Planned Parenthood videographers reject plea deal, head to trial in Houston

Timeline: Planned Parenthood versus the Center for Medical Progress



While abortion opponents have had Planned Parenthood in their sights for years, attacks on the organization have been particularly effective following the release of a controversial series of undercover videos in the summer of 2015 produced by an anti-abortion group.



Sources: Washington Post, New York Times, Boston Globe, Politifact, NPR, Harrisburg Patriot-News, Governing.com, Salt Lake City Weekly, Houston Chronicle

less Timeline: Planned Parenthood versus the Center for Medical Progress



While abortion opponents have had Planned Parenthood in their sights for years, attacks on the organization have been particularly effective ... more Photo: Michael Paulsen, Staff Photo: Michael Paulsen, Staff Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Planned Parenthood videographers reject plea deal, head to trial in Houston 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

Anti-abortion activists accused of falsifying records to secretly videotape Planned Parenthood officials in Houston have rejected a plea deal that would have effectively put an end to criminal charges against them, their lawyers confirmed Friday.

David Robert Daleiden, 27, and his colleague, Sandra Susan Merritt, 63, both of California, are prepared to go to trial to fight the charges, their attorneys said.

"I don't advise my clients to accept responsibility for cases that they haven't done anything wrong in," said Dan Cogdell, Merritt's attorney.

The pair were charged in January with tampering with a governmental record, a second-degree felony with a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Daleiden was also charged with a misdemeanor charge of attempting to buy human organs.

After a brief status hearing Friday in court, attorneys said they will not accept offers of pretrial diversion, a low-level probation that would have allowed the charges against them to be dismissed if they did not break the law for a year.

It is commonly offered by the Harris County District Attorney's Office to first offenders with minor charges, such as shoplifting.

Earlier this month, attorneys for Daleiden filed motions to quash the indictments against him, arguing that the Harris County grand jury that handed down the indictments was not properly empaneled.

His attorneys, Jared Woodfill and Terry Yates, have said the indictments are "fatally flawed."

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson, a Republican, responded in a brief statement in that she had faith the charges were proper.

"These matters will be thoroughly reviewed by a judge and jury," she said. "I am confident that the actions of the DA's office in this case will withstand any scrutiny."

Daleiden and Merritt are accused of using fake driver's licenses to hide their identity in dealings with the women's health organization.

The grand jury also charged Daleiden with the same misdemeanor he had accused the organization of - the purchase or sale of human organs, presumably because he had offered to buy organs in an attempt to provoke Planned Parenthood employees into saying they would sell.

The grand jury had been convened to investigate whether a Planned Parenthood of the Gulf Coast clinic had sold the organs of aborted fetuses. The grand jury cleared the clinic and instead indicted the undercover videographers.

Prosecutors declined to comment after Friday's hearing.

With several reporters in attendance at the routine hearing, Daleiden took the opportunity to blast Planned Parenthood, which has recently been in the crosshairs of a Republican-led congressional panel called the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives.

Officials with Planned Parenthood have denied any wrongdoing since Daleiden and Merritt released the videos last July.

brian.rogers@chron.com

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