October 6, 2017
CLS APPLAUDS EXECUTIVE ORDER 13678 STRENGTHENING THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OF ALL AMERICANS
“CLS thanks the President for following through on his election promise to preserve and protect the right of all Americans to freely live according to their religious conscience.” Read more.
September 7, 2017
CLS FILES AMICI BRIEF IN MASTERPIECE CAKESHOP V. COLORADO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Jack Phillips is a Christian and baker who runs Masterpiece Cake Shop in Denver, Colorado. In 2012, a same-sex couple asked Phillips to bake a cake for their wedding. Phillips serves LGBT customers but refused to bake a cake for the same-sex wedding. Phillips explained that he could not, in good conscience, participate in a wedding ceremony he disagreed with. In the past, Phillips refused to provide cakes for other events to which he had religious objections. Although the couple quickly received a cake from another bakery, they filed a complaint against Masterpiece with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Phillips lost before the Colorado Human Rights Commission and again in the Colorado Court of Appeals. These rulings mean Phillips would have to create cakes regardless of his religious views. On September 7, 2017, CLS filed its amicus brief in support of Jack Phillips, defending his right to decline to participate in wedding ceremonies he religiously objects to. The brief addresses the issue whether compelling a person to create a cake to celebrate a wedding which he understands is an inherently religious event violates the Free Exercise or Establishment Clauses. Though not currently scheduled for oral arguments, the Supreme Court is likely to hear the case in November or December 2017. Jack Phillips, Barronelle Stutzmann, and other conscientious objectors tell their stories at http://www.heritage.org/religious-liberty/event/justice-jack-free-speech-and-religious-liberty-the-supreme-court.
August 31, 2017
CLS FILES AMICI BRIEF IN JUDGE NEELY V. WYOMING JUDICIAL CONDUCT & ETHICS COMMISSION
Ruth Neely is a municipal judge and part-time circuit court magistrate in a small town in Wyoming. Shortly after Wyoming legalized same-sex marriage, a local reporter contacted Judge Neely and asked if she would be excited to perform same-sex marriages. She answered honestly, sharing her religious beliefs about marriage and indicating that she would not be able to perform same-sex marriages because of those beliefs. Soon thereafter, the reporter published a story about Judge Neely's response to his question.
Based on the article, the Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics launched an unprecedented investigation in March 2015, initiating formal charges against Judge Neely in her capacities as a magistrate judge and as a municipal judge. The Commission sought to remove her from both her role as municipal judge (in which she does not have authority to solemnize marriages) and her role as a magistrate (in which she has discretion when solemnizing marriages). In February 2016, the Commission recommended that Judge Neely be stripped of all her judicial duties and fined up to $40,000 because of her beliefs.
Judge Neely appealed to the Wyoming Supreme Court. In May 2016, CLS joined an amicus brief in support of Judge Neely arguing that the Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics not only created a religious test for judicial office but also violated the Judge’s free speech and free exercise rights under the First Amendment by forcing her to participate in same-sex weddings. Unfortunately, the Wyoming Supreme Court denied the motion to file the brief, along with similar motions by many other organizations.
In March 2017, the Wyoming Supreme Court unanimously rejected the government’s request for extreme sanctions, thereby allowing Judge Neely to keep both of her judicial positions. Yet, in a 3-2 vote, a bare majority of the Court ruled that the judge could not continue performing any marriage ceremonies unless she was also willing to violate her faith by personally performing same-sex ceremonies. About a week after the court’s ruling, Judge Neely lost her magistrate position.
A cert petition on behalf of Judge Neely was filed in the United States Supreme Court on August 4, 2017 (USSC No. 17-195). On August 31, 2017, CLS filed its amicus brief urging that cert be granted. The brief argues that Wyoming has adopted an unconstitutional religious test for holding the office of magistrate, which threatens not only Wyoming judges, attorneys, and law students, but also judges, attorneys, and law students nationwide, especially in light of the advisory opinions issued in several states.
