Church of Scientology v. Department of Health, Education & Welfare

341 F. Supp. 563, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12369
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedJuly 20, 1971
DocketNo. 4-69 Civ. 86
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 341 F. Supp. 563 (Church of Scientology v. Department of Health, Education & Welfare) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Church of Scientology v. Department of Health, Education & Welfare, 341 F. Supp. 563, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12369 (mnd 1971).

Opinion

ORDER

NORDBYE, District Judge.

The defendants have moved for reconsideration of the Court’s order of June 11, 1969, denying their motion to dismiss the complaint herein and for summary judgment in their behalf. Subsequent to the order denying defendants’ motion, there were filed with this Court excerpts of published material issued by the Church of Scientology, one of the plaintiffs herein, and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, upon which the Government has renewed its motion for summary judgment. These excerpts from literature put forth by the plaintiffs were obtained by the inspectors of the Food and Drug Administration at the Church of Scientology bookstore located at 3007 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, or received through the mail directly from the said bookstore. The only exception, according to the affidavit of Robert W. Marrs, is exhibit numbered 176, which apparently was mailed directly to an inspector in Minnesota, from Copenhagen, Denmark, where Mr. Hubbard, for a [564]*564time at least, carried on some of his activities. It is upon the basis of the literature distributed by these plaintiffs or L. Ron Hubbard and the decision of the Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit in Church of Scientology of California v. Richardson, 437 F.2d 214, dated January 11, 1971, which constitute, in part, the basis for the defendants’ renewal of their motion for summary judgment. The California case sustained the Government’s refusal of admission of certain E-meters allegedly manufactured in the United Kingdom to be used for auditing purposes by the Church of Scientology in California. The Court of Appeals observed as to the District Court’s finding, p. 218,

“In determining the E-meter’s intended use, the court could validly consider the appellant’s publications that discuss the device’s applications. * * * Unlike the ‘mislabeling’ section involved in Founding Church, the court here could determine the E-meter’s intended use without evaluating the truth or falsity of any related ‘religious’ claims. To the contrary, appellant’s claims in its literature regarding the applications of the device in the practice of religion were presumed to be true for the purpose of determining its intended use. We find no infringement of First Amendment rights.”

In addition, the court made this observation, p. 216,

“ * * * The E-meter is manufactured in the United Kingdom and is, in fact, a simple skin galvanometer that crudely measures changes in electrical resistance in the human body.”

It may be noted that the galvanometers in question in this proceeding were manufactured in the United Kingdom and imported into the United States, but E-meters are now manufactured in this country and apparently are available to the adherents of the Church of Scientology. An examination of the literature distributed by these plaintiffs in connection with the teachings of Dianetics and the Church of Scientology discloses that it sets forth numerous statements contradictory to the labels affixed to the E-meters, to wit, “Not intended or effective for the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of any disease.”

It appears from the showing here that L. Ron Hubbard, at one time at least, maintained his headquarters in England, and according to the recital of facts in Founding Church of Scientology v. United States, 133 U.S.App.D.C. 229, 409 F.2d 1146, he first developed certain teachings in the early 1950’s which he called “Dianetics”. These teachings are significant in this case since many of the therapeutic techniques in Dianetics are now found in the teachings of the Church of Scientology. In the Founding Church case the court stated, p. 1151,

“The basic theory of Dianetics is that man possesses both a reactive mind and an analytic mind. The analytic mind is a superior computer, incapable of error, to which can be attributed none of the human mis judgments which create social problems and much individual suffering. These are traceable rather to the reactive mind, which is made up of ‘engrams,’ or patterns imprinted on the nervous system in moments of pain, stress or unconsciousness. These imprinted patterns may be triggered by stimuli associated with the original imprinting, and may then produce unconscious or conditioned behavior which is harmful or irrational.
“Dianetics is not presented as a simple description of the mind, but as a practical science which can cure many of the ills of man. It terms the ordinary person, encumbered by the ‘engrams’ of his reactive mind, as a ‘preclear,’ by analogy to a computer from which previously programmed instructions have not been erased. The goal of Dianetics is to make persons ‘clear,’ thus freeing the rational and infallible analytical mind. The benefits this will bring are set out in considerable and alluring detail. All mental disorders are said to be caused by ‘en[565]*565grams,’ as are all psychosomatic disorders, and that concept is broadly defined. [Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, Hubbard].
“A process of working toward ‘clear’ is described as ‘auditing.’ This process was explicitly characterized as ‘therapy’ in Hubbard’s best-selling book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (1950). The process involves conversation with an ‘auditor’ who would lead the subject or ‘preclear’ along his ‘time track,’
“A few years after the appearance of Dianetics, Hubbard began to set forth the broader theories of Scientology. Dianetics was explicitly endorsed as part of Scientology, ‘that branch * * * that covers Mental Anatomy.’ ”

The relationship of Dianetics to Scientology and the use of the E-meter in each is repeatedly emphasized in the literature and advertising sent out by Hubbard through the local Church of Scientology. One of plaintiffs’ exhibits herein noted as Exhibit 128 reads in part as follows:

“GET E-METER TRAINING
“Every level of training in Scientology from the Dianetic Auditor’s Course to the Academy Levels O, I, II, III, IV, and the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course (Class VI) gives definite, expanded steps of E-Meter auditing technology. Excellent understanding and handling of the E-Meter is thus easily acquired on an exact gradient.
“Contact your nearest Hubbard Scientology Organization to begin your first or next step in training in standard Scientology auditor technology.
“A student on all courses from the Dianetic Auditor’s Course upward must own a Mark V E-Meter.”

On Page 14 of Exhibit 131, in discussing “auditing” generally appears the following :

“Paralysis, anxiety, stomachs, arthritis and many ills and aberrations have been relieved by auditing them.

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341 F. Supp. 563, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12369, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/church-of-scientology-v-department-of-health-education-welfare-mnd-1971.