ADF attorney available to media after hearing in atheist suit against Detroit agencyALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY ADF attorney available to media after hearing in atheist suit against Detroit agency WHO: ADF Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt CINCINNATI — Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt will be available to answer questions from the media immediately following oral argument Thursday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in American Atheists v. City of Detroit Downtown Development Agency. ADF attorneys represent St. John’s Episcopal Church in the case. “Churches should not be discriminated against for their beliefs simply because an atheist group doesn’t understand the Constitution. The Constitution prohibits singling out religious groups for unequal treatment in situations like these,” said Schowengerdt. “The church was simply responding to a plan to spruce up its property before the Super Bowl and to spur economic growth downtown. The reimbursement promised to the church for non-religious purposes does nothing to establish religion and is therefore not a constitutional violation.” St. John’s Episcopal Church entered into a contract with the City of Detroit Downtown Development Agency to make exterior improvements to its property in order to enhance the city’s image prior to the 2006 Super Bowl. The plan included dozens of other property owners of the downtown area for this purpose and for the purpose of spurring economic development in the downtown area. The contract called for the city to reimburse half of the expenses, up to $180,000. American Atheists filed suit, and the city subsequently withheld reimbursement to the church, which had already secured a loan and completed improvements. In August 2008, a federal district court ruled that the church should receive most of the reimbursement promised by the city. ADF attorneys have now appealed to the 6th Circuit to secure the entire reimbursement for the church. American Atheists also appealed. • Fact sheet on the lawsuit ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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