Tag Archives: ADF: Jeremy Tedesco

Tampa Bay Times: Gilio filed a federal lawsuit, alleging the school district violated her son’s rights to freedom of speech and religion. She was assisted by the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona group that seeks to find legal ways to protect religious liberty.

Charisma: Youth organizations that have benefitted America for generations should be free from harassment by politicians who don’t agree with the very values that have made these groups successful,” said Senior Counsel David Cortman. “The Constitution protects the freedom of youth organizations like the Boy Scouts to promote the values that have defined them as an organization and to ensure that their leaders and members adhere to those values.” . . . “The First Amendment protects the freedom of youth organizations to associate with members and leaders who share their values,” added Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Our youth deserve to continue to benefit from these groups, and bills like SB 323 severely threaten their ability to do so.” [more]

Jeremy Tedesco at Speak Up Movement: Rarely can the essence of a lawsuit be captured through pictures. But in Alliance Defending Freedom’s case involving a tiny Church’s First Amendment challenge to the Town of Gilbert’s discriminatory treatment of signs advertising its religious services, a picture truly speaks a thousand words.

One News Now: In response, Alliance Defending Freedom‘s (ADF) Jeremy Tedesco tells American Family News his firm sent a letter to school districts in Illinois and Wisconsin last Friday, informing them that it is, in fact, constitutional to take advantage of the resources at the nearby church-run camp. “Freedom From Religion Foundation says Well, it’s a Christian-run camp; there’s Christian symbols up here and there reflecting this, and because of that, you can’t take them to this camp if you’re a public school,” the ADF attorney reports. “And that’s just blank hostility towards religion. The First Amendment doesn’t require that at all of public schools. It’s just a scare tactic from Freedom From Religion Foundation.”

One News Now: Alliance Defending Freedom isn’t buying the “delaying the match” argument. ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco explains why the one-point penalty was unjust – and why the NCHSAA’s explanation just does not make sense. “Secular activities, like waving to your parents or wishing the other wrestler good luck with a shake of the hand or shaking the ref’s hand – if they were two seconds long, it probably wouldn’t have resulted in any kind of a penalty,” the ADF senior legal counsel offers. “Yet for some reason, this referee decided to penalize this wrestler for kneeling down and praying for a couple of seconds. It’s just completely unwarranted.” ADF addressed the incident in a letter . . .

Cronkite News: The church’s attorney, Jeremy Tedesco, said they have 14 days to appeal for rehearing by the full circuit court, “so you’ll know in 14 days what we plan to do.” “To us it’s a very simple case of content-based discrimination,” said Tedesco, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom. “Of course we’re disappointed the court did not see it this way.”

Religion Clause Blog: 9th Circuit In 2-1 Decision Rejects Church’s Challenge To Town’s Sign Restrictions
The majority concluded that the ordinance does not violate free expression guarantees since it is not a content-based regulation . . . Judge Watford dissenting argued that the ordinance is content-based because it favors political and ideological signs over signs promoting events sponsored by non-profit organizations.

Jeremy Tedesco at Townhall: Alliance Defending Freedom recently settled a lawsuit brought on behalf of Julea Ward, a former graduate student at Eastern Michigan University who was expelled from her counseling program after refusing to violate her religious beliefs. Media reports have unfortunately suggested that Julea’s lawsuit involved her refusal to counsel a client because he identified as gay: this is untrue.

KPHO.com: “It is legal to celebrate national holidays like Christmas in the public square,” said Jeremy Tedesco, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, which is an alliance-building legal ministry advocating for the right of people to freely live out their faith. “Public officials should not fear attacks from atheists because their freedom to participate in community celebrations is protected under the First Amendment,” Tedesco said in his own letter to the Arizona secretary of state and various city and school officials in Prescott. [Click here to read the full letter (PDF)]

Jeremy Tedesco at the Speak Up Movement Blog: Alliance Defending Freedom recently settled the lawsuit it brought on behalf of Julea Ward against Eastern Michigan University. EMU expelled Julea–a stellar student with a 3.91 GPA who was nearly done with the program–for merely inquiring whether she should refer a client with whom she had a values conflict

Baptist Press: ADF is pleased Ward and “her constitutionally protected rights have been vindicated,” said a spokesman for the legal organization. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The 6th Circuit rightly understood this and ruled appropriately, so the university has done the right thing in settling this case,” ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco said in a written release.