August 14, 2017
CLS FILES LETTER REGARDING MODEL RULE 8.4 IN LOUISIANA
Kim Colby prepared and filed a comment letter with the Louisiana State Bar Association, which is studying ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) for possible adoption in Louisiana. Click here to read the comment letter.
May 24, 2017
CLS FILES AMICI BRIEF IN TING XUE V. SESSIONS
Worship outside of government-approved churches is illegal in China. Mr. Xue was arrested when Chinese officials raided the unregistered house church where he and other Christians were worshipping. He was released from jail only after paying a fine equal to half his yearly income. Weeks later the house church was raided again, and those Christians who were arrested were imprisioned for a year. Mr. Xue made his way to America in search of religious freedom. Incredibly, a lower court denied his application for asylum, claiming arrest and heavy fines for worshipping with other Christians were not religious persecution. CHristian Legal Society joined a brief prepared by a team of Winston & Strawn lawyers, urging the Supreme Court to clarify the national standard for asylum for religious persecution. The brief explains Congress intended to give persons seeking asylum from religious persecution a refuge in America from regimes who punish those who only want to worship peacefully with others. The friend-of-the-court brief, which was filed on behalf of Mr. Xue, details the alarming rise in religious persecution around the globe, as well as China's recent increased supression of Christian house churches. The Supreme Court is expected to decide this summer whether to hear the case. Click here to read the brief.
March 22, 2017
CLS FILES LETTER REGARDING MODEL RULE 8.4 IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Kim Colby prepared and filed a comment letter with the South Carolina Supreme Court, which is has been asked to consider Model Rule 8.4(g). Click here to read CLS' South Carolina comment letter.
February 16, 2017
KIM COLBY TESTIFIES BEFORE THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Kim Colby of CLS testified before the House Judiciary Committee on The State of Religious Liberty in America. To read her testimony and watch the video, visit here: https://judiciary.house.gov/hearing/state-religious-liberty-america/.
February 3, 2017
CLS FILES LETTER REGARDING MODEL RULE 8.4 IN PENNSYLVANIA
Kim Colby prepared and filed a comment letter with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which is considering adopting Model Rule 8.4(g). Click here to read CLS' Pennsylvania comment letter.
January 27, 2017
CLS FILES AMICI BRIEF IN STERLING V. U.S.
The Center filed a brief on behalf of a Marine Corporal who was court-martialed for refusing to take down a Bible verse that she had posted in her work station. In ruling against her, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces severely watered down RFRA’s protections for all military personnel. The CLS brief urged the Supreme Court to review the case and ensure that military personnel keep their religious freedom while they serve our country. The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, along with 8 other national organizations, joined the CLS brief, which was written by Professor Tom Berg and the Religious Liberty Appellate Clinic at the University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota). Click here to read the brief.
January 24, 2017
PROTECTING THE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY OF MAGISTRATES IN NORTH CAROLINA: CLS FILES AMICI BRIEF IN ANSLEY V. WARREN
Christian Legal Society (CLS), joined by National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), filed an amici brief Tuesday in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Ansley v. Warren. At issue in the case is North Carolina Senate Bill 2, which permits magistrates to decline for faith-based reasons to perform any marriage while simultaneously ensuring that there is a ready alternate to perform the marriage ceremony for the couple. CLS argued that Senate Bill 2 is a constitutionally-permissible religious exemption and does not violate the Establishment, Equal Protection, and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Click here to read the brief.
DEFENDING CHURCH RIGHTS: ADVOCATE HEALTH CARE NETWORK, ET. AL V. STAPLETON
“Exemptions from regulatory burdens for all churches and other religious organizations, like the exemption in ERISA, further the purpose of religious freedom, as well as avoiding regulatory entanglement between church and state that reinforces that desirable separation.”
“It is a categorical mistake to presume a statutory religious exemption is a form of unconstitutional religious favoritism.”
