Rocky Mountain News, Wednesday, September 13, 1995, page 12A JUDGE ORDERS SCIENTOLOGY TO RETURN PROPERTY by Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer A Federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Church of Scientology to return everything seized during a raid of a Boulder man's home. Senior U.S. District Judge John Kane refused the church's request for a preliminary injunction against former Scientologist Lawrence Wollersheim, saying the church was unlikely to win a trial on the merits of the case. Kane ordered Wollersheim's property returned immediately but also prohibited him from making copies or publishing the materials until the case is resolved. "In many respects the judge's decision is wrong, both on the law and the facts, which shows he bought the bogus and dishonest defense of the copyright criminals, hook, line and sinker," the church said in a written statement. Earl [sic] Cooley, the church's attorney, said he would appeal Kane's ruling to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and asked the judge to stay his ruling. Kane refused, saying a stay would "cause the exact harm" he was trying to avoid. The church sued Wollersheim for disseminating copyrighted church secrets on FactNet, his Boulder-based non-profit computer bulletin board. Under a court order obtained by the church, federal marshals raided Wollersheim's computer files in August and turned his entire inventory over to the church. "This was only the beginning," Wollersheim said after the ruling. "What they did was outrageous. They raided a library and archive under false pretenses, and they are going to pay the consequences." Wollersheim contends church practices are causing some members to attempt or commit suicide. "The public interest is served best by the free exchange of speech and ideas," Kane said. He said Wollersheim's use of the material was a "fair use" under copyright law, and the church failed to prove the material was secret, since much of it already has become public. -30-