Tag Archives: Alliance Defense Fund

World Net Daily: The justices of the Supreme Court of Sweden delivered a “perfunctory order” rejecting the family’s appeal and in effect, delivering its “death sentence,” several weeks ago. HSLDA has been working with the a team from the Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of the family.

HSLDA: Two applications to the European Court of Human rights have been declared inadmissible, under the “pretext,” according to Harrold-Claesson, that the Johanssons had not exhausted all their domestic remedies. However, according to the appeal submitted by Alliance Defending Freedom’s Senior Legal Counsel Roger Kiska, HSLDA Director for International Affairs Mike Donnelly and Harrold-Claesson, who won a case against Sweden in the European Court in April 2012, this simply isn’t true. “We find it very strange that of the forty-nine judges in the European Court, it was a German judge, in a one-judge-decision, who declared the Johanssons application inadmissible.” Harrold-Claesson also blamed a Swedish bureaucrat at the European Court as being an obstacle. “There is a Swedish court administrator who has been called a ‘gate keeper’,” explained Harrold-Claesson . . . Kiska also expressed great frustration with the situation. “It is disgraceful that a self-styled democratic nation would tolerate this kind of abrogation of basic human rights,” he said. [more]

weden’s highest court is being asked to free an 11-year-old boy whom government officials have held in captivity for four years because his parents home-schooled him. Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom and the Home School Legal Defense Association are legal advisors to the parents, who are represented by Ruby Harrold-Claesson of the Nordic Committee on Human Rights.

WECT.com: “No university should refuse promotion to an accomplished professor simply because it disagrees with his religious and political views,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Vice President Jordan Lorence. The group is representing Adams in his lawsuit.

Travis C. Barham at Speak Up Movement: After over six years of litigation, Mike Adams has won the right to present his retaliation case to a jury of his peers. Back in 2006, he was denied promotion to full professor at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.

CNN via WYFF4.com : “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process, ” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks told CNN’s State of the Union. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.” | KSAT.com carries a related CNN video report that includes Austin R. NImocks.

Religion Link: The Alliance Defense Fund opposes same-sex marriage and efforts to circumvent DOMA. Contact 480-444-0020 or email through the website.

WisPolitics includes part of this Alliance Defending Freedom press release and links to it.

WorldNetDaily: Attorney Harold J. Cassidy called the decision of the full 8th Circuit Court of Appeals “a fabulous victory for the women of the state of South Dakota.” . . . Commenting on the decision, Steven H. Aden of the Alliance Defending Freedom said “a woman’s right to make a fully informed choice is more important than Planned Parenthood’s bottom line.” “If Planned Parenthood truly cared about the well-being of women, it would not try to prevent them from being informed of the well-documented risk of suicide that accompanies abortion,” he said. “The 8th Circuit has done the right thing in upholding a reasonable law that protects the well-being of women by making sure that the truth is not hidden from them.” [more]

One News Now: Stanley tells OneNewsNow the Fredericksburg City Council claims the children are dangerous. “What it really boils down to is just that the city council is exhibiting a really prejudicial attitude and stereotypes about disabled kids,” he states. “These children are not dangerous. There’s no evidence that they’ve ever been dangerous, but yet the city council denied zoning because of their fear.”

Catholic Post: For centuries marriage has been defined as the union between one man and one woman and now is the time for the body of Christ to “rise up” and defend it, said the speakers at a recent dinner for religious leaders hosted by the Illinois Family Institute. “If we don’t respond — unless God works a miracle — same-sex marriage will soon be the law of your land here in Illinois,” said keynote speaker Joe LaRue of Scottsdale, Ariz., legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund).

Rev. Robert A. Crutchfield at Faith That Inspires Action (includes Erik Stanley Audio Soundbite): Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley will be available for media interviews Tuesday following his oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit seeking reinstatement of a church school’s lawsuit against the city of Fredericksburg. In 2011, the city council refused to allow a church to begin a school program for mentally and emotionally challenged children even though city planning officials recommended approval.

Disabled children a threat? Fredericksburg thinks so

LifeNews: “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” says ADF lead counsel Matt Bowman. Bowman told LifeNews: “The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately has its way. In appealing the district court’s order that halted the mandate against Hercules, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to earn a living. That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

Democrat and Chronicle: David Cortman is senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which has represented Greece at no charge since the case was filed in 2009 by two Greece residents who objected to the prayers. He blasted the appellate court decision, noting a long history in the U.S. of opening legislative sessions with prayer. “The town of Greece had a constitutional practice of allowing citizens to voluntarily deliver a prayer according to the dictates of their own conscience,” he said via email. “While the district court upheld the practice, the appeals court found it unconstitutional because the town did not invite non-Christian clergy from outside its borders.”

