Daily Archives: March 1, 2010

AP: “Court papers filed Monday with Chief Justice John Roberts argue that Washington residents should be able to vote on the matter.”

AP: “It’s a situation too agonizing to contemplate – a child dying and in pain. Now a small but provocative study suggests that doctors may be giving fatal morphine doses to a few children dying of cancer, to end their suffering at their parents’ request.”

Baptist Press: bortion doctors and their clinics continue to be the targets of legal investigations. The following accounts were reported by major newspapers in recent days . . .

ABC: “By criminalizing all abortion procedures, including therapeutic abortions that aim to protect the life and health of the mother, Nicaragua’s ban restricts a woman’s access to a range of medical treatments, such as cardiac surgery, radiation and pain-killing medications . . . Eleven member states of the United Nations and four expert U.N. committees, including those on Torture, Human Rights and Discrimination Against Women, have urged Nicaragua to amend its laws on abortion because of such violations and the documented rise in maternal deaths since the law took effect.”

“The U.S. government will come under political pressure to appeal the Romeike case so as not to offend a close ally . . . ”

Huffington Post: “All Colorado Springs police officers are undergoing training on how the department expects them to behave when questioning, searching or detaining transgender individuals.”

Reality Check: “California Federal District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez ruled late this past Friday that the Poway Unified School District in San Diego, CA, violated math teacher Bradley Johnson’s constitutional rights when it ordered him to remove two patriotic banners from the walls of his classroom because they “over-emphasized” God. ”

Thomas More Law Center press release

Johnson v. Poway Unified School Dist., No. 07cv783 (S.D. Cal. Feb. 25, 2010)

MyFoxPhilly.com: “The legal and licensing problems for an abortion doctor spread into Delaware for Dr. Kermit Gosnell . . . Gosnell is licensed in Delaware and until last week practiced part time at a women’s clinic in Wilmington. Officials there now say the doctor no longer works there because his license to practice medicine had been suspended in Pennsylvania . . . ”

David J. Hacker serves as litigation staff counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Sacramento Regional Service Center in California, where he litigates cases to protect the rights of Christian students, faculty, and staff at public colleges and universities across the nation. Joining ADF in 2005, he is admitted to the bar in Illinois and California practiced law in Chicago, Illinois. Hacker has been in practice since 2004 and earned his J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He served as an ADF Blackstone intern at the Pacific Justice Institute and is a 2002 ADF Blackstone Fellow. Hacker practiced in a private Chicago firm before joining ADF.

The Columbus Dispatch: “Brookwood Presbyterian Church runs an educational program for 64 students with autism and other special needs, but as a church, it is disqualified from sponsoring charter schools, the Ohio Department of Education says . . . The case is fraught with church-state implications. The church says it should be treated like any other prospective sponsor of charter schools in Ohio. The state says a church is not an “education-oriented entity” as required to sponsor a charter school in the state.”

Byron Babione serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Team Resource Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is a member of the Virginia, New York, and Arizona bars and has practiced trial and appellate advocacy in numerous civil rights cases in federal and state court. Babione is a graduate of George Mason University and has practiced law since 1993 after earning his J.D. from the Regent University School of Law.

Roger Kiska serves as legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund and is based in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, where he specializes in international litigation with a focus on European law. Kiska is developing the ADF-allied attorney network in Europe, working with allies to litigate European cases that have a potential for impacting ADF efforts in America. Before joining ADF in 2008, Kiska served as legal counsel at the European Center for Law and Justice. He earned his J.D. at Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kiska is admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and successfully completed the United Kingdom’s Solicitor’s Transfer Exam–the British equivalent of the American Bar exam.

Joel L. Oster serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Kansas City Regional Service Center in Kansas, where he plays a significant role in litigation efforts defending church autonomy. Before joining ADF in 2004, he earned his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law. Oster is admitted to the bar in Kansas, Missouri, Florida, and numerous federal courts, and has practiced law since 1997.

