January 24, 2025
Part of a group of 8 Michigan defendants pardoned by President Donald Trump in the early days of his second term, Arthur J. Weiss’ criminal defense client Calvin Zastrow will now need to decide whether to accept the pardon, which could serve as an admission of guilt, or explore additional options, following his federal court conviction for blockading entrances to abortion clinics in Sterling Heights and Saginaw, Michigan.
When Weiss receives the paperwork documenting his client’s pardon, Zastrow will need to make some difficult decisions.
“Regardless of what transpired with the pardons, the struggle for anti-abortion activities is by no means over,” Weiss said. “That doesn’t mean that in four years, or eight years, or 12 years, or whatever, another Justice Department doesn’t do exactly what (Attorney General Merrick) Garland did.”
There is current question considering the constitutionality of upholding the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which relies on the the now-overturned Roe v. Wade outcome but was intended to protect abortion clinics from violence and threats.