“For the government to say that a Bible publisher isn’t religious is startling. We will continue to argue on appeal that the administration cannot disregard the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes.”

WorldNetDaily: An appeals court panel in Sweden has imposed the “death penalty” on a homeschooling family, granting the state full custody of their son, who famously was “state-napped” from a jetliner in 2009 as the family prepared to move to India. The appeals panel reversed a lower court ruling that granted Annie and Christer Johansson custody of their son, Domenic. But if the decision is not reversed again by the nation’ Supreme Court, the Johansson’s will lose their son, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association, which has been working on the case with the Alliance Defending Freedom . . .

Alan Sears at the Human Life International Truth and Charity Forum: The 19th century Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky once wisely said, “If God does not exist, then everything is permitted.” Christians continue to wage a political and legal battle against a predominantly secular culture about the law and the meaning of life—both increasingly corrupted by what Blessed Pope John Paul II coined a “culture of death.”

Matt Bowman appeared on Relevant Radio with Shiela Liaugminas to discuss the HHS litigation. | MP3 audio 11:41 mins

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed suit against the New York Department of Motor Vehicles in 2004 for rejecting a pro-adoption group’s application to sponsor a “Choose Life” specialty plate as part of a state program.

In May, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit said that, because the town contains predominantly Christian clergy, it should invite non-Christians from other jurisdictions to invite to pray at its own town meetings and take other uncommon steps to ensure that non-Christians do not “feel like outsiders.”

Matt Bowman at National Review: A court decision on Wednesday spells more trouble for Obamacare’s abortion-pill mandate. Defenders of that mandate have been crowing about two court rulings against Christian businesses, notably Hobby Lobby. But the government’s position is much weaker than its defenders let on.

Lexington Herald-Leader: The company is being represented in the case by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a group of Christian attorneys dedicated to “transforming the legal system and advocating for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family,” according to the organization’s website. Americans in the marketplace should not be subject to legal attacks simply for abiding by their beliefs,” Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Jim Campbell said in a statement. “The Constitution prohibits the government from forcing business owners to promote messages they disagree with.”

Christian Post: Churches shouldn’t be treated differently than other entities in Tennessee – such as college bookstores, family wellness centers, and hospital gift shops – that are tax exempt by law,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley in a statement.

Jordan Lorence at Speak Up Movement Church Blog: The ongoing legal battle for equal access of churches to meet in New York City’s public schools returns to court Monday

LifeSiteNews: With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), she plans to expose at least 87,000 instances of fraud during her time as a clinic manager in Southeast Texas.

Family Research Council: One of those states–Texas–will be hearing its first arguments on the issue this week in U.S. District Court, thanks to former Planned Parenthood director-turned-whistleblower Abby Johnson. With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), she plans to expose at least 87,000 instances

One News Now: “The Houston management team announced to all those who were present that it had been falsely billing the Texas Women’s Health Program for services that are not reimbursable,” Norton details about a Planned Parenthood management meeting in Houston.

Available for media interviews following Norton’s oral argument against motions to dismiss Johnson v. Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, a lawsuit that alleges “repeated false, fraudulent, and ineligible claims for Medicaid reimbursements” through the Texas Women’s Health Program

Jordan Lorence appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the the case and other issues. | MP3 audio 7:28 mins

Jordan Lorence appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the the case and other issues. | MP3 audio 11:53 mins

Bill Newland & Mike Norton on Catholic Answers Live to discuss the Newland case. | MP3 audio 23:37 mins

A federal court Thursday suspended two policies behind a Florida school’s ban on religious invitations while a lawsuit against the Hillsborough County School Board moves forward in court.

Pocono Record: The Alliance Defending Freedom sued the district in March, claiming the student’s free speech rights were violated because the district has let students hand out fliers for other events, including Halloween parties and even the plaintiff’s younger sibling’s birthday party.