Glen Lavy serves as senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Team Resource Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he oversees the coordination of approximately 1,200 allied attorneys trained through the ADF National Litigation Academy program. Prior to joining ADF, Lavy was engaged in an active legal practice that included a variety of complex litigation matters such as securities fraud, antitrust, and tax law. He has practiced law since 1990 and is admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, along with multiple other federal and district courts across the country, as well as the Court of Federal Claims and U.S. Tax Court.

Kevin Theriot serves as senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Kansas City Regional Service Center in Kansas, where he heads litigation efforts to protect and preserve the right of churches and other ministries to be free from unconstitutional government regulation and intrusion. He is admitted to the bar in seven states, the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous other federal courts of appeal and district courts. Theriot received his law degree from Vanderbilt University and has been litigating First Amendment issues since 1993.

Erik W. Stanley serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Kansas City Regional Service Center in Kansas, where he heads the ADF Pulpit Initiative to empower pastors across the nation to speak freely from their pulpits on all matters of life, including how Scripture and church teaching have application to candidates and elections. He has focused his practice on appellate law, free speech, traditional family values, pro-life, and religious liberty constitutional law. Stanley has filed, briefed, and argued numerous trial and appellate cases on constitutional issues throughout the United States. Stanley graduated from Temple University School of Law in the top five percent of his class and is a member of the Florida and the District of Columbia bars, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal district and appellate courts.

Jeremy Tedesco serves as legal counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund, where he currently litigates cases to protect the rights of Christian students, faculty, and staff at public colleges and universities across the nation. In 1997, he earned his J.D. from the Regent University School of Law. Tedesco is admitted to the State Bar of Arizona, the Supreme and District Court of Arizona, the District Court of Colorado, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th Circuits.

Austin R. Nimocks serves as senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund at its Washington, D.C., Regional Service Center, where he litigates as a member of the marriage litigation team. Before joining ADF in 2007, he served more than 10 years in private practice, most recently at Austin R. Nimocks & Associates, P.L.L.C., in Biloxi, Miss. Nimocks earned his J.D. from the Baylor University School of Law in Waco, Texas, and is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arizona, along with several other federal and state courts.

David Cortman serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Atlanta Regional Service Center in Georgia, where he heads litigation efforts to defend and reclaim the First Amendment rights of public school students across the nation. Cortman joined ADF in 2005, and is admitted to the bar in Georgia, Florida, and the District of Columbia. He has practiced law since 1996 and graduated magna cum laude from the Regent University School of Law, where he earned his J.D.

Gary McCaleb serves as Chief Solicitor and Executive Vice-President of Strategy Implementation for the Alliance Defense Fund at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Since joining ADF in 2002, McCaleb has litigated numerous religious liberty and free speech cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the United States.

McCaleb earned his J.D. from Regent University School of Law, graduating with honors in 1997. Before working with ADF, he litigated and lobbied for the Center for Arizona Policy and litigated with the American Center for Law and Justice. McCaleb received a B.S. in Forestry from Northern Arizona University, graduating magna cum
laude in 1981.

McCaleb has practiced law since 1998 and is admitted to the bar of the Arizona Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court, and numerous federal appellate and district courts. He currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.

McCaleb has appeared on numerous broadcasts and in many publications, including Fox News, MSNBC, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Times. He is a U.S. Navy veteranand served as a forester for the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

CNSNews: “The first openly gay lawmaker to lead either house of the California Legislature has been sworn in as speaker of the state Assembly.”

Joseph P. Infranco serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he is also ADF Senior Vice President of Allied Attorney Support and Coordination, working with approximately 1,200 attorneys across the nation. Infranco has tried more than 100 cases to successful conclusions and has participated as counsel or local counsel on many First Amendment cases. He joined ADF in 2003, he is admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court and New York state, in addition to three federal district courts and U.S. Tax Court. Infranco has practiced law since 1978 and earned his J.D. from the Franklin Pierce Law Center while clerking for the former New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Maurice Bois.