WorldNetDaily: ADF said even though counseling referrals are a common and accepted professional practice, the university instead chose to expel Ward “when she sought to avoid violating her religious beliefs by referring a potential client to another counselor.” Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco, who argued before the court in October of last year, said public universities “shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree.” “The 6th Circuit rightly understood this and ruled appropriately, so the university has done the right thing in settling this case,” he said. “When Julea sought to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor – a common, professional practice that is endorsed by her profession’s code of ethics – EMU denied the referral. Then it attacked and questioned her religious beliefs, ultimately expelling her from the program. We are pleased that Julea and her constitutionally protected rights have been vindicated.”

AnnArbor.com: Ward’s legal counsel, Jeremy Tedesco, said he is pleased and feels that Ward’s constitutionally protected rights have been “vindicated.” “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The Sixth Circuit rightly understood this and ruled appropriately, so the university has done the right thing in settling this case,” Tedesco said.

Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Montana strips benefits from disabled preschooler. | MP3 audio 11:27 mins

One News Now: But Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Jeremy Tedesco says the man’s action violates the law. “This is a biologically created man who is exposing himself in a women’s restroom to minors between the ages of 6 and 18 — and that clearly violates the indecent exposure statute in Washington, and it probably would in every other jurisdiction,” states the attorney

Jeremy Tedesco at Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) recently published a blistering blog post attacking Alliance Defending Freedom’s and Focus on the Family’s new Anti-Bullying Policy Yardstick. The misleading post warrants a response . . .

Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Georgene Rice Show discuss the Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity. | MP3 audio 7:49 mins

Jeremy Tedesco appeared on Koinonia (KPXQ) with Tom Brown to discuss the ACLU’s school intimidation campaign. | MP3 audio 12:15 mins

LifeSiteNews: Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), in a joint effort with Focus on the Family, has announced the “Anti-Bullying Policy Yardstick,” which allows public schools and the general public to evaluate thelegal aspects of a school’s anti-bullying rules. “All students deserve to be protected from bullying, not just ones favored by certain political activist groups,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “And all schools need help to ensure that their policies comport with their students’ First Amendment freedoms and other legal protections. This tool is designed to provide that help.”

LifeSiteNews: Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), in a joint effort with Focus on the Family, has announced the “Anti-Bullying Policy Yardstick,” which allows public schools and the general public to evaluate thelegal aspects of a school’s anti-bullying rules. “All students deserve to be protected from bullying, not just ones favored by certain political activist groups,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “And all schools need help to ensure that their policies comport with their students’ First Amendment freedoms and other legal protections. This tool is designed to provide that help.”

Christian Post: “All students deserve to be protected from bullying, not just ones favored by certain political activist groups. And all schools need help to ensure that their policies comport with their students’ First Amendment freedoms and other legal protections. This tool is designed to provide that help,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Unfortunately, activist groups that promote homosexual behavior often dupe schools into adopting policies that protect students based on their ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity,’ which can unconstitutionally silence students who want to express their biblically-based views on sexuality,” Tedesco explained. “This new Anti-Bullying Policy Yardstick helps schools identify which policies are driven by a narrow political agenda and which ones protect First Amendment freedoms.”

Nathan Cherry at the Engage Family Minute Blog: Matt Sharp with the Alliance Defending Freedom commented on the case: “We … unfortunately see this pop up all too often where students can’t express their faith in school. This is a common thing, but fortunately the courts have commonly held that schools can’t restrict this.”

