Law License Denied to Supremacist

Associated Press/March 13, 2002

Springfield, Ill. -- A federal court dealt another blow Tuesday to a white supremacist's hopes of practicing law.

The court said denying Matthew Hale a law license did not violate the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge John Darrah ruled there is no legal reason to overturn the Illinois State Bar's decision to deny the license.

The bar first denied Hale a license in 1998.

Hale leads the segregationist World Church of the Creator. The church received national attention when former member Benjamin Smith went on a shooting spree against minorities, killing two people and injuring several others in 1999.