point of giving false testimony under oath against them and
having them arrested and indicted speaks legions for their disdain
for the rule of law. Indeed, they arrogantly placed themselves
above the law, meting out their personal brand of punishment to
those 'guilty' of opposing their selfish aims.
"The crime committed by these defendants is of a breadth and
scope previously unheard of. No building, office, desk, or file
was safe from their snooping and prying. No individual or
organization was free from their despicable conspiratorial minds.
The tools of their trade were miniature transmitters, lock picks,
secret codes, forged credentials, and any other device they found
necessary to carry out their conspiratorial schemes. It is
interesting to note that the founder of their organization,
unindicted co-conspirator L. Ron Hubbard, wrote in his dictionary
entitled Modern Management Technology Defined ... that 'truth is
what is true for you.' Thus, with the founder's blessings they
could wantonly commit perjury as long as it was in the interest of
Scientology. The defendants rewarded criminal activities that
ended in success and sternly rebuked those that failed. The
standards of human conduct embodied in such practices represent no
less than the absolute perversion of any known ethical value
system.
"In view of this, it defies the imagination that these
defendants have the unmitigated audacity to seek to defend their
actions in the name of 'religion.' That these defendants now
attempt to hide behind the sacred principles of freedom of
religion, freedom of speech and the right to privacy -- which
principles they repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to violate
with impunity -- adds insult to the injuries which they have
inflicted on every element of society."
-- Judge Richey in the sentencing of Mary Sue Hubbard and ten other Scientologists in October 1978 -- US District Court, Washington DC.
