A California court state Monday granted an emergency stay and resealed about 500 documents that had been unsealed last week by a Superior Court Judge. The papers, tapes and historical documents were unsealed last week in a case brought by the sect against former Scientology archivist Gerald Armstrong. The sect and its founder's wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, sued Armstrong to recover about 10,000 pages of documents he took when he fled the Clearwater-based sect in late 1981. Many of the contested ...

The Church of Scientology faces mounting legal pressure in courts worldwide to explain its actions, policies, beliefs and inner workings. In the United States, Canada and Europe, Scientology is under ever-increasing scrutiny by law enforcement agencies, courts and even governments. And a ruling handed down last week by it Los Angeles Superior Court judge may complicate the legal proceedings involving the Clearwater-based sect. Judge Paul G. Breckenridge stated in an intended ruling Thursday that Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard is the ...

[...] The Church of Scientology won a stay from the 2nd District Court of Appeal resealing exhibits from the trial of its civil suit against former church archivist Gerald Armstrong pending appeal of the case. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge Jr., in absolving Armstrong of any liability for taking documents concerning church founder L. Ron Hubbard, had ruled last week that some 500 of those documents which became exhibits in the five-week trial would be open for public ...

Editor: Judge Breckenridge's decision in Los Angeles was based on psychiatric principles of a godless mankind and is just like the Australian decision of 1967; so biased and filled with animosity, that the High Court of Australia responded by granting full religious recognition to all the Churches of Scientology in Australia and 500 other religions by the year 1983. To have quoted reports disseminated by an agency headed by a former SS officer and have them endorsed by Mr. Armstrong, Mr. ...

"We told you so." That's the first reaction any longstanding anti-Scientologist will probably have when reading the brilliant and thundering decision announced Thursday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge. In terms that will surely widen the existing cracks in Scientology's foundations, Judge Breckenridge said, "The organization (Scientology) clearly is schizophrenic and paranoid, and this bizarre combination seems to be a reflection of its founder ...." Breckenridge ruled that a former sect archivist, Gerald Armstrong was justified in taking ...

Editor: Whew! Barbara Georgius asks, "Why wouldn't the Clearwater Sun want both sides of the story?" (She was referring to the Gerald Armstrong vs Scientology trial.) "The public can smell prejudice a mile off," she said in a letter to the Sun, and believe me, it's offensive to many, because they expect 'professionalism' from their local reporter and paper. Now, now, Miss Georgius, you must have been reading another newspaper. It couldn't have been the Clearwater Sun. One-sided reporting? Sensational reporting? ...

Lawyers who for years have engaged the Church of Scientology in legal battles said Friday that a Los Angeles County Superior court decision handed down this week heralds "the beginning of the end of Scientology." "The walls are collapsing and the truth is finally coining out," Boston attorney Michael Flynn said of the "landmark ruling" of Judge Paul G. Breckenridge. The California judge late Thursday exonerated a former sect member charged with stealing thousands of Scientology documents. But a sect attorney ...

A former Church of Scientology archivist was absolved late Thursday of any liability for taking thousands of personal documents belonging to the organization and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and his wife, Mary Sue Hubbard. The church had sought unspecified monetary damages and return of the documents, which have been impounded by the Los Angeles County Superior Court for the last two years, in its civil suit against Gerald Armstrong, 38, a 12-year church veteran who became disillusioned with Hubbard and ...

In a stinging rebuke to the Church of Scientology of California, a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled Thursday that a former sect archivist was justified in taking about 10,000 Scientology documents when he fled the Clearwater-based sect in 1982. Most of the documents in question belonged to the reclusive 73-year-old founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, who has not been seen publicly since 1979. In his 12-page decision, Judge Paul G. Breckenridge said 37-year-old Gerald Armstrong—who was personally authorized by ...

In this matter heretofore taken under submission, the Court announces its intended decision as follows: As to the tort causes of action, plaintiff, and plaintiff in intervention are to take nothing, and the defendant is entitled to Judgment and costs. As to the equitable actions, the court finds that neither plaintiff has clean hands, and that at least as of this time, are not entitled to the immediate return of any document or objects previously retained by the court clerk. All ...