Think Progress: In some ways, anti-gay hate groups have polished their rhetoric over the years, but often times they remind that they still believe the same old tired myths about homosexuality. At the core of this mythology is the belief that homosexuality is chosen, and thus it must be coerced from young people. That’s exactly what the Alliance Defense Fund believes was happening in Erie, Illinois. [Jeremy Tedesco quoted]

One News Now: Attorney Jeremy Tedesco says the Erie Community Unit School District voted 5-2 to stop using pro-homosexual curricula from the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) after several parents voiced concerns about the content of “Ready, Set, Respect!”

One News Now: “They completely ignore the parental rights of parents,” asserts Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Jeremy Tedesco. “They think that they can use the schools to essentially fill the role of parents and exclude parents completely from aspects of their education.”

Meridian Magazine (LDS): The Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter Friday to the Davis School District in support of its policy that requires parental consent before children can check out a homosexual advocacy book titled “In Our Mothers’ House” from elementary school libraries . . . “Public schools should not surrender to ACLU intimidation when it asks them to expose children to sexual content without parental knowledge,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Parents, not the ACLU, should decide whether young children have access to this type of propaganda, which is obviously aimed at re-educating children regarding the nature of the family. The law clearly upholds the right and duty of schools to protect children and respect the role of their parents.”

Care2: Ward, with the backing of the ever ready religious conservative Alliance Defense Fund, sued, charging that the school violated the Constitution by censoring her freedom of religious speech . . . However, Ward’s representatives from the Alliance Defense Fund are pleased with the legislature’s attempts to enshrine this religious right to discriminate, with Jeremy Tedesco of the ADF saying “We’re encouraged that the elected representatives of Michigan have taken a concern in this case and decided to act.”

AnnArbor.com: Jeremy Tedesco, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Ward in her lawsuit, called the assertion that the bill could jeopardize accreditation a red herring. He said the code of ethics followed by EMU allows for referrals and that what’s important to accrediting agencies is the curriculum being taught, not adherence to a code of ethics. “We’re encouraged that the elected representatives of Michigan have taken a concern in this case and decided to act,” he said.

Christian Post: “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco in a statement. “The school district should be commended for agreeing to respect the rights of its students under the First Amendment. Public schools are more likely to succeed when the freedom of ideas is allowed.” Matt Sharp, ADF litigation staff counsel, told The Christian Post that Dixon had already begun to look for a simpler solution not long after the suit was filed. “Shortly after we filed the lawsuit, the school district’s attorney contacted us to discuss a settlement of the case,” said Sharp.

LifeNews: “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Students should not be marginalized just because their pro-life views may not line up with school politics. The school district should be commended for agreeing to respect the rights of its students under the First Amendment. Public schools are more likely to succeed when the freedom of ideas is allowed.”

Columbia Missourian: “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” ADF legal counsel Jeremy Tedesco said. “Students should not be marginalized just because their pro-life views may not line up with school politics.” ADF said the prohibition of abortion-related posters was in contrast to the district allowing other postings, including photographs of students appearing like zombies and political and anti-drug messages. Tedesco said the district also allowed posters for the Gay-Straight Alliance’s “Day of Silence.”

NorthJersey.com: Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” ADF legal counsel Jeremy Tedesco said. “Students should not be marginalized just because their pro-life views may not line up with school politics.

One News Now: After being contacted via letter by Alliance Defense Fund, however, school officials changed course and allowed Kirby to cite Proverbs 13:4 in Saturday’s ceremony. ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco says public schools should encourage — not shut down — the free exchange of ideas.

One News Now: Neilson claims his First Amendment rights were violated, but Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel with Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says the First Amendment does not give him the authority to do what he is attempting. “The thing is that the Constitution was never meant to give one person veto power over public acknowledgments of God simply because the person’s offended,” he notes.