TimesOnline.com (AP): The Alliance Defending Freedom sued the Pocono Mountain School District in March, claiming the student’s free speech rights were violated because the district has let students hand out fliers for other events, including Halloween parties and even the plaintiff’s younger sibling’s birthday party.

lliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel David Cortman and Legal Counsel Matt Sharp will be available for media interviews immediately following Cortman’s oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit Wednesday in favor of allowing elementary school students to distribute Christmas party fliers at school.

Colorado Statesman: Former U.S. attorney Norton called Obama’s health care law the “greatest threat to religious freedom of our time,” citing a provision in the law that birth control be made available to women at no out-of-pocket cost. He said it is not a contraception mandate, but an “abortion pill” requirement. “They must think we’re stupid,” said Norton, who is the husband of former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton. “Who is paying for this coverage? It’s you and me. It doesn’t really matter whether the employer pays it or the insurance companies pay for it…” “What right does the government have to run roughshod over the conscience and religious convictions of every American, including business owners?” he continued. “And what right does the government have to decide what is faith and who are the faithful?”

Townhall: The Obama Department of Justice has shown surprising indifference to religious liberty by declining to follow the DOJ’s earlier repeated support for the right of religious groups to meet for worship services in New York City public schools during non-school hours.

Jennifer Harper at Washington Times: “President Obama needs to get the facts straight. He touts Planned Parenthood as a leading health care provider but in truth it is America’s largest abortion business — and does not perform mammograms. This oft-repeated myth has been repeatedly debunked and it’s time the president stop misleading the American people in an effort to buoy his top political ally,” says Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, who says the most recent proof of it all came from Casey Mattox, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.
“She pointed out that according to the Department of Health and Human Services, no Planned Parenthood clinic in the country is authorized to perform mammograms under the federal Mammogram Quality Standards Act,” Mrs. Dannenfelser says, also noting that Mr. Obama’s policies on abortion “fly in the face of mainstream Americans.”

CNSNews: The Alliance Defense Fund asked in an April 2 FOIA request to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for “All currently active certificates to operate a mammography facility issued by the FDA or by any state or entity designated to provide such certificates by the FDA for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, any affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America or any entity whose name included ‘Planned Parenthood.’”

CBN (includes video): They just don’t want to have to provide abortion pills and other items in this plan that violate their faith,” Matt Bowman, with Alliance Defending Freedom, said.

Pro Life Blogs: “Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “To say that a Bible publisher is not religious is patently absurd. Tyndale House is a prime example of how ridiculous and arbitrary the Obama administration’s mandate is. Americans today clearly agree with America’s founders: the federal government’s bureaucrats are not qualified to decide what faith is, who the faithful are, and where and how that faith may be lived out.”

Baptist Press: In filing its appeal, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to make a living,” said Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Matt Bowman. “That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

NRL News: “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The Obama administration claims ‘unwavering’ support for religious freedom, but this appeal demonstrates that the only thing unwavering is the administration’s tenacious opposition to that freedom.” “The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately has its way,” Bowman said. “In filing its appeal today, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to earn a living. That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

Christian Post: “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman said in a statement. “The Obama administration claims ‘unwavering’ support for religious freedom, but this appeal demonstrates that the only thing unwavering is the administration’s tenacious opposition to that freedom.”

Citizen Link: “The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately had its way,” Bowman said.

LifeNews: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys obtained the first-ever order against the mandate on behalf of Hercules Industries and the Catholic family that owns it. The administration opposed the order, arguing, contrary to the U.S. Constitution, that people of faith forfeit their religious liberty once they engage in business . . . “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The Obama administration claims ‘unwavering’ support for religious freedom, but this appeal demonstrates that the only thing unwavering is the administration’s tenacious opposition to that freedom.”

LifeSiteNews: The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately has its way,” said Matt Bowman, senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom. “In filing its appeal today, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to earn a living. That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

One News Now: Attorney Matt Bowman of Alliance Defending Freedom tells OneNewsNow, “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith.” “The Obama administration claims it has unwavering support for religious freedom, but the only thing unwavering in the administration is its tenacious opposition to religious freedom,” the attorney asserts.

n contradiction to the Obama administration’s recent claims of “unwavering” support for religious freedom, the president’s lawyers filed an appeal Tuesday of a court order that upheld the religious freedom of a Colorado family business.