Editor: Regarding Armstrong and his claim against the Church of Scientology: Since when does reponsible journalism only look at one side of the story? He has allegedley stolen documents. This is "theft" in the eyes of the law. A man who steals rarely tells the truth. His justifications for this theft really, are amazing, but more than that; why wouldn't the Clearwater Sun want both sides of the story? Your readers deserve to have all of the facts here, wouldn't you ...

Testimony has ended in the Los Angeles trial of a former Scientologists charged with stealing thousands of documents, letters and pictures when he fled the controversial sect. A Superior Court judge is weighing the evidence before handing down a decision. "The judge (Paul G. Breckenridge) has taken the case under submission, and we don't know how long it will take," Scientology attorney Barrett Litt said Tuesday. "I assume he'll be working on it and we'll hear sometime in the next little ...

Scientology pro and con Editor: I read a copy of the "Way to Happiness," by L. Ron Hubbard, tried it and found happiness. Who can dispute that truth and honesty is the basis of happiness in life? Anyone can try this out and find out for themselves. I read the Clearwater Sun fand felt miserable for hours afterwards. If honesty equals happiness, then I wonder what caused my bad feelings in reading the Sun? DALE CHRISTIANSEN Clearwater —– Editor: The response ...

A former Church of Scientology archivist was a "walking time bomb" at the time he took personal letters and papers of church founder L. Ron Hubbard and his wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, two opposing attorneys agreed Friday at the end of a five-week trial over possession of the documents. The brief and rare point of agreement occurred during closing arguments by Barry S. Litt, attorney for Mrs. Hubbard, and Michael Flynn, attorney for the defendant, archivist Gerald Armstrong, before Los Angeles ...

After five weeks of trial, closing arguments are about to be heard in a Church of Scientology suit against a former church archivist over custody of 10,000 pages of documents, most of which belong to church founder L. Ron Hubbard. The arguments, scheduled to begin today, are expected to last most of the day, according to attorneys for both sides. It was not known whether Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul Breckenridge Jr., who presided over the non-jury trial, will then ...

(AP)—Attorneys for the Church of Scientology Friday accused a former archivist of acting like a "spurned lover" when he left the organization and took 10,000 confidential documents with him. But the attorney for ex-church member Gerald Armstrong said his client was a frightened man trying to use the documents as a shield against a "clandestine" organization. A judge who had listened to five weeks of testimony took the matter under submission Friday afternoon after both sides completed their closing arguments. Mary ...

Editor: In response to the your recent editorial headlined "Silence on Scientology—I'm afraid you misinterpret this "silence." It doesn't mean apathy or lack at interest, it means "So, what's new?" or "What more is there to say?" Nothing has come out at the trial that surprises anyone. So L. Ron Hubbard is not what he claims to be: Who knows what he claims to be? Who reads his writings, except those poor troubled people, most of them young, I imagine, ...

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard had a split personality that triggered outbursts of anger against church staffers, his former publicist testified Tuesday. "In a sense he was warm, friendly. In a sense, he could be irrational, erratic," said Laurel Sullivan, a defense witness in a lawsuit filed by the church and Hubbard's wife against former sect archivist Gerald Armstrong. Ms. Sullivan's description was in response to defense counsel Michael Flynn's questions about Hubbard's behavior in 1978 and ...

LOS ANGELES—A former Scientology publicist who was working on a biography of church founder L. Ron Hubbard says she left the organization because she had become "a target" by other church members. Laurel Sullivan, 34, testified Friday in a suit brought by the church and the founder's wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, to recover documents allegedly stolen by former church archivist Gerald Armstrong. Ms. Sullivan said she feared some church members saw the biography as a downgrading of Hubbard's image and that ...

A former personal assistant to Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard testified Thursday that she feared that discovery of documents discrediting Hubbard's background would make her a target of the organization. Laurel Sullivan, 34, who left Scientology in 1981 after 14 years of working directly for Hubbard in a public relations role, described her fears during the fourth week of trial of the church's civil suit against its former archivist, Gerald Armstrong. The church is asking Los Angeles Superior Court ...

