San Diego
Anti-abortion lawyer Cyrus Zal reported Friday to San Diego County Jail to begin serving a 290-day sentence for repeatedly ignoring a judge’s orders not to discuss abortion at a trial last February in El Cajon.
Zal, 42, a Folsom-based lawyer, spent Friday arranging meetings with reporters and issuing press releases to publicize his term. He said in a statement that he would “gladly” serve the jail term to help draw attention to the issue of abortion.
Zal, former general counsel to the militant anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, is known for his ever-present Bible and for making it clear that he wishes to use the trials of abortion protesters as a platform for condemning and debating abortion.
At the February trial, Zal represented six anti-abortion advocates accused of trespassing last Oct. 21 at a La Mesa medical clinic. All six were convicted of trespass.
El Cajon Municipal Court Judge Larrie R. Brainard imposed the 290-day term after citing Zal for contempt 20 times for disobeying his order not to bring up abortion. The trial involved a question of trespass, not abortion, Brainard said.
Zal appealed the sentence to the California Supreme Court. In a July 18 decision, the court rejected his appeal.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