Yahoo (AFP): “South Korea announced a crackdown on abortionists as part of a drive to boost its low birthrate, a pressing issue in the rapidly ageing society.”

Nate Kellum serves as senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Memphis Regional Service Center in Tennessee, where he focuses his litigation on defending religious free speech rights in the public square. Joining ADF in 2004, Kellum is admitted to the bar in Tennessee, Mississippi, and numerous federal appellate courts. He has practiced law since 1988 and earned his J.D. from the University of Mississippi.

Desoto Times Tribune: “A Horn Lake couple has embarked on a mission to give expectant moms an alternative to abortion. Keri and Shawn Carey began seeking public support last month for a maternity home they plan to locate on 65 acres in rural DeSoto County.”

The Hutchinson News: “Legislation that would make it harder for some people to get a divorce in Kansas is making its way through the Statehouse. Proponents of ‘covenant marriage’ say the voluntary agreement would require couples to make a higher commitment to marriage and to understand that commitment before going into a marriage.”

Richmond Times Dispatch: “The committee voted 17-5 for the legislation. Under a compromise announced last week, local school boards would continue to have final say on charter applications. But the state Board of Education would review an application and make a recommendation to the local board.”

WorldNetDaily: “Guidelines have been proposed that would specify what commission officials believe all schools must do to make accommodations for any biological boy who asserts he’s female, or biological girl who asserts she’s male.”

The State Journal-Register: “A bill backed by Planned Parenthood in the Illinois General Assembly would remove restrictions on when low-income women could receive abortions paid for by the state’s Medicaid program. House Bill 6205, sponsored by House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, is expected to be considered by a House committee later this month.”

CNA: “Pro-abortion leaders gathered at the Latin American Forum of Strategies for the Legalization of Abortion last week in Bogota, Colombia where they discussed their intention to take advantage of ambiguous international laws to pressure governments in the region to legalize the procedure.”

Heather Gebelin Hacker serves as litigation staff counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Sacramento Regional Service Center in California, where she litigates cases to protect the rights of Christian students, faculty, and staff at public colleges and universities across the nation. Hacker is admitted to the state bar in California and Arizona. She has practiced law since 2005 and earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Hacker served as an ADF Blackstone intern and became an ADF Blackstone Fellow in 2003. She also completed a legal internship at the Rutherford Institute. Hacker joined ADF in 2005.

“Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have submitted an application to appeal the state’s conviction of a Christian arrested while praying in an Elmira public park during a 2007 ‘gay pride’ event.”

Steven H. Aden serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund in its Washington, D.C., office, where he heads litigation efforts to defend the sanctity of human life. Joining ADF in 2008, Aden is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Hawaii (inactive). He is also a member of the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal circuit and district courts. He has practiced law since 1990 and earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Jim Campbell serves as litigation staff counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Team Resource Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he specializes in litigating cases pertaining to same-sex “marriage” with the Marriage Litigation Center, as well as issues concerning religious liberty, and freedom of conscience. He earned his J.D. from the University of Akron School of Law and is admitted to the bar in the states of Ohio and Arizona, along with federal bars including the Northern District of Ohio and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He joined ADF in 2007.

Dale Schowengerdt (SHOW’in-gurt) serves as legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund and litigates as a member of the marriage litigation team. He has also assisted with litigation related to religious freedom and the sanctity of life. A graduate of the Regent University School of Law, Schowengerdt is admitted to the state bar of Arizona.

The State Journal-Register: “With newly installed outdoor secu­rity cameras and buzz-in entry sys­tem, Planned Parenthood Springfield plans to begin offering elective abor­tions this month through the use of drugs that let women complete the procedure at home. Hundreds of patients each year are expected to seek the $435 service – which Planned Parenthood calls ‘medication abortion’ – from the or­ganization’s clinic at 1000 E. Wash­ington St., said Stephani Cox, a nurse practitioner who is the downstate lead clinician for Chicago-based Planned Parenthood of Illinois.”