Christian Legal Society (CLS), along with National Association of Evangelicals and the National Legal Foundation, filed an amici brief Tuesday in the United States Supreme Court in the case of Advocate Health Care Network, et. al v. Stapleton. The Center urged the Court to uphold ERISA’s broad religious exemption for “church pension plans.” For decades, many religious organizations that are not technically churches have relied in good faith on the federal government’s ruling that their plans qualify as “church plans,” but now challengers are asking the Supreme Court to narrow the exemption to apply only to churches. The CLS brief, written by CLS members Rick Claybrook and Professor Carl Esbeck, urged the Court to keep the current broad exemption. Click here to read the brief.
CLS FILES AMICI BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF JUDGE VANCE DAY
Christian Legal Society and Professor Mark David Hall filed an amici brief Tuesday in the Supreme Court for the State of Oregon in the Judge Vance Day case, urging the court to rule that a judge’s refusal to perform a marriage ceremony that violated his or her religious beliefs does not render himor her unfit to hold judicial office. The brief was written by Professor Robert Destro and CLS member Herb Grey. Click here to read the brief.
January 13, 2017
CLS FILES LETTER REGARDING MODEL RULE 8.4 IN ILLINOIS
Kim Colby prepared and filed a comment letter with the Illinois Supreme Court, which is considering adopting Model Rule 8.4(g). Click here to read CLS's Illinois comment letter.
December 8, 2016
CLS FILES LETTER REGARDING MODEL RULE 8.4 IN MONTANA
Kim Colby prepared and filed a comment letter with the Montana Supreme Court, which is considering adopting Model Rule 8.4(g). Click here to read CLS's Montana comment letter.
December 2016
ABA-PROPOSED CHANGES TO MODEL RULE RULE 8.4
The fight has moved to each state to determine whether to adopt the changes proposed by the ABA. Twenty-four states plus the District of Columbia already have a black-letter rule that addresses "bias" in some way, although none have it as currently proposed by the ABA. Thirteen states have a comment rather than a black-letter rule. The remaining states have neither a comment nor a black-letter rule.
CLS has been busy reaching out to attorney members in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia asking them to serve as state monitors. We have also been busy developing resources and coordinating with other groups.
We have been responding to current efforts in five states in particular: Montana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, and Louisiana. Kim Colby prepared and filed a comment letter with the Montana Supreme Court, which is considering adopting Model Rule 8.4(g). The deadline for submitting comment letters, originally December 9, has been extended by the Montana Supreme Court until April 21, 2017. Click here to read CLS's Montana comment letter. Kim has also been coordinating a response in Illinois. Comments there are due January 13, 2017. In Pennsylvania, the Bar Committe recommended adopting, instead of Model Rule 8.4(g), a rule requiring adjudication by a tribunal that unlawful discrimination or harassment has occurred before a disciplinary charge can be filed. The Center for Law and Religious Freedom submitted, on September 27, a comment letter to the California State Bar its proposed changes to current Rule 2-400 and its proposed Rule 8.4.1. California's current "bias" rule requires that a tribunal other than the state bar find that an attorney has committed "unlawful discrimination" before a disciplinary charge may be brought. One proposed alternative would delete that requirement. Click here to read the comment letter CLS filed in Califonia.
November 2, 2016
CLS FILES AMICI BRIEF IN BARBER V. BRYANT
CLS filed an amici brief urging the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to reject the decision of a lower federal court regarding religious discrimination of an applicant by a public university. The applicant was denied admission to a program, and the evidence shows that his mentioning of religious faith was a factor in the denial. The brief argues that penalizing the applicant because he made a simple expression of faith is discrimination that violates both the Free Speech and Establishment Clauses, and the district court committed serious error in rejecting both as a matter of law. Click here to read the brief.
