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At issue in this case is the constitutionality of a state-sponsored, 40-foot Latin cross that  dominates a veterans memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland dedicated to local soldiers who died during World War I. The brief discusses the power of symbols, particularly religious ones such as the Latin cross, which are laden with history and convey poignant messages to both Christians and non-adherents. It further explains why the memorial conveys a hurtful message of religious exclusion and…

This case involves a challenge to the constitutionality of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) in a case in which an Amazon shipping warehouse employee was violently assaulted by a co-worker due to his perceived sexual orientation. The District Court vacated a unanimous jury conviction under the HCPA, on the grounds that the HCPA was an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s Commerce Clause power as applied in this case. On appeal, ADL joined an…

After the City of Philadelphia learned that certain of its foster care providers, including Catholic Social Services (CSS), would not license same-sex couples to be foster parents, the City ceased referring children to these agencies. CSS subsequently sued the City, arguing that it had a constitutional right to reject qualified same-sex couples as a matter of free exercise of religion. ADL filed an amicus brief in support of the City on behalf of a broad coalition of religious and religiously…

At stake in this case are two interim final rules (IFRs) promulgated by the Trump Administration in October 2017 that significantly broadened the religious exemption to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraception mandate. Prior mandate regulations accommodated houses of worship and religiously affiliated organizations. The new exemption, however, effectively repeals the contraception mandate, broadly allowing employers and universities to invoke religion or morality to block their…

Citing religious objections, a business owner refused to sell custom t-shirts bearing “Lexington Pride Festival 2012” and rainbow colored circles to a non-profit LGBTQ organization. The local human rights commission found that the vendor’s actions violated a human rights ordinance, which prohibits businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. A lower court reversed the commission’s determination, finding that it infringed on the vendor’s First…

Updated: April 02, 2019 At the U.S. Supreme Court, ADL joined with over 170 organizations on an amicus brief that refutes defendants' argument that including a citizenship question is necessary to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, explains how the VRA can be enforced without the citizenship question, and explains how the inclusion of a citizenship question will lead to an undercount of historically under-represented communities, including immigrants. June 18, 2018 At…

At stake in this case are two interim final rules (IFRs) promulgated by the Trump administration in October 2017 that significantly broadened the religious exemption to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraception mandate. Prior mandate regulations accommodated houses of worship and religiously affiliated organizations. The new exemption, however, effectively repeals the contraception mandate, broadly allowing employers and universities to invoke religion or morality to block their…

At issue in this case is the constitutionality of the U.S. House of Representatives’ guest chaplain policy. Because the policy requires guest chaplains to offer a prayer that addresses a “higher power,” as well as to be ordained clergy, it bars non-theists from the invocation opportunity. A Humanist leader challenged the policy under the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. ADL joined a coalition brief asserting that policy is unconstitutional for four reasons. First,…

At issue in this case is the constitutionality of a county commission policy prohibiting non-theists from offering the opening prayer at commission meetings. A lower ruled that the policy violated the Establishment Clause to the First Amendment. ADL filed a brief on behalf of a diverse group of religious and civil rights organizations. The brief asserts that policy is unconstitutional for four reasons. First, it plainly violates the U.S. Supreme Court’s non-discrimination requirement for…

At issue in this case is the constitutionality of a county seal that prominently displays the Latin cross. Although a lower court ruled that the seal violates the Establishment Clause to the First Amendment, a substantial portion of its opinion questioned settled U.S. Supreme Court and Court of Appeals precedent, based on inaccurate descriptions of the history, purpose, and fundamental objectives of the First Amendment. ADL joined an amicus brief filed by a diverse group of religious and civil…

At issue in this case is President Trump’s third attempt at prohibiting travel to the United States from six majority-Muslim nations.  The Ninth Circuit affirmed an injunction put in place by the district court, which protects foreign nationals with a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.  ADL’s brief, which was joined by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Women of…

The case involves a videography company in Minnesota that refuses to provide services for weddings of same-sex couples. The owners filed a lawsuit challenging a Minnesota anti-discrimination statute that would have prevented them from discriminating against same-sex couples. Among other things, Telescope Media Group argued that application of the Minnesota law to the situation would compel speech in violation of the First Amendment, and violate their religious freedom rights under the Free…

This case involves an employer that withdrew an offer of employment when its owners learned that the applicant is a gay man and that his religious beliefs about sexual orientation and marriage of same-sex couples didn’t conform to the employers’. In response, he filed a lawsuit for claims of sex and religious discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Horton claims that the withdrawal of the offer based on his sexual orientation constitutes sex discrimination…

This case raises a novel school prayer issue. Cambridge Christian School (“Cambridge”) is a private religious school and a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association (“Association”), which is a public entity. Cambridge’s football team made it into a division playoff game, which was to be played in a public stadium under the Association’s control. The school requested that the team’s customary pre-game, group prayer be broadcast over the…

Plaintiffs, three houses of worship, challenged a Federal Emergency Management Agency rule, which prohibits houses of worship from obtaining emergency disaster grants. The houses of worship sought such grants for the purpose of reconstructing or repairing buildings primarily used for religious worship damaged by hurricanes. They claim that the rule violates the Free Exercise Clause to the First Amendment. While certainly mindful of the damage suffered by these houses of worship, the amicus…

At issue in this case is the constitutionality of a 34-foot Latin cross displayed in a public city park. The cross is the focal point for an amphitheater designed for hosting worship services on Easter. Although the lower court begrudgingly ruled that the due the display’s clear religious purpose it violates the Establishment Clause to the First Amendment, its decision extensively criticizes long-standing Establishment Clause precedents, which the court was obligated to enforce, and…

This case involves the constitutionality of a Montana Department of Revenue rule, which prohibits the use of “scholarships” provided under a State neo-voucher program to support K-12 religious education. The rule was issued pursuant to the Montana Constitution’s “No-Aid” clause, which requires stronger separation of church and state than the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The neo-voucher program provides a tax-credit to individuals who make a donation…

Based on religious objections to same-sex marriage, the owner of a bakery refused to design and sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple for their upcoming wedding. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission found that the bakery violated the State’s anti-discrimination law, which prohibits sexual orientation discrimination in the sale of goods and services by public accommodations. In response to this violation, the petitioners, the bakery and its owner, raised multiple constitutional claims,…

This amicus brief case asks the Supreme Court to grant a petition for certiorari and resolve the question of whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation through its prohibition of discrimination “because of . . . sex.” In April 2015, petitioner Jameka Evans filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Georgia alleging that her former employer, Georgia Regional Hospital, fired her because she is gay, does not act …

This case involves the constitutionality of Mississippi HB 1523 — the so-called "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act." HB 1523 provides sweeping, legal exemptions and immunities to public officials, individuals or business who or that hold one of three religious or moral beliefs: marriage should be limited to opposite sex-marriage; sexual relations should be limited to opposite-sex marriage; and "Male (man) or Female (woman) refer to an individual’s…