Herbert W Armstrong

God's people conducted themselves in an exemplary manner showing that they are sincere, law-abiding and peaceful people. And, by their very presence, showed their whole-hearted support for the Church and its leadership. By generating media coverage (on radio, TV and in newspapers) the crowd drew the attention of a disinterested public which is largely unaware that its own religious freedom is being eroded in California by what is happening to God's Church. The members there were, in effect, concerned people "looking over the shoulder of the judge" as he decides in these important matters.

The issues discussed during the lengthy court hearing involved the setting of a date for a deposition of Mr. Rader in the attorney general's office. (This deposition would be a court-compelled session where the state would grill him regarding church matters.) The attorney general also wanted the judge to order Mr. Rader and Mr. Henry Cornwall (an assistant to Mr. Herbert Armstrong) to hand over various documents to the state — papers which the Church's attorneys feel are protected by the first amendment of the constitution and should NOT be surrendered. In addition, the court had. to decide whether to end the ban it had imposed against the church's obtaining information from the state about the outrageous false charges brought against the Worldwide Church of God nine months ago.

The process for obtaining information in a lawsuit is called "discovery." The court has ordered the church, Mr. Rader, Mr. Armstrong and the other individual church officials who are defendants to comply with the state's "discovery" by giving the state all information it is demanding about church matters. At the same time the court has prohibited the church from using the same "discovery" procedures to obtain information from the state regarding any "facts" on which the state has based its charges. Nevertheless, the judge continued the ban on discovery by the Church until November 26, saying that the Church had failed to give documents to the attorney general's office up to the present. Totally ignored here is the paramount question of whether the state has the lawful right to be intruding into Church financial documents and other matters in the first place!

Concerning Mr. Rader's deposition, Judge Johnson accommodated Mr. Rader's schedule and the Work of the Church by setting the date during the week that Mr. Rader will be in Los Angeles after the Feast of Tabernacles, and prior to his trip to China with Mr. Herbert Armstrong. During this discussion the attorney general had urged the judge to order Mr. Rader to give his deposition sooner. This would have interrupted very important preparations with Mr. Armstrong just before the Feast of Tabernacles, thus showing the attorney general's disregard for the observances and beliefs of this church.

Dates were also set for documents from Mr. Rader and Mr. Cornwall to be delivered to the attorney general — within 30 and 45 days. Church Attorney Allan Browne told the brethren after the hearing that the forbidding of our acquiring a better understanding of the nature of the charges against the Church, and the order to give extensive Church information to the state "puts us in a straitjacket on the one hand, but on the other hand, the court is saying 'We're going to put you in the boxing ring and give the Attorney General some gloves and tell him to go to work!'"

Mr. Brown went on to say that he felt the Court's action was in error as a matter of law and contrary to our judicial process. He and our other attorneys are advising Mr. Rader, Mr. Cornwall, and the Church to not produce any documents or appear for any depositions until we are told by the highest court in the land that, in effect, we no longer have any first amendment right to the free exercise of our religion.

In the meantime, Mr. Browne said that the Church will be appealing these decisions to higher courts. He added that in light of many recent court decisions in other parts of the country, he is confident that actions against the Church by the California Attorney General will be proven wrong and illegal.