Category Archives: Uncategorized

Arizona Republic, Joanna Allhands’ blog: “On Monday afternoon, the Town Council sent out an urgently worded message saying it has asked town staff to change the code and not enforce the current one until said changes are made . . . According to the note, town employees had asked Oasis of Truth Church to stop meeting in a Gilbert home. The Alliance Defense Fund had filed an appeal for the group last week, and though the ordinance revisions were set to go on the March 23 council agenda, the media caught wind of the story on Friday.”

OneNewsNow: “‘It’s a situation where a small house church that has been meeting in its members’ homes on a rotating basis has been ordered to stop holding those meetings,’ Blomberg explains. ‘And they can’t have any type of meeting, whether they be a church service or they be a Bible study or a church leadership meeting.’”

Christian Post: “The U.S. Department of State said Friday that is ‘increasingly concerned’ about the ongoing persecution of religious minority communities in Iran . . . ”

Persecution Blog: “Here’s an interesting and troubling story coming from Arizona. According to the report the legal organization, The Alliance Defense Fund, has taken up the case and it is expected that this ordinance will be overturned. The question I have is why was this even made an ordinance in the first place. Feel free to comment below and read the other linked stories about this case.”

LifeNews: “More documents a pair of pro-life groups have uncovered using freedom of Information Act requests show the University of Wisconsin may be illegally funding internships for medical students at abortion centers. The new documents obtained via an open records request by Pro-Life Wisconsin and the Alliance Defense Fund reveal that, since 2007, UW has spent more than $58,878 paying for abortion training.”

CBN News: “The city of Gilbert shut down the church after a city employee spotted signs for it in the neighborhood . . . ‘We hope the City of Gilbert will recognize that this is a bad law on the books, and will repeal it or rewrite it to protect people’s rights in their own home to practice their faith,’ Napier said.” [article includes video featuring ADF Attorney Doug Napier]

WMAZ (AP): “A Christian advocacy group says a zoning code in Gilbert, Ariz., that bars religious assemblies in private homes is unconstitutional . . . The Alliance Defense Fund has filed an appeal, warning the town that its code violates the U.S. Constitution.”

Ian Pringle writing at The Daily Caller: “The town [of Gilbert] ordered Pastor Sutherland, of Oasis of Truth Church, to ‘terminate all religious meetings . . . regardless of their size, nature or frequency . . . As the Alliance Defense Fund put it, ‘this ban is defended based upon traffic, parking, and building safety concerns. However, nothing in its zoning code prevents weekly Cub Scouts meetings, Monday Night Football parties with numerous attendees or large business parties from being held on a regular basis in private homes.’”

KSWT (AP): “The national Alliance Defense Fund says a town code that bars religious assemblies in private homes in the Arizona community of Gilbert is unconstitutional . . . The Alliance Defense Fund’s Doug Napier says no neighbors complained.”

KPHO: “A national legal group is warning Gilbert city officials that a code barring religious assemblies in private homes is unconstitutional . . . ‘No neighbors complained,’ said Doug Napier, of the Alliance Defense Fund. ‘They weren’t making noise. They weren’t causing any problems. He just saw these signs and said, “Well, our code says you can’t meet together.”‘”

Jew School: “‘The city of Gilbert, Ariz., has ordered a group of seven adults to stop gathering for Bible studies in a private home because such meetings are forbidden by the city’s zoning codes . . . The ban, however, prompted a response from the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed an appeal with the city as the first step in its campaign to overturn a provision it describes as illegal’ . . . The liberal elite should jump on this bandwagon and say this isn’t right. Because you know we won’t get together on the Second Amendment with these people, so we can at least come together and fight for the First one.”

Christianity Today Political Advocacy Tracker: “At a Focus on the Family chapel service to say farewell to retiring James Dobson, Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family Action recounted Dobson’s impact on public policy organizations. Dobson helped found three national policy organizations (American Family Association, Alliance Defense Fund, and Family Research Council) and 37 state family policy councils. According to Minnery, in 2010 these 40 organizations have 548 full-time employees and a combined budget of $89 million.”