One News Now: He believes these incidents keep occurring throughout the country because school officials are afraid some parents will complain about their children receiving literature with religious content. Meanwhile, birthday party invitations are allowed. “That is not a constitutionally sound reason to say ‘no’ to religious speech,” the attorney asserts. “It’s called a heckler’s veto. You can’t restrict speech because somebody else doesn’t like that speech.” [more quote by Jeremy Tedesco]

Fox News: ADF legal counsel Jeremy Tedesco said it’s up to the group, not the school, to characterize it’s beliefs. “Saying that a Christian club isn’t religious is flatly absurd,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “The First Amendment forbids the government from determining what is and what is not ‘religious,’ yet the university [was] doing exactly this by telling a Christian group that it is not religious.”

Beaumont Enterprise: Jeremy D. Tedesco, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, is representing the boy and his family. Tedesco said the boy’s father, Michael Metcalf, is suing the district for a violation of his son’s constitutional rights.

OneNewsNow: Since then, ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco says the school has clarified its non-discrimination policy, which officials admitted to misinterpreting. “[They] essentially clarified that they have an exemption to their non-discrimination policy that allows all belief-based clubs, including religious clubs, to restrict their members and leaders to the beliefs of the group,” Tedesco details. “And that’s a good thing not only for the Make Up Your Own Mind group, but for all groups moving forward as well.”

Citizen Link: The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed a lawsuit against the school on behalf of the group on Feb. 29 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. A settlement was reached, so the ADF filed paperwork Monday to withdraw the suit. “To their credit, they clarified policy,” said Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel with ADF. “The policy is now clear — all belief-based clubs are able to select members and leaders based on their beliefs.” [more]

Huffington Post (Religion News Service) (5/11/2012): Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, sees the Martinez decision “lurking in the background” of other cases. He filed suit in February on behalf of the Christian anti-abortion group Make Up Your Own Mind at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. The school, which does not have an all-comers policy like Hastings, was not going to formally recognize the group because officials deemed it nonreligious. “We don’t want the government determining whether a group is or is not religious,” he said.

One News Now: “To say than an Easter egg hunt invitation offered from one student to another during non-instructional time is somehow not allowed in America is preposterous,” states [Matt] Sharp. “ADF has litigated numerous cases similar to this one, and the law is clear: invitations like this are protected by the Constitution.” [more – Jeremy Tedesco also quoted)

One News New: ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco explains . . . “They reacted the right way once the lawsuit was filed,” the attorney asserts. “We got the changes we wanted in the policies, the flyers were approved for distribution. So ultimately, the school district should be commended for doing the right thing, all the while understanding that they disclaim liability.” {more]

WorldNetDaily: “A Christian organization should have the same right to publicize its voluntary meetings as other groups do,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “The district has done the right thing in approving the Good News Club fliers for distribution and revising its policies that banned religious fliers,” he said. “That will allow the club and other similar groups to have the same access to publicize their events to students that all other groups enjoy.”

Christian Post: A Christian organization should have the same right to publicize its voluntary meetings as other groups do,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “The district has done the right thing in approving the Good News Club fliers for distribution and revising its policies that banned religious fliers. That will allow the club and other similar groups to have the same access to publicize their events to students that all other groups enjoy.”

Michael Brown at Townhall: The university had been sued by the Alliance Defense Fund when, “The school refused to recognize the campus Christian Legal Society chapter, Hastings Christian Fellowship (HCF), because it [would] not agree to a non-discrimination policy that would require the group to admit homosexuals and non-Christians as members and officers . . . Last month, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal brought by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Christian groups challenging the policy at California state universities which did not allow them to restrict “membership in their groups to people who agree with their Christian values and beliefs.” Unfortunately, as noted by ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco, “one of the key points in the whole case is that every other group on campus is allowed to restrict their membership and their officers to people who agree with the values the group was formed to advocate on campus.”