David North writing at the Center for Immigration Studies: “What happens when an obscure USCIS appellate body handles disputes about visas for religious workers? In my review of the 62 decisions made in 2009 made by the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) the answer appears to be – carefully and narrowly.”

OnTopMag(“gay advocacy website”): “The government’s Committee for Constitutional Affairs unanimously agreed on the bill’s final language. The measure now heads to the desk of President Anibal Cavaco Silva. Cavaco Silva is a Roman Catholic and a member of the PSD party, groups which oppose the legalization of gay marriage, and he has publicly stated his opposition to gay marriage.”

Cyprus Mail: “The government will soon examine the issue of making same-sex marriages legal in Cyprus, Interior Ministry Permanent Secretary Lazaros Savvides has told the Sunday Mail.”

The Moscow Times: “The Constitutional Court on Friday ordered the state to obey decisions by the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights and demanded further legislative action to ensure their smooth implementation. ‘Decisions by the European Court of Human Rights are binding for Russia,’ the court said in a ruling published on its web site.”

Leagle: “The Nevada Supreme Court has agreed to expedite an appeal from a group seeking to override state abortion statutes . . . The Supreme Court granted the request on Thursday and ordered initiative backers and its opponents to file all briefs by April 2. No extensions will be granted . . .”

“Hundreds of Iraqi Christians on Sunday protested against the recent flare up of violence against them in northern Iraq . . . he string of murders, which sends the message to Christians that they can be killed at anytime and anywhere . . . ”

HRC Back Story Blog: “On February 24, President Obama nominated Laura E. Duffy to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California . . . ”

Christian Newswire: “Last year [Tarrant County Appraisal District] TAD denied a request from Kenneth Copeland Ministries for religious exemption from certain property taxes mainly related to aircraft belonging to KCM. Part of the requirement for this exemption was a request for the names, positions and salaries of each of the ministry’s employees (nearly 600 persons) even though the director of the Appraisal District stated publicly that this requirement was not law and that he and his staff never read the documentation . . . KCM took a stand for religious freedom and determined it was not appropriate to surrender salary information of individual employees and invade their right to privacy.”

Brian Raum serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Team Resource Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he heads its marriage litigation team. Having earned his J.D. from the Regent University School of Law, he is admitted to the bar in the states of Virginia and New York, along with the federal bars in all the districts of New York, as well as the Central District of Illinois and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Third, Seventh, Ninth, and Federal Circuits. Before joining ADF in 2006, he engaged in constitutional and civil litigation for 11 years in New York and Virginia.

California Catholic Daily: “Obama, Pelosi insist no federal funding for abortion in pending healthcare bill; pro-life groups disagree.”

Travis Barham serves as litigation counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund at its Regional Service Center in Columbia, Tennessee, where he litigates to preserve religious freedom and the freedom of speech on college and university campuses across the nation. Joining ADF in 2006, Barham is a member of the bar in Arizona, and is admitted to federal district courts in Arizona, California, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. He has practiced law since 2006 and earned his J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law, where he graduated summa cum laude.

NY Times: “If it is signed into law by Gov. Gary R. Herbert, a Republican, who has said he agrees generally with its goals but is still studying the particulars, Utah would still allow legal abortions performed by a doctor. But it would go further than any other state, several legal experts said, in mapping out a much murkier question: when is a woman criminally liable for trying to end a pregnancy through other means or self-infliction?”

H.B. 12 Criminal Homicide and Abortion Amendment

“Children in care will suffer if the last Roman Catholic adoption agency in England and Wales is forced to close down by gay equality laws, Church leaders warned today.”

ACLU Blog: “That’s when the ACLU filed a legal challenge on her behalf, both to ensure that she receive a safe, timely abortion and to strike down Arpaio’s unconstitutional policy . . . Arpaio must now transport women in his facility who request an abortion, and he must transport them even if they can’t afford to pay the transport costs upfront.”

LifeSiteNews: “The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), a New York-based public interest law firm that seeks to expand abortion access globally, has issued a primer on ‘reproductive and sexual rights’ jurisprudence in Africa, including abortion.”