Earned Media: “Sharon F. Blakeney, an allied attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund and counsel for Concerned Women for America in filing their Amicus Brief, stated, ‘If the names and personal information of the voters who signed the R-71 petition are released and published on the Internet, they will be subjected to torment and intimidation by homosexual activists from all corners of the globe. Signing the R-71 petition was essentially casting a vote on the ultimate issue, and the signatures, home addresses, and all other personal information on the petition should be treated with the Constitutional protections and confidentiality of a secret ballot.’”

Capitol Hill Prayer Partners’ Capitol Hill Daily Brief: “Our friends at the Alliance Defense Fund are already on the move to block the law — even if Congress won’t. This week, attorneys are filing an injunction with the U.S. Supreme Court until D.C. voters have the opportunity to exercise their rights. Until then, D.C.’s Catholic Charities is one of many organizations who are dealing with the internal fallout from the bill.”

North Carolina Family Policy Council: “By the afternoon of March 3—the date D.C.’s same-sex ‘marriage’ law went into effect—more than 50 same-sex couples had completed applications for marriage licenses at the District’s marriage bureau, while at least that many continued to wait in line . . . Bishop Harry Jackson, with the legal support of Stand4MarriageDC and the Alliance Defense Fund, had appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to delay implementation of the law until the D.C. Court of Appeals issues a ruling on whether the citizens of D.C. have a right to vote on the bill’s passage via referendum. The Supreme Court denied that request. The lawsuit challenging the marriage redefinition law is awaiting a decision from the D.C. Court of Appeals.”

Christianity & Politics Examiner: “Joel Oster, an Alliance Defense Fund attorney who represented Dobson told The Christian Post that, ‘The lawsuit against Mrs. Dobson was based on the ridiculous argument that a private citizen can violate the law by praying, and it is just another example of one radical organization’s allergic reaction to anything involving God.’”

The Blog of LegalTimes: “[Foley & Lardner partner Cleta Mitchell] was listed alongside lawyers from the Alliance Defense Fund on a petition asking Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. to stay the new law until the full Supreme Court could decide whether to hear their appeal of the local court decision.”

Christian Singles & Spirituality Examiner: “‘Prayer proclamations are a long-established and cherished American tradition going back to the Founding Fathers,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. ‘This is simply a ridiculous lawsuit and an example of one radical organization’s allergic reaction to anything involving God.’”

Christian Examiner: “‘Prayer proclamations are a long-established and cherished American tradition going back to the Founding Fathers,’ said Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. ‘The lawsuit against Mrs. Dobson was based on the ridiculous argument that a private citizen can violate the law by praying, and it is just another example of one radical organization’s allergic reaction to anything involving God.’”

OneNewsNow: “The court also dismissed FFRF’s allegation against presidential proclamations for a National Day of Prayer, occurring this year on May 6th. ‘It indicates that presidents are able to declare a national day of prayer whenever they want to and issue a proclamation accordingly,’ [Kevin] Theriot reports. ‘I think that’s very significant in recognition of our religious heritage and the importance of prayer in our country.’”

CBN News: “A federal judge dismissed Shirley Dobson from a lawsuit challenging the National Day of Prayer on Tuesday . . . ‘Prayer proclamations are a long-established and cherished American tradition going back to the Founding Fathers,’ ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster said.”

OneNewsNow: “The court also dismissed FFRF’s allegation against presidential proclamations for a National Day of Prayer, occurring this year on May 6th. ‘It indicates that presidents are able to declare a national day of prayer whenever they want to and issue a proclamation accordingly,’ [Kevin] Theriot reports. ‘I think that’s very significant in recognition of our religious heritage and the importance of prayer in our country.’”

Christian Post: “A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed all claims against Shirley Dobson, the wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, in a lawsuit challenging the National Day of Prayer . . . ‘The lawsuit against Mrs. Dobson was based on the ridiculous argument that a private citizen can violate the law by praying, and it is just another example of one radical organization’s allergic reaction to anything involving God,’ Oster continued. ‘FFRF is showcasing to America that its true agenda is not to just silence the government, but private citizens, as well.’”

OneNewsNow: “The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an Oklahoma case concerning a Ten Commandments monument . . . ‘It allows a case to stand, which really takes the concept of separation of church and state way too far,’ he comments. ‘And we’re concerned [that] what it’s doing is . . . marginalizing Christian speech in the public square so that a privately donated monument, like the Ten Commandments monument that was donated here, is not allowed, but other historical monuments are on a county courthouse lawn.’”

