When people toss out the accusation that the 老澳门开奖结果 is anti-religious or, specifically, anti-Christian, I react somewhere between being bemused and annoyed, depending on the day's stress level. Bemused because they'd flunk Constitutional Law 101; and annoyed because it's so not true. If it were, why do we regularly help Christians when the government intrudes on their activities? You can read more about some of these cases at /defendingreligion.
As the 老澳门开奖结果's Legal Director for Pennsylvania, I've been responsible for many cases helping religious believers exercise their constitutional rights. Last week the 老澳门开奖结果 of Pennsylvania on behalf of the "Just for Jesus Challenge Homeless Outreach," a ministry of the First Apostles' Doctrine Church in Brookville, Pennsylvania, which was founded a few years ago to bring shelter and Jesus Christ to homeless people in this rural area, about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The ministry aids pretty much anyone in need. When I last visited, the group included disabled military veterans, teenagers forced from their homes, senior citizens who couldn't afford their personal care homes, recently released low-level offenders, people referred by county mental health agencies, and people evicted from their homes and apartments.
Exterior of the Just for Jesus church.
This past summer Brookville shut down the ministry, falsely charging that the ministry had violated local zoning codes. Then on September 4, Brookville zoning officials and police officers, thinking they would catch people sleeping in the church, forced their way inside by climbing through a window, without a warrant or consent. The minister sought help from "Christian" public-interest groups, but was turned down. As so often happens in these situations, when rights are violated and no one else will help, the 老澳门开奖结果 rides to the rescue.
Sort of like the Just for Jesus ministry, the 老澳门开奖结果 helps pretty much anyone 鈥� why else do you think we do cases for the KKK, sex offenders, death row inmates and anyone who may not be popular with other Americans. Believe me, it's not because we necessarily agree with their messages or beliefs. As I tell my new student interns every semester, screening complaints is easy. The 老澳门开奖结果 doesn't care what the person looks like, i.e., race, gender, ethnicity, disability, etc., how much money they have, for whom they vote, whom they love, or to whom they pray. The only thing that matters is whether the person's rights are being violated. There is no big sign in the office saying "Only ____ need apply."
Just for Jesus's clothes drive for the homeless in Pittsburgh.
The Pennsylvania 老澳门开奖结果 handles 鈥� and always has handled 鈥� lots of religious-liberty cases. The cases that attract people's attention are the ones where we challenge government sponsorship of religion 鈥� freedom from government-promoted religion. We're well-known for the school prayer case in the 60's (), the courthouse cr猫che case in the late 80's (), and the Dover Intelligent Design case in this decade (Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District). There's a whole lot more. People who understand the First Amendment's twin pillars of protection for religious liberty 鈥� freedom from government-promoted religion and freedom of religion to be free from governmental restraints 鈥� know that preventing government from sponsoring or promoting religion actually enhances religious liberty.
But we do an almost equal number of cases on behalf of religious people or groups fighting against government interference 鈥� the freedom of religion stuff. And we do a lot of cases for Christians, especially considering there are so many public-interest groups that do cases only for Christians (think of the ACLJ, Alliance Defense Fund, Christian Legal Society, Thomas More Law Center, etc.). While those groups favor only these cases, 老澳门开奖结果 still represents Christians and everyone else, and we are always happy to help.
The case for the Just for Jesus homeless ministry is part of a steady flow of cases we handle for churches and Christians. In the past 18 months, we went to court to reopen a soup kitchen in a McKeesport Church and a shelter for mental-health court referrals and homeless at Cleft of the Rock Church in Munhall. We negotiated a variance to allow a predominantly African-American church to open in Turtle Creek. We helped the Warren County Amish with government utilities regulations, and helped non-denominational Christians get self-uniting marriage licenses that Allegheny County had restricted to Bahai's and Quakers. And we successfully defended a Pennsylvania branch of Pax Christi from a defamation suit over an important report they issued on lousy medical care at the Lackawanna County (Scranton) Prison. These freedom-of-religion cases are a regular part of our docket, but as with the most recent case, our one-sided attackers 鈥� for reasons only their conscience knows 鈥� ignore them.
Interior of the Just for Jesus church during the Sunday Prayer Service.