Citizen Link: “All students should have the freedom to express their beliefs,” Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco said. “Schools shouldn’t marginalize students who want to do good because of their faith. The school district can avoid needless litigation by simply respecting this third-grader’s constitutionally protected right to hand invitations to his fellow classmates during non-instructional time, as other students have been allowed to do.”

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco on WOAM Radio (1350am) “Breakfast with Royce and Roger” in Peoria, Illinois to discuss this: ADF responds to additional ACLU demands that schoolchildren be exposed to porn. | MP3 audio 7:52 mins

U~T San Diego: Jeremy Tedesco, a lawyer with the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, said CSU “has taken nondiscrimination policy and used it to punish religious student groups for exercising their right to select their members and leaders on the basis of their religious beliefs. How can you be a religious group if you don’t have the ability to select your leaders and members on the basis of their religious beliefs? It’s common sense.”

One News Now: Though ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco applauds the school’s latest decision, he says it is not enough. “We’re still looking for the university to make some acceptable changes to their policies so that other student groups don’t find themselves in the same situation in the future,” he explains.

Chuck Colson at Crosswalk: Thus, UNC-Greenville is moving from a broad freedom of religion to a much more restrictive “freedom of church” — much like the phrase “freedom of worship,” which this administration has embraced, which I’ve been warning you about for months. In the words of my colleague Tom Gilson over at The Point blog, this freedom of church is merely the “freedom to practice religion in a defined, confined, private space.” And as Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco rightly points out, “Saying that a Christian club isn’t religious is flatly absurd.”

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco regarding the University of North Carolina-Greensboro’s claim that it will grant recognition to a Christian club in the wake of a recent lawsuit . . .

World: Although the Alliance Defense Fund applauded the school’s decision, attorney Jeremy Tedesco said he had not seen any official paperwork acknowledging the group’s recognition. Until he does, Tedesco told the Associated Press he would not withdraw the suit.

Deseret News: “We certainly appreciate them doing the right thing after 10 or so months of denying the group recognition,” said Jeremy Tedesco, an Alliance Defense Fund lawyer representing the organization. Tedesco said lawyers for Make Up Your Own Mind had yet to receive formal legal confirmation that the university will grant recognition to the group, and that decisions about the state of the lawsuit will have to wait until that happens.

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: A Christian student group trying to form a recognized student organization at University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) recently found out it was not religious. How did it find this out? UNCG officials told it so.

News & Record: Attorney Jeremy Tedesco of the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit Feb. 29 on behalf of student Bryn Carmichael, said UNCG overstepped its bounds in trying to tell an organization whether or not it is religious.

Nathan Harden at the National Review: In today’s feature story at The College Fix, Meredith College freshman Julia Dent reports the latest on the UNC-Greensboro case . . . Alliance Defense Fund attorney Jeremy Tedesco filed a federal lawsuit on the club’s behalf on February 29 . . . “Saying that a Christian club isn’t religious is flatly absurd,” Jeremy Tedesco said, “especially when the university has granted its belief-based exception to numerous other clubs . . . Click here to read the rest of the story.

One News Now: “Despite all the clear evidence that the group clearly has a religious mission … purpose, and goals and is a religious group, [the school says] Well, you’re not religious. You don’t get the benefits of recognition and the benefit everybody else has on campus, which is to restrict their members and leaders to students who agree with their beliefs,” he details.

The New American: ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco said that the university appeared to be giving itself the sole authority to determine which student groups are religious and which are not. “Saying that a Christian club isn’t religious is flatly absurd,” he said, “especially when the university has granted its belief-based exception to numerous other clubs.”

Christian Post: In an interview with The Christian Post, Tedesco explained that as with other cases, members of the club came to the ADF, which concluded that the situation “warranted legal action.” “The folks on the ground know of us,” said Tedesco, “we evaluated it and decided that it warranted legal action.”