CitizenLink: “The U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene in the Washington, D.C., marriage battle . . . ‘The people have a right to have the final say on any law regarding marriage passed by the D.C. Council,’ said Austin R. Nimocks, senior legal counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund. ‘The D.C. Charter makes that right clear, and officials should not be ignoring the right of the people to vote for or against the new definition of marriage fabricated by the council.’”

Metro Weekly: “Aided by lawyers from the national organization Alliance Defense Fund, Jackson filed a request for an immediate stay of the law with Chief Justice John Roberts, who is responsible for hearing appeals coming from the District. Roberts has the ability either to make the decision himself or to turn the matter over to the full court for a decision.”

OnTopMag (“gay advocacy website”): “A District of Columbia appeals court rejected a last-minute effort to stop a gay marriage law from taking effect as early as Wednesday . . . ‘The people have a right to have the final say on any law regarding marriage passed by the DC Council,’ Austin R. Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Christian-based Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing opponents in the challenge, said in a statement announcing the appeal.”

David J. Hacker serves as senior legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Sacramento, California Regional Service Center, where he litigates cases to uphold the constitutionally protected rights of Christian students, faculty, and staff at public schools and universities across the nation. He joined Alliance Defending Freedom in 2005 and is admitted to the bar in Illinois and California, as well as the United States Supreme Court and multiple federal courts. Hacker has practiced law since 2004 and earned his J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He also served as an Alliance Defending Freedom Blackstone Legal Fellowship intern at the Pacific Justice Institute and is a 2002 Blackstone Fellow. Before joining Alliance Defending Freedom, he practiced in a private Chicago firm.

Byron Babione serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its headquarters 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 Alliance Defending Freedom and is based in Vienna, Austria, where he specializes in international litigation with a focus on European law. He has developed the Alliance Defending Freedom allied attorney network in Europe, working with allies to litigate European cases that have a potential for impacting Alliance Defending Freedom efforts in America. Prior to joining Alliance Defending Freedom, Kiska served as legal counsel at the European Center for Law and Justice. After earning his J.D. at Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Kiska began his legal career in the Slovak Republic as an attorney with the firm of former Slovak Prime Minister Jan Carnogursky. He is admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and also passed the Solicitor’s Bar examinations for the United Kingdom. Kiska is fluent in English and Slovak.

Joel L. Oster serves as senior legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Kansas City Regional Service Center in Kansas, where he plays a significant role in litigation efforts defending church autonomy. Before joining Alliance Defending Freedom 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 Alliance Defending Freedom at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he oversees the coordination of allied attorneys trained through the Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Academy. Prior to joining Alliance Defending Freedom, 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 Alliance Defending Freedom at its Kansas City Regional Service Center in Kansas, where he heads litigation efforts to restore the marketplace of ideas to university campuses nationwide. 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 Alliance Defending Freedom at its Kansas City Regional Service Center in Kansas, where he heads the Alliance Defending Freedom 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, Kansas, 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 senior legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom Fund at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he currently leads litigation efforts to protect the rights of Christian students, faculty, and staff at public schools across the nation. In 2004, 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; the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th Circuits; and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Austin R. Nimocks serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Washington, D.C., Regional Service Center, where he heads the marriage litigation team. Before joining Alliance Defending Freedom in 2007, he spent nearly 10 years in private practice on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Nimocks earned his J.D. from the Baylor University School of Law in Waco, Texas. He is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S Courts of Appeal for the D.C., 1st, 4th, 5th, and 9th Circuits, and he has also appeared before various federal and state courts around the country.

David Cortman serves as senior counsel and vice-president of religious liberty with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Atlanta Regional Service Center in Georgia. He also heads litigation efforts to defend and reclaim the First Amendment rights of public school students across the country. Cortman joined Alliance Defending Freedom 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. Cortman’s notable media appearances include Fox News, CNN Headline News, Court TV, MSNBC News with Brian Williams, The Glenn Beck Program and National Public Radio. He has also been featured in The Washington Times, The Washington Examiner, The Christian Post, and Townhall Magazine, as well as on The Christian Broadcasting Network, The New American, Human Events, and World Net Daily.