October 21, 2016
CLS FILES AMICI BRIEF IN BUXTON V. KURTINITIS
CLS filed an amici brief in support of plaintiff-appellant urging the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to reject the decision of a lower federal court in a case regarding Mississippi’s religious accommodation law. The lower court had held that a statutory religious accommodation that exempts people from otherwise applicable regulatory duties equates to unlawful discrimination. The CLS brief argues that the statute in question provides necessary and constitutionally-permissible religious exemptions and does not violate the Establishment Clause. Click here to read the brief.
September 27, 2016
CLS FILES LETTER REGARDING CALIFORNIA ETHICS RULE CHANGE
The California State Bar sought comments about two major proposed changes to their rules of professional conduct that would limit attorneys’ First Amendment freedoms. CLS filed a letter that you can read here.
September 20, 2016
CLS SENDS LETTER REGARDING HHS MANDATE
CLS responded to HHS’s request for information about ways it could provide certain drugs and devices to religious organizations’ employees without violating religious freedom after the Supreme Court’s decision in Zubik. You can read the letter here.
September 20, 2016
WHOSE SHAME?
The Religious Freedom Institute published Kim Colby's blog post addressing California's attempt to punish religious colleges and their students for their religious beliefs regarding marriage. It is worth a read. Click here to read the blog post.
September 6, 2016
CLS COMMENT LETTER ON HUMAN-ANIMAL RESEARCH
The National Institutes of Health is lifting their moratorium on human-animal research. CLS filed a comment letter requesting that they continue with a moratorium on such research, citing legal, procedural, and ethical concerns.
September 2016
CLS ASSISTS CHRISTIAN GROUPS
CLS has helped a Bible study group stay in their high school in Loudon County, Virginia, as well as advised a CLS chapter so as to overcome difficulties at American University and kept a Christian group on campus at a North Carolina university. Click here to learn more about the Loudon County group.
September 2016
ABA RULE 8.4
The ABA passed Model Rule 8.4, but with modifications thanks to the emails and letters from many CLS members. For those that wonder about the evolution of 8.4 and how it progressed, Kim Colby wrote an article for our next magazine outlining how things evolved for this ethics rule. Click here to read an advanced copy of her article.
July 13, 2016
CONSCIENCE PROTECTION ACT PASSES HOUSE
On July 13, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Conscience Protection Act. 245-182, which expands protections for individuals and institutions that object to participating in abortion. CLS urged the House leadership to pass the legislation, which now returns to the Senate for its vote.
May 2016
SUCCESS AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY
CLS worked closely with other campus ministries to persuade IU not to adopt a policy that IU acknowledged would have prohibited religious groups from requiring their leaders to be religious. A few weeks ago, IU told the religious groups that it would not adopt the proposed policy change.
May 10, 2016
CLS JOINS AMICI BRIEF IN JUDGE RUTH NEELY V. WYOMING COMM. ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND ETHICS
CLS joined an amici brief in a case before the Wyoming Supreme Court in which the Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics has recommended the removal of a sitting judge from both her Municipal Court Judge and Circuit Court Magistrate positions for responding to a reporter’s question about same-sex marriage. The judge stated that she would not officiate and participate in a same-sex marriage because of her religious convictions. Under Wyoming law, a judge may, but need not, officiate in any wedding. Unfortunately, the Wyoming Supreme Court denied the motion to file the brief, along with similar motions by many other organizations. Click here to read the brief.
April 22, 2016
CLS FILES AMICI BRIEF IN TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH OF COLUMBIA V. SARA PARKER PAULEY
CLS filed an amici brief urging the nation's highest court to reject the decision of a lower federal court in a critical case regarding Missouri's discrimination against its religious citizens. Click here to read the brief.
April 4, 2016
FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING
On April 4, nine federal agencies announced their final regulations to implement Executive Order 13559. The regulations allow religious organizations to receive some federal funding to provide various social services without forfeiting their religious identities or religious hiring rights. The regulations are the culmination of work by Professor Carl Esbeck, Stanley Carlson-Thies, and CLS staff over nearly two decades.