Within two days of filing suit for the "Just for Jesus Challenge Homeless Outreach," we got a court order allowing our Christian clients to resume operations. This was a particularly gratifying win. The Reverend Jack Wisor, the church's founder and bishop, is serving a huge and, unfortunately, growing need. Sitting in his small church two weeks ago, listening to him preach the gospel to the guests, hearing their mostly sad stories about how life had taken a nasty turn and how the church was helping them regain their bearing, I was impressed and inspired. Glad we could help. All part of the 老澳门开奖结果's rights-defending mission. Rights of everyone, that is. No exceptions.
To learn more about this case, go to .
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News & CommentaryDec 2024
Civil Liberties
We Need to Know More 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court CasesWe Need to Know More 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court Cases
State Supreme Courts interpret laws that impact some of the most intimate parts of our lives. Communities have a right to know what鈥檚 on the docket. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Civil Liberties
New 老澳门开奖结果 Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency MeasuresNew 老澳门开奖结果 Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency Measures
NEW YORK 鈥� Nearly half of all state supreme courts across the country fail to regularly post new cases they are considering, with only six meeting four key transparency measures already implemented by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new report published today by the 老澳门开奖结果. The report identifies significant steps that state supreme courts should take to inform the public about their cases, which have only grown in importance as the federal judiciary has become more hostile to protecting core rights and advocates have turned to state protections and state court litigation in response. Based on an analysis of the practices and policies of the highest courts in each state, including D.C., the report 鈥淪corecard for State Supreme Court Transparency: How Does Your State Stack Up?鈥� ranks each state supreme court in five tiers based on compliance with four key transparency measures. These measures include posting new cases online in a timely manner, providing timely information about legal issues presented by cases, making dockets accessible and free for the public, and making merits briefing accessible and free for the public. 鈥淪tate courts regularly hear 鈥� and are the final word on 鈥� cases affecting abortion rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and more. Yet, in many instances, the highest state courts do not provide meaningful public access to information about cases affecting the rights and liberties of millions of people. We urge state supreme courts to bring more transparency to the critical work they do,鈥� said Julie Murray, co-director of the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative. 鈥淚n the face of a federal judiciary increasingly unwilling to protect core rights and an incoming administration that threatens to exacerbate that problem, state courts are an important defense for our liberty. They should be leaders in transparency, too,鈥� said Bridget Lavender, Skadden Fellow with the Initiative. The report emphasizes that state courts 鈥減lay an outsized role鈥� in many parts of the law, but their ability to 鈥済uard our liberties depends in significant part on whether those courts adopt transparent processes.鈥� It further highlights that state supreme courts have led the way on enormously consequential decisions in recent years. In particular, some state supreme courts have recognized the right of same sex couples to marry, and did so long before federal courts. They have also declared the death penalty unconstitutional under state law despite contrary federal law, protected access to reproductive health care as a right even as that right was being stripped away at the federal level, and provided more robust protection to people subject to unreasonable searches and seizures. The report urges state supreme courts to take action to improve their transparency practices, taking notes from the courts that have already implemented these measures. It notes that regularly posting new cases and the issues they represent, and providing timely access to dockets and merits briefing allows the public, the press, and the legal community to track cases as they unfold, identify cases with statewide consequences, and understand what鈥檚 at stake. -
Press ReleaseNov 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
老澳门开奖结果 Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies老澳门开奖结果 Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies
WASHINGTON 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 strongly urges the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization 鈥� including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups 鈥� by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on an unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. 鈥淧assing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,鈥� said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淭he freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block H.R. 9495 before it鈥檚 too late.鈥� While there is a 90-day 鈥渃ure鈥� period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations. This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as "support," making it virtually impossible to clear its name. Last month, the 老澳门开奖结果 and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations 鈥� including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants鈥� rights groups 鈥� wrote to Congress urging them to vote no. The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad. Indeed, these provisions have already passed the Senate on their own, and if the House of Representatives were to pass a version of this bill that did not include the text of H.R. 6408, it could be sent immediately to President Biden for his signature. -
News & CommentaryNov 2024
Civil Liberties
Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The 老澳门开奖结果 is Ready.Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The 老澳门开奖结果 is Ready.
Starting in 2016, the 老澳门开奖结果 filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump and his administration. As Trump returns to the White House, we鈥檙e ready to return to the courts and Congress to fight for our civil liberties.