Gary McCaleb serves as Chief Solicitor and Executive Vice President of Strategic Operations for Alliance Defending Freedom at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has litigated numerous religious liberty and free speech cases across the United States. McCaleb graduated with honors from Regent University School of Law in 1997 and is admitted to the bar of the Arizona Supreme Court, The U.S. Supreme Court, and numerous federal, appellate, and district courts.

Joseph P. Infranco serves as senior legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he is also senior vice-president of Allied Attorney Support and Coordination, working with 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 Alliance Defending Freedom in 2003 and 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 University of New Hampshire Law School.

Heather Gebelin Hacker serves as legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom 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 Alliance Defending Freedom Blackstone intern and became a Blackstone Fellow in 2003. She also completed a legal internship at the Rutherford Institute. Hacker joined Alliance Defending Freedom in 2005.

Steven H. Aden serves as senior counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom in its Washington, D.C., office, where he heads efforts to defend the sanctity of human life. Aden joined Alliance Defending Freedom in 2008 and 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 legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he specializes in litigating cases pertaining to the defense of marriage, 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. Courts of Appeal for the 6th, 9th, and 11th Circuits.

Dale Schowengerdt serves as legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom and litigates as a member of the marriage litigation team. He has also successfully litigated several cases 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 and several federal courts.

Travis Barham serves as litigation staff counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom at its Regional Service Center in Georgia, where he litigates to preserve religious freedom and freedom of speech on college and university campuses across the nation. Barham joined Alliance Defending Freedom in 2006 and is a member of the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the 4th, 7th and 11th Circuits, and the state of Arizona. He is also admitted to federal district courts in Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Barham has practiced law since 2006 and earned his J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Jordan Lorence serves as senior counsel and senior vice-president of the Office of Strategic Initiatives for Alliance Defending Freedom at its Washington, D.C., Regional Service Center. He has litigated religious liberty, free speech, and marriage cases across the nation since 1984. Lorence earned a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1980. He is admitted to the bar in three states, the U.S. Supreme Court, and multiple federal courts.

Matt Bowman serves as Senior Legal Counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom 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 Alliance Defending Freedom in 2006, Bowman clerked for several federal judges, including The Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr., at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He is admitted to the bar in Michigan, the U.S. Supreme Court, the District of Columbia, and numerous other federal courts. Practicing law since 2003, Bowman earned his J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law.

Alan Sears serves as president, CEO, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, an alliance-building legal ministry that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith. He leads the strategy, training, funding, and litigation efforts of Alliance Defending Freedom that have resulted in various roles in 38 victories at the U.S. Supreme Court and wins in more than three out of four cases litigated to conclusion. Since the launch of Alliance Defending Freedom in 1994, Sears has provided strategic leadership in the training of thousands of lawyers through the one-of-a-kind Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Academy. Under Sears’ leadership, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys have successfully defended marriage as the union between one man and one woman in cases nationwide. Practicing law for three decades, Sears is a member in good standing with the American, Arizona, California, District of Columbia (inactive), and Kentucky bar associations.

Tim Chandler serves as legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he oversees the operational aspects of the Office of Strategic Training. Chandler is admitted to the bar in California, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the 4th and 9th Circuits, 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 Alliance Defending Freedom at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. Since joining Alliance Defending Freedom in 2000, he has headed the Alliance Defending Freedom Blackstone Legal Fellowship, a unique legal internship program that has graduated nearly 1,100 outstanding law students. Ventrella also leads the Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Academy, which has trained thousands of 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 9th Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, and the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gregory S. Baylor serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Washington, D.C., office, where he litigates cases 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 Alliance Defending Freedom 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. Courts of Appeal for the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th Circuits; the Supreme Court of Texas; the District of Colorado; the Northern District of Texas; and the Western District of Texas

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.’”

Casey Mattox serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Washington, D.C., Regional Service Center. His litigation efforts focus on sanctity of human life issues, including waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars by the abortion industry. Prior to serving with Alliance Defending Freedom, Mattox litigated for the Christian Legal Society Center for Law & Religious Freedom, as well as the Rutherford Institute, and clerked for Justice Champ Lyons of the Alabama Supreme Court. Mattox earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School and is a member of the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and numerous other federal courts.