March 26, 2016
GEORGIA LEGISLATION
The Georgia General Assembly passed its Version of a First Amendment Defense Act and a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Center worked closely with Georgia legislators to draft the original bill and with local organizations to support passage. CLRF sent a letter to Georgia's governor encouraging him to support religious liberty. Click here to read the letter.
March 22, 2016
KANSAS CAMPUS ACCESS BILL
The Kansas legislature passed a bill to protect campus access for religious student groups. CLS helped work on the language of SB 175, and CLS member Craig Shultz testified before the Kansas Senate committee in support of its passage. CLRF provided a written statement early in the process and a letter in mid-March explaining the need for the bill. Click here to read the letter.
March 16, 2016
CLS STATEMENT ON JUDICIAL NOMINATION: CAUTION NEEDED IN SCOTUS NOMINATION PROCESS
CLS issued a statement regarding the nomination process to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the passing of Justice Scalia. Click here to read the statement.
March 10, 2016
ABA LETTER
CLS sent a letter to the American Bar Association in opposition to proposed changes to Model Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4, which could restrict the pracrice of law by Christian lawyers. Click here to see the CLS letter. Additionally, CLS members also filed their comments with the ABA. We are hopeful the committee will heed our voices.
March 7, 2016
CLS FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN STATE OF WASHINGTON V. ARLENE'S FLOWERS, INC.
CLS filed a brief in this case before Washington State's highest court. The CLS brief argued that there is no compelling state interest to force small businesses, who will serve same-sex couples in general, to provide gay wedding services when there is ready access from others. Click here to read the brief.
March 7, 2016
CLS FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN CHABAD-LUBAVITCH OF MICHIGAN V. DR. DOV SCHUCHMAN
CLS filed another amicus brief on March 7, this time in Chabad-Lubavitch of Michigan v. Dr. Dov Schuchman, et al., in favor of granting cert, challenging the refusal of the Michigan State Supreme Court to entertain an action to enforce a final decree of the religious dispute resolution process between feuding Chabad-Lubavitch state and local chapters because the Michigan State Supreme Court refused to toll the civil statute of limitations during the religious dispute resolution process. CLS was joined on the brief by Anglican Church in North America, National Association of Evangelicals, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference-Conel, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance, Peacemakers Ministries, and Conflict Resolution and Conciliation Center. Click here to read the brief.
February 28, 2016
CLS FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN WHOLE WOMEN'S HEALTH V. COLE
In this Texas abortion case before the United States Supreme Court, CLS joined an amicus brief that did a careful analysis of the “undue burden” standard in abortion case law, arguing that regulations such as those in Texas that focus on the health of the mother and general medical safety are subject only to the rational basis test because they do not impose an undue burden on those seeking an abortion. Click here to read the CLS brief.
February 13, 2016
CLS MOURNS THE PASSING OF JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA
Read the CLS Statement on the passing of Justice Scalia.
February 11, 2016
OHIO LEGISLATIVE LETTER
The Center sent a letter to the Ohio House Education Committee in Support of HB 425, which would protect the religious expression of students in public schools. Click here to see the letter.
February 4, 2016
CLS FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN STORMANS CASE
CLS filed an amicus brief in support of the petition for cert. in Stormans v. Wiesman, the case in which Washington pharmacists are being required to carry and dispense abortifacients. CLS argued that the Ninth Circuit disregarded evidence that Washington State’s regulations were unnecessary to ensure timely access to medications, while also emphasizing the important national tradition of protecting conscience and religious objectors in the context of the “taking of life” issues. Click here to read the brief.
January 12, 2016
CLS DEFENDS TEXANS IN BATTLE WITH STATE BAR OVER RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
CLS submittde letter to the Texas State Bar in battle over religious liberty. Read the letter here.
January 11, 2016
HHS MANDATE POSES A GRAVE THREAT TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND PLURALISM IN AMERICA
CLS files Brief in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell. Read the brief here.