LifeSiteNews: “Supporters of homeschooling, however, are calling criticisms of home education because of the case a “red herring” to distract from the negligence of the local Birmingham social services . . . Birmingham social services, which is under heavy criticism after having admitted they were aware of the situation at the children’s home, has also blamed Britain’s laws allowing homeschooling, saying it had been difficult for social workers to gain access to the child and her five siblings . . . ”

“‘There has been a lot of movement; toward repealing the law, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Freeborne acknowledged under questioning by U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips, who is reviewing a constitutional challenge to the measure. Still, Freeborne saw that ‘movement’ as cause for delay, not capitulation.”

NBC Bay Area: “The two sides in the case — a pair of same-sex couples on one hand and the sponsors of California’s Proposition 8 on the other — filed their final briefs late Friday shortly before a midnight deadline.”

________________ ABOUT Jordan Lorence Jordan Lorence serves as senior counsel and senior vice-president of the Office of Strategic Initiatives for the Alliance Defense Fund at its Washington, D.C., Regional Service Center. He has litigated religious liberty, free speech, and marriage …

Matt Bowman serves as legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Washington, D.C., Regional Service Center, where he is a key member of the Life Litigation Project to protect the sanctity of human life. Before joining ADF in 2006, Bowman clerked for several federal judges at the U.S. District Court and Court of Appeals. He is admitted to the bar in Michigan, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, the Eastern District of Michigan, and the Northern District of New York. Bowman earned his J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law, where he was class valedictorian, graduated summa cum laude, and received the St. Thomas More Award for Virtue and Academic Excellence.

North County Times: “If you place any stock in the veracity of Yahoo search engine statistics, you will discover that close to 50 new Web sites featuring ‘teen porn’ are born on Yahoo every minute of every day, at least for the past month. While this research is strictly unscientific, it speaks to a phenomenon that clearly places people into two distinct camps: those who know that America is awash in teen porn, and those who are firmly in denial.”

BBC News: “Hundreds of Dutch activists have walked out of a Mass in protest at a Roman Catholic policy of denying communion to practising homosexuals.”

PRNewswire: “Parents of teens in the Kansas City metro area need to understand that in Missouri, sexting can result in felony charges, including exploitation of a child and creating, possession and distribution of child pornography.”

Tulsa World (AP):”A state House panel has taken no action on a bill to prohibit facial recognition and digital fingerprinting technology on the driver’s licenses of Oklahomans who have religious objections.”

ADF Attorney Gregory S. Baylor writing at the Academic Freedom File: “The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has wrongly declared that Trinity Western University (TWU) violates academic freedom because of its Christ-centered character. CAUT bases its conclusion upon two facts. First, TWU draws its faculty and staff from among those who voluntarily embrace its Statement of Faith . . . Second, TWU ‘rejects as incompatible with human nature and revelational theism a definition of academic freedom which arbitrarily and exclusively requires pluralism without commitment, denies the existence of any fixed points of reference, maximizes the quest for truth to the extent of assuming it is never knowable, and implies an absolute freedom from moral and religious responsibility to its community.’”

News Channel Five: “The ACLU is suing the [Cheatham County School Board] because of religious activities they say happened inside schools.”

Fox News: “The Supreme Court announced Monday it will not hear a case over the ordered removal of a Ten Commandments monument on a county courthouse lawn.”

The New American: “. . . So, while our nation’s most elite colleges are not imbuing our children with a knowledge of our history and our government, the study makes it clear that those universities are becoming round the clock factories churning out poorly instructed liberals with little civic knowledge and even less faith and less devotion to principles of liberty than those Americans who didn’t go to college.”

Alan Sears serves as president, CEO, and general counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. He leads the strategy, training, funding, and litigation efforts of ADF that have resulted in various roles in 35 victories at the U.S. Supreme Court and wins in more than three out of four cases litigated to conclusion. Under his leadership, ADF has funded more than 2,000 grants and legal projects for allied lawyers and organizations, and ADF attorneys have successfully defended marriage as the union between one man and one woman in more than 35 cases nationwide.