Jeffrey A. Shafer serves as senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom at its Washington D.C. Regional Service Center. He has litigated religious liberty and free speech cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the United States. Shafer has been practicing law since 1997 and is admitted to the bar in the states of Ohio and Illinois. He graduated with honors from the Regent University School of Law. Shafer joined Alliance Defending Freedom in 2005.

Jonathan Scruggs serves as litigation staff counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at it Memphis Regional Service Center in Tennessee. He earned his J.D. at Harvard Law School and is admitted to practice in the state of Tennessee, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, and the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 11th Circuits.

Winston-Salem Journal: “Plyler had said he wanted a guarantee from Corts’ partnership that it would pay the winner’s legal fees if the county’s Alliance Defense Fund lawyer loses the skirmish with the ACLU. Corts steadfastly said he couldn’t give a blanket guarantee, but did raise almost $300,500 by Monday for the prayer fight. Plyler, who has said he trusts Corts, approved the appeal without the guarantee.”

Douglas H. Napier serves as Senior Vice-President-Legal for Alliance Defending Freedom at its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he leads a litigation team of approximately 40 attorneys and legal support staff at offices in District of Colombia, Arizona, Kansas, California, Georgia, and Tennessee. Before joining Alliance Defending Freedom in 2007, Napier practiced civil trial law in Iowa for 16 years. He earned his J.D. from the University of Iowa College, with distinction, and is a fellow of the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers. Napier is admitted to the bar in Iowa, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and has been admitted pro hac vice to several federal courts across the nation.

OneNewsNow: “‘The federal district court here got it wrong and declared that you can never have a sectarian reference effectively in a public prayer or a prayer before a legislative session, and that’s just clearly wrong,’ [ADF Attorney Mike Johnson] contends. ‘It’s in defiance of Supreme Court precedent and some other case law.’”

WITN: “The Alliance Defense Fund filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against Half Hollow Hills High School East on Long Island. ADF says the four year-old Christian club Ichthus was cancelled, while other clubs like a gay-straight alliance, Amnesty International, a fashion club, a future lawyers of America, and a Constitution club are all allowed to continue.”

Christianity Today’s Political Advocacy Tracker is a “roundup of what Christian activist organizations have been talking about over the last week.” Today’s edition includes some commentary on GOProud at CPAC: “CPAC was cosponsored by many social conservative organizations such as Alliance Defense Fund, American Center for Law and Justice, Americans United for Life, Concerned Women for America, Focus on the Family Action, and Prison Fellowship. This year, CPAC was also sponsored by GOProud, a group that ‘represents gay conservatives and their allies.’ Also at the conference were libertarian groups that support same-sex marriage and a repeal of the military’s ban on homosexuality.”

FOX News: “The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund claims the Christian club, called Ichthus, was cancelled without notice after being in operation for four years . . . ‘This is pure and simple a case of viewpoint discrimination against Christian students,’ Cortman told Fox News. ‘This is a school that has 60 student clubs. They have, of course, a gay-straight alliance; they have a fashion club, which is important because we all have to look good; they have a future lawyers of America, which it is obvious why they didn’t cancel their club.’”

LifeNews: “A lawsuit filed by a pro-life legal group is challenging $18 million in what the Alliance Defense Fund calls illegal contracts the Planned Parenthood abortion business entered into with the state of Colorado . . . ‘The people of Colorado felt strongly that no taxpayer should be forced to pay for a procedure that takes innocent human life. That’s why they amended the state constitution to put a stop to it,’ ADF Senior Legal Counsel Steven H. Aden told LifeNews.com.”

Gay City News: “Since anti-gay organizations such as the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Counsel have proven eager to bring lawsuits challenging any state action recognizing same-sex marriages — as they have done numerous times in New York — it seems likely that this ruling will be tested in the courts, especially if state agencies decide to comply with it.”

digtriad.com: “Wednesday, the Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed an appeal of a district court decision that prevents the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners from opening public meetings with prayer that may mention a particular deity . . . ‘America’s founders opened public meetings with uncensored prayer. Public officials should be able to do the same,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson.”