Bob Unruh at WorldNetDaily: Pro-life students have a positive and valuable message that school officials should welcome, not censor,” said Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for ADF. “Public schools are more likely to succeed when they allow for the free exchange of ideas.” . . . “What is offensive is the double-standard here,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Matt Sharp. “Public school officials cannot pick and choose what messages they are going to allow based on which viewpoints they prefer. ADF has litigated numerous cases similar to this one, and the law and the Constitution are clearly on our side here as well.”

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco at the Online Library of Law and Liberty: In the end, the court struck at the very heart of what Julea’s lawsuit is all about: that the First Amendment prohibits public universities from demanding that students change or violate their beliefs as a condition to getting a degree. As the court said: “A university cannot compel a student to alter or violate her belief systems . . . as the price for obtaining a degree.” The Sixth Circuit is right, “Tolerance is a two-way street.” A fact that is often lost on public universities when it comes to Christian expression and belief, as Julea’s case so clearly shows.

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 14:07 mins

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on FRC’s Washington Watch to discuss the ruling. | MP3 audio 9:03 mins

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the ruling. | MP3 audio 5:35 mins

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco at the Detroit Free Press (2/2): These five simple, yet profound, words come from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit’s recent opinion in a case involving Eastern Michigan University’s expulsion of Julea Ward from its graduate counseling program.

The Eastern Echo: Tedesco said the court recognized Ward’s rights were violated by the EMU. “The court said that the university can’t force a student to alter or violate her beliefs as a condition to getting a degree. That’s what we’ve been saying the university was up to from the beginning,” Tedesco said. “The Sixth Circuit really hit that and said, ‘That’s unacceptable. The First Amendment doesn’t allow it.’

R.R. Reno at First Things First Thoughts Blog: We seem to be in a season of judicial sanity. As Jeremy Tedesco, the lawyer who argued the case reports, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision that vindicated the claims of Julea Ward.

The Moral Liberal: In this blog entry, I’ll cover the facts at issue and discuss the court’s holding. Later this week, I’ll focus on how the opinion could harm campus speech in the future . . . ollowing her expulsion, Ward brought suit with the assistance of the Alliance Defense Fund, alleging that the defendants, employees of a public school, had violated her rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religious exercise under the First Amendment.

Baptist Press: “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately,” said Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. Tedesco argued for Ward before the court. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said the ruling “marks an important step in defending the religious and intellectual freedoms of Americans.”

CBN.com: “Rather than allow Julea to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor — a common, professional practice to best serve clients — EMU attacked and questioned Julea’s religious beliefs and ultimately expelled her from the program because of them,” said Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco, who argued Ward’s case last October.

World Mag: Jeremy Tedesco, the Alliance Defense Fund lawyer who argued Ward’s case, praised the court for recognizing Ward’s right to retain her religious beliefs while pursuing her education. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree,” he said in a prepared statement. “The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately.”

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco at Law and Liberty: On Friday, January 27, 2011, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an important victory for religious liberty on public university campuses in a lawsuit the Alliance Defense Fund brought against Eastern Michigan University (EMU) on behalf of Julea Ward.

Robyn Hagan Cain at Findlaw: Julea Ward, who enrolled in the EMU program in 2006 to become a high school counselor, declined to counsel a homosexual client during her school practicum because her “Christian beliefs would not allow her to affirm the client’s homosexual behavior,” according to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which is representing Ward.

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Paul Edwards Show to discuss the Julia Ward case. | MP3 audio 10:51 mins

Inside Higher Ed: The Alliance Defense Fund, which has represented both Ward and Keeton, praised Friday’s ruling. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately,” said Jeremy Tedesco, the lawyer who has worked on Ward’s case. The group has stressed the issue of religious freedom in both the Eastern Michigan and Augusta State cases.

WorldNetDaily (includes video): “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The court rightly understood this and ruled appropriately,” said Alliance Defense Fund Counsel Jeremy Tedesco, who argued before the court in October of last year.