At issue in the case are the opening prayer practices at public meetings of the Rowan County, N.C. Commission. Based on the record in the case, the opening prayers are given by County Commissioners on a rotating basis and are exclusively Christian. Furthermore, in many instances residents attending meetings are asking by Commissioners to join in the prayer. ADL's brief argues that these practices violate the minimal legislative prayer requirements set forth in the U.S. Supreme Court’s…

At issue in this case is whether Texas' Vital Statistics Unit may refuse to issue a birth certificate for a child born in the United States because the parents requesting the birth certificate do not have proper documentation to be in this country. Under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, children born in the United States are automatically, by virtue of their birth here, American citizens. ADL filed a letter brief in support of the Plaintiffs arguing that Texas does not have the…

This case concerns the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Texas at Austin. The Court is being asked to decide whether the Fifth Circuit's re-endorsement of the University of Texas' use of race in a holistic undergraduate admissions process can be sustained under the Supreme Court's decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. ADL again urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the University of Texas' admissions policy, saying that the…

This case involves a challenge to a six-foot tall, 2000-pound Ten Commandments monument displayed at the local public high school, in violation of the First Amendment. A student's mother claims that she changed her daughter's school so they could avoid seeing the display. ADL's amicus brief argues that changing schools to avoid the display, as well as the child and parents' earlier interactions with the display, are exactly the type of harms that the Establishment Clause prohibits.

In 2014 President Obama issued an executive order, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, which extended deferred action to certain undocumented immigrants. Texas and twenty-five other states challenged the executive order in federal court and the district court issued an injunction, which the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld. ADL signed onto a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, and another brief once the Supreme Court agreed to hear…

At issue in this case is the New Hampshire Education Tax Credit Program, which authorizes New Hampshire businesses to redirect up to 85% of taxes owed as donations to K-12 "scholarship organizations," which pay for tuition at private religious and secular schools. In addition to undermining separation of church and state, the Program directs public funds to private religious and secular schools that discriminate against students and teachers. ADL's brief focuses on this discrimination issue…

At issue in this case is the New Hampshire Education Tax Credit Program, which authorizes New Hampshire businesses to redirect up to 85% of taxes owed as donations to K-12 "scholarship organizations," which pay for tuition at private religious and secular schools. In addition to undermining separation of church and state, the Program directs public funds to private religious and secular schools that discriminate against students and teachers. ADL's brief focuses on this discrimination issue…

At issue in this case is a challenge by owners of for-profit, secular corporations to the federal Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate. The mandate requires the corporations to provide employees with comprehensive health insurance, including birth control coverage, or to pay a modest tax, which is generally lower than the aggregate cost of employee health insurance. The owners and corporations claim that the contraception mandate violates the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (…

At issue in this case is a claim by a Muslim congregation in Bridgewater, NJ that the municipality adopted a land use ordinance to block conversion of a former banquet facility, purchased by the Congregation, into a mosque. The Interfaith Coalition on Mosques (ICOM)'s amicus brief contends that the township’s conduct violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which safeguards the religious freedom of houses of worship and other institutions in the land…

This case challenges Utah’s Marriage Ban, a state constitutional amendment that defined marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. ADL filed a brief on behalf of a coalition of 26 organizations arguing that overturning the marriage ban would not only ensure that religious considerations do not improperly influence which marriages the state can recognize, but would also allow religious groups to decide the definition of marriage for themselves.

The Defendants in this case are challenging the constitutionality of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA). The Anti-Defamation League filed an amicus brief on behalf of 40 nationally-prominent civil rights, human rights, religious, educational and law enforcement organizations urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to uphold the constitutionality of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and to affirm that it applies to cases in which the…

This case challenges Oklahoma's Marriage Ban, a state constitutional amendment that defined marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. ADL filed a brief on behalf of a coalition of 26 organizations arguing that overturning the marriage ban would not only ensure that religious considerations do not improperly influence which marriages the state can recognize, but would also allow religious groups to decide the definition of marriage for themselves.

This case challenges Virginia's Marriage Ban, a state constitutional amendment that defined marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. ADL filed a brief on behalf of a coalition of 20 organizations arguing that overturning the marriage ban would not only ensure that religious considerations do not improperly influence which marriages the state can recognize, but would also allow religious groups to decide the definition of marriage for themselves.

This case challenges an Arkansas prison's decision to deny an observant Muslim the right to observe his faith by wearing a short beard. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) requires the State to offer a compelling reason for denying a prisoner's request to accommodate a sincerely-held religious belief, but courts around the country have applied the standard differently. ADL joined a coalition of religious organizations urging the Supreme Court to "apply uniform,…

This case challenges Kentucky's Marriage Ban, a state constitutional amendment that defined marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. ADL filed a brief on behalf of a coalition of 22 organizations arguing that overturning the marriage ban would not only ensure that religious considerations do not improperly influence which marriages the state can recognize, but would also allow religious groups to decide the definition of marriage for themselves.

LaRue v. Colorado Board of Education challenges Colorado's school voucher program that allows state funding to flow to parochial schools. While the Supreme Court has interpreted the U.S. Constitution to permit similar programs in other states, the Colorado's constitution contains a No-Aid Clause that more explicitly prohibits direct and indirect state funding of religion. The ADL and a coalition of religious groups from multiple faiths argue that Colorado's No-Aid Clause and the U.S…

This case challenges Tennessee's Marriage Ban, a state constitutional amendment that defined marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. ADL filed a brief on behalf of a coalition of 22 organizations arguing that overturning the marriage ban would not only ensure that religious considerations do not improperly influence which marriages the state can recognize, but would also allow religious groups to decide the definition of marriage for themselves.

This case challenges Michigan's Marriage Ban, a state constitutional amendment that defined marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. ADL filed a brief on behalf of a coalition of 22 organizations arguing that overturning the marriage ban would not only ensure that religious considerations do not improperly influence which marriages the state can recognize, but would also allow religious groups to decide the definition of marriage for themselves.

This case challenges Ohio's Marriage Ban, a state constitutional amendment that defined marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. ADL filed a brief on behalf of a coalition of 25 organizations arguing that overturning the marriage ban would not only ensure that religious considerations do not improperly influence which marriages the state can recognize, but would also allow religious groups to decide the definition of marriage for themselves.

This case involves the right of American citizens born in Jerusalem to list Israel as their place of birth on their passports, rather than just "Jerusalem." Despite a 2002 law directing the Secretary of State, upon the request of the citizen or the citizen's legal guardian, to record the place of birth as Israel, the State Department manual currently provides that the passports of American citizens born in Jerusalem must say "Jerusalem," reflecting official U.S. government policy regarding the…