Benjamin W. Bull, Esquire, serves as executive vice-president and chief counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Team Resource Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he supervises all aspects of the legal team, including litigation, grants and funding, allied attorneys, National Litigation Academies, and the ADF legal internship program known as the Blackstone Legal Fellowship. Joining ADF in 2001, Bull is an active member of the bars of Arizona, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has practiced law since 1975 and obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina Law Center.

Tim Chandler serves as legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund at its Sacramento Regional Service Center in California, where he is the supervising attorney. Chandler is admitted to the bar in California, as well as to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and each federal district court in California. He is a Blackstone Fellow and has practiced law since 2004, having earned his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.

Jeffery J. Ventrella serves as senior counsel and senior vice-president of strategic training for the Alliance Defense Fund at its Team Resource Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Since joining ADF in 2000, he has headed the ADF Blackstone Legal Fellowship, a unique legal internship program that has graduated more than 700 outstanding law students. Ventrella also leads the ADF National Litigation Academy, which has trained more than 1,300 allied attorneys across the nation in litigating constitutional law cases. He regularly engages the culture through formal debates and serves as an approved speaker for The Federalist Society. Ventrella earned his J.D. from the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law and has practiced law since 1985. He is a member of the Idaho State Bar and is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, and the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

AP: “Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn’s decision to step down at the end of June gives President Barack Obama a chance to put a bigger imprint on the central bank . . . His departure will open up a third seat on the seven-member Federal Reserve board in Washington.”

Gregory S. Baylor serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Washington, D.C., office, where he litigates cases for the ADF Center for Academic Freedom to protect the rights of Christian students, faculty, and staff at public colleges and universities across the nation. Baylor earned his J.D. at Duke University School of Law, and prior to joining ADF in 2009, he served as director with the Christian Legal Society Center for Law & Religious Freedom in Springfield, Virginia, where he defended religious liberty since 1994. Practicing law since 1990, Baylor is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits; the Supreme Court of Texas; the District of Colorado; the Northern District of Texas; and the Western District of Texas.

How Appealing links to this post by Ross Guberman of Legal Writing Pro.

Joseph Martins serves as litigation staff counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund at its Regional Service Center in Columbia, Tennessee. Since joining ADF in 2007, he has focused his litigation on protecting religious freedom and freedom of speech for students, faculty, and staff at America’s public colleges and universities. Prior to his service with ADF, Martins practiced as a staff attorney for the National Legal Foundation. He earned his J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and is admitted to the bar in North Carolina.

Helen Rittelmeyer writing at National Review Online: “When a respected national figure like Tony Perkins starts seeing prayer-luncheon engagements canceled over a position rooted in Christian orthodoxy, it’s time to make sure our religious liberty is still in the last place we left it. The chaplain’s office would never say that a guest of the base may not believe as Perkins does, of course, but it does seem to be suggesting that its guests keep that opinion to themselves. Rep. Jack Kingston (R., Ga.) suspects that this chilling effect is exactly what Perkins’s critics had in mind. ‘They knew there would be a backlash to this, and I think they had a design about that.’ The incident wasn’t about Perkins, he thinks, but about ‘using him to drive a message — that your brand of sermon is no longer welcome in the U.S. military.’”

Education News: “The Home School Legal Defense Association and members of the Alliance Defense Fund have been advising Christer and Annie Johansson on the ‘state-napping’ of their son, Dominic, 7, from an airliner as the family was preparing to move to India last year.”

edge Boston: “Representatives from several anti-LGBT organizations gathered in Rhode Island on Saturday, Feb. 27, for a conference billed as the New England Family, Life and Marriage Summit . . . Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, made similar statements. He used the fact Catholic Charities in Boston and Washington, D.C., lost their government funding after they refused to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. ‘The state drove them out of the adoption business,’ Nimocks said. ‘This is a question of persecution.’”