Former assistant to L. Ron Hubbard testifies in suit to recover documents. LOS ANGELES — A former publicist for Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard testified Friday that she left the church in November 1981 because she had become "a target" of hostility by church members. Ex-publicist Laurel Sullivan, 34, was cross-examined by church attorney Robert Harris in a lawsuit brought by the church and Mary Sue Hubbard, the founder's wife, seeking to recover allegedly stolen documents from former ...

LOS ANGELES—In an extraordinary move, lawyers for the Church of Scientology have asked that parts of the official court transcript of a civil case be destroyed upon the completion of the trial. The motion was railed "unusual" by Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge Jr., who denied the request. Breckenridge is ruling over the non-jury trial brought by the sect and Mary Sue Hubbard, the wife of its founder. They are asking for the return of 10,000 documents a former Scientologist ...

LOS ANGELES—Scientology lawyers introduced several hundred pages of sealed documents in Superior Court Friday, saying they fracture the defense of a man charged with taking thousands of sect papers when he fled the organization. Letters written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard to his children, parents, and wives were submitted by attorney Barrett Litt in an effort to impugn Gerald Armstrong's testimony. Armstrong, a 37-year-old sect researcher, contends he took 10,000 documents in 1981 to defend himself against an anticipated suit. ...

LOS ANGELES—Gerald Armstrong steadfastly maintained Thursday that for 11 years he worked only for L. Ron Hubbard, and he refused to acknowledge Church of Scientology lawyers' contentions he was actually a sect employee. Time and again during his Superior Court trial, Armstrong brushed off suggestions of his sect employment, insisting he worked for Scientology founder Hubbard—regardless of the chain of command. "I was a Scientologist, and I worked for Mr. Hubbard," the former Scientology archivist told Superior Court Judge Paul G. ...

Editor: On May 15, 1984, in the Armstrong trial, we heard more testimony concerning Gerald Armstrong's "state of mind." This is, of course, his defense to justify his taking another's property. It is similar to what we see in a criminal case—the "insanity defense"—that one is justified or not responsible for his acts because of his state of mind. This insanity defense brings to mind the attempted assassination by John Hinckley, a loner, a failure and one trying to make a ...

Editor: This is the first of what I hope will be a series of "equal space" reports covering the Scientology vs. Armstrong trial taking place in Los Angeles. I appreciate your paper providing our church this opportunity. In this case, the Church of Scientology of California and Mrs. Mary Sue Hubbard have filed suit against Gerald Armstrong to retrieve valuable materials that he took from the church. Per earlier admissions by Mr. Armstrong, he gave these materials to Michael Flynn for ...

LOS ANGELES—Church of Scientology lawyers began their cross-examination of Gerald Armstrong in Superior Court here Wednesday, trying to prove he continued collecting sect-related documents after a temporary restraining order prevented him from doing so. Sect lawyers also began eliciting testimony from Armstrong, a former Scientology archivist, that he joined the Clearwater-based church not because of his belief in founder L. Ron Hubbard, as Armstrong testified, but because he believed in the organization and its technology. It was Armstrong's fifth day of ...

LOS ANGELES—Bigamy and black magic were a part of the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, according to documents introduced Tuesday as exhibits in Superior Court. And according to a former high-ranking Scientologist, Hubbard wrote a series of "Admissions" in which he acknowledged to himself bis systematic manipulation of the U.S. Navy and the Veterans Administration to increase his disability pension. Basing his testimony on 11 years of firsthand knowledge and thousands of documents under court seal, Gerald Armstrong said ...

LOS ANGELES—According to a former high-ranking Scientologist, L. Ron Hubbard was never a war hero; never commanded a squadron of Navy ships; never saw combat and was not crippled and blinded, later healing himself with his theory of Dianetics. Instead, Gerald Armstrong testified Monday that documents sealed by the California Superior Court will prove Hubbard's career was one of "a recurring pattern of malingering, feigning illnesses and false reporting to his superiors." Armstrong said the documents will prove that widely held ...

LOS ANGELES — It's 1984, and Big Brother — under the guise of L. Ron Hubbard — is being slowly exposed. Now 34 years after Hubbard created the Church of Scientology, the documents he wrote, the laws he created, the orders he issued, and the people who lied and cheated to protect him are surfacing in a court of law. They all offer evidence of a chilling tale. Since the sect orchestrated its surreptitious "takeover" of Clearwater in 1975, newspapers and ...