Catholic News Agency: “Opponents of a Washington, D.C. same-sex “marriage” law are appealing a court order that denied a motion to prevent the law from going into effect . . . ‘The people have a right to have the final say on any law regarding marriage passed by the D.C. Council. The D.C. Charter makes that right clear, and officials should not be ignoring the right of the people to vote for or against the new definition of marriage fabricated by the council,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks.”

DC Headlines Examiner: “Stand4MarriageDC and the Alliance Defense Fund, two conservative groups active in the nation’s capital, lodged the appeal on Wednesday. Attorneys for the two organizations placed the appeal in the hopes of allowing the issue of same-sex marriage to be decided by a popular vote. ‘We are appealing because the District’s marriage redefinition law shouldn’t go into effect until voters have the opportunity to vote on a critical matter that affects everyone in the District,’ senior legal counsel Austin R. Nimocks said in a news release picked up by the Washington Post.”

Wall of Separation, blog of Americans United for Separation of Church and State: “Two activists with Americans United served as plaintiffs in the case, which was litigated by the North Carolina branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. Not surprisingly, we hailed the court’s decision. We hoped that we would be the end of the matter . . . In moving forward with the appeal, Forsyth County entered into an agreement with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and an entity called the North Carolina Partnership for Religious Liberty. The ADF will be footing the bill for the county’s litigation costs, and the Partnership for Religious Liberty, an association of local churches, has agreed to pay up to $300,000 to help the county pay for costs associated with the appeals process and to cover any additional fees should the county lose.”

Winston-Salem Journal: “The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners voted 4-3 tonight to appeal a federal judge’s decision to ban sectarian prayer before board meetings . . . A conservative Christian legal group, the Alliance Defense Fund, has paid all the county’s legal costs and had promised to pay for the county’s appeal, even as far as to the U.S. Supreme Court. But the ADF would not pay the ACLU’s legal expenses in the event of a county loss.”

LifeSiteNews: “An open records request has revealed that the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics (UWHC) has been funding medical students’ rotations at Planned Parenthood for training in abortion procedures, say Pro-Life Wicsonsin and Alliance Defence Fund. The groups contend that the setup may be a violation of state law prohibiting taxpayer funding of elective abortions.”

EDGE Boston: “An upcoming gathering of anti-gay organizations in the Ocean State continues to face opposition from local activists. The Family Research Council is sponsoring the New England Family, Life and Marriage Summit on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Ocean State Baptist Church in Smithfield. According to FRC’s announcement, the daylong conference will feature “experts” from the National Organization for Marriage Rhode Island, the Alliance Defense Fund and Family Policy Councils from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut.”

Letter to the Editor in the Augusta Chronicle: “In their book, The ACLU vs. America, authors Alan Sears and Craig Osten quote Baldwin as saying: ‘I am for socialism, disarmament, and ultimately for abolishing the state itself … . I seek social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class, and sole control by those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal!’ There is nothing in the history of America that suggests that our Founding Fathers and the framers of the Constitution had anything like that in mind.”

AlterNet: “Throughout [CPAC], there were special youth-targeted events. In the exhibit hall, a quick pass yielded a treasure trove of college-focused literature from the likes of the Alliance Defense Fund, Students for Liberty, Young Americans for Liberty, the Young Americans for Freedom, and a very jazzy-looking booklet, complete with CD-ROM, for elders called, ‘Reaching Millennials’ from Focus on the Family Action. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my years of reporting on the right is that they’re in it for the long haul.”

OneNewsNow: “Alliance Defense Fund attorney Austin R. Nimocks was there for the verdict. ‘The judge gave us a preliminary ruling which he will memorialize in writing, denying the relief that we were requesting, denying stopping the same-sex marriage legislation from going into effect until the citizens have had a right to vote,’ he summarizes.”

Washington Post: “A third Superior Court judge has denied a request by opponents of same-sex marriage to overturn D.C. Board of Elections rulings against a referendum on the issue . . . Holeman’s ruling will not be official until Monday, said Austin Nimocks, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund. Once it is, opponents plan to file an immediate appeal.”

Religion Clause: “A petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court (full text) was filed yesterday in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn . . . Alliance Defense Fund announced the filing of the cert. petition.”