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Scott Roeder in Kansas Court Next Week on Anti-Abortion Murder Charges

By Javier Lavagnino, Esq. on July 24, 2009 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The following post and materials were written and compiled by Joel Zand of FindLaw:

Next Tuesday, accused anti-abortion murder suspect Scott Roeder (inset, right) will be in a Wichita, Kansas court for a preliminary hearing on his murder and aggravated assault charges for the shooting death of Dr. George Tiller, and assault of two parishioners during a Sunday morning church service on May 31, 2009.

This was not Roeder's first trouble with the law, according to Kansas authorities.  He was pulled over and arrested by sheriff's deputies in Topeka for having a DIY license plate, bomb-making materials in his car, driving with a suspended license, and not carrying liability insurance.

What did Roeder's homemade license plate say?

"Sovereign private property. Immunity declared by law.  Non-commercial American."

The bomb-making materials that law enforcement officials discovered in his car included a can of gunpowder, ammunition, a fuse, a blasting cap, two 9-volt batteries, and a switch.

After a trial, Roeder was found guilty, given a 24-month probation period, and ordered to adhere to intensive supervision.  Roeder was also required to dissociate himself from anti-government groups like the Freemen that espoused and condoned violence.

Roeder appealed, getting a Kansas appellate court to overturn his conviction on Christmas Eve, 1997. The court held that sheriff's deputies found the bomb-making equipment found in Roeder's car only after conducting an illegal search and seizure.

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