Pastor Jim Garlow, Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defending Freedom, and Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State appeared on Air Talk KPCC 89.3 Southern Cal. Public Radio to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 16:04 mins

News-Journal.com (Wood County Democrat): A hearing is set on Oct. 16 on a lawsuit filed by a man who objects to Wood County having “In God We Trust” posted in the courtroom as well as commissioners beginning each of their sessions with prayer. In May the commissioners agreed to retain services from the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Institute for representation in the suit filed by Charles Frederick Scott, III, of Hawkins alleging the county is violating the U.S. Constitution . . . Erin Leu of Liberty Institute said, “The law is entirely clear in this.” She noted there are two issues . . .

Americans United for Separation of Church and State: Americans United for Separation of Church and State today asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a ministry in Ridgway, Colo., that printed and mailed a magazine to state residents asking them to vote for Republican candidates. The publication was produced by Ridgway Christian Center, an affiliate of Praise Him Ministries . . . The article cites material produced by the Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund), an Arizona-based organization that every year sponsors an event called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” during which pastors are urged to openly violate the law by endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit. . . . In its complaint to the IRS, Americans United asserted that Ridgway Christian Center is knowingly violating the law.

One News Now: Attorney Matt Bowman of Alliance Defending Freedom tells OneNewsNow the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paid close attention to arguments concerning the ordinance. “I think the court had a lot of good questions,” he says. “The judges disagreed with each other about some of the questions but they all had read the issues, and I think they were really confronted with the fact that to uphold this law you would have to allow the government to force people to say things because the government disagrees with them politically.”

Alan Sears at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: Federal law specifically prohibits zoning officials from subjecting religious organizations to this type of unequal treatment,” says Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “Upper Arlington will allow other groups to occupy a building in this zone, but it won’t allow this school. “No city should use its zoning code to discriminate against a Christian school and keep its students in inferior and overcrowded facilities,” Stanley says. “A city’s zoning code cannot give preferential treatment to non-religious institutions that function similarly to a Christian school.”

Lisa Shaw Roy, The Evangelical Footprint, 2011 Michigan State Law Review 1235-1291.

Funding for evangelical advocacy received a boost with the formation of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) in 1994. Prominent movement leaders, such as James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ, formed ADF to fund litigation and to coordinate the efforts of Christian litigation firms.

ADF has been responsible for providing funding in several high profile cases, including Rosenberger, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. ADF also sponsors litigation firms with overlapping interests, such as the Christian Law Association, Pacific Justice Institute, the Home School Legal Defense Fund, and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, to name a few. While ADF began solely as an umbrella organization to provide funds to individual lawyers and law firms, ADF now also takes its own cases.

Though its success as a funding organization seems apparent given, for example, the number of Supreme Court amicus curiae briefs that disclose ADF support, some opine that its success in coordinating evangelical litigation efforts has been mixed.

Mineola Monitor: A hearing is set on Oct. 16 on a lawsuit filed by a man who objects to Wood County having “In God We Trust” posted in the courtroom as well as commissioners beginning each of their sessions with prayer. In May the commissioners agreed to retain services from the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Institute for representation in the suit filed by Charles Frederick Scott, III, of Hawkins alleging the county is violating the U.S. Constitution. This month Liberty Institute, on behalf of the Wood County Commissioners court, filed a motion for summary judgement “to end the frivolous lawsuit.”

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman will be available for media interviews immediately following oral arguments Friday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Pregnancy Care Center of New York v. City of New York.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed an appeal today on behalf of Tree of Life Christian Schools against the city of Upper Arlington for refusing to grant the school a permit to use its own new building

“Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it. The Illinois case is just the tip of the iceberg, as our lawsuits against Planned Parenthood in Texas and Iowa demonstrate. Planned Parenthood isn’t entitled to any public funds, especially if it is defrauding Medicaid and the American taxpayer. People may hold different views about abortion, but everyone can agree that Planned Parenthood should play by the same rules as everyone else.”

Archdiocese of Denver: . . . When religious people are marginalized from the public square, all of us lose. Religious values (like those of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., for example) have served as forces for great public good in America. Public shame of the religiously convicted undermines the American ideal. Sadly, however, Hercules is not alone in being marginalized; religious institutions and practices face increasing threats in America. Last week, the Washington, D.C.-based Liberty Institute released a survey of religious hostility in America, documenting hundreds of unreasonable persecutions of religious Americans. It is a chilling read . . . When religious conscience threatens essential human freedom or dignity, governments have a vested interest in protecting public welfare. But the law which Hercules is fighting is not an assertion of essential human freedom or dignity. The HHS mandate is designed to fund private sexual expression—and even abortion—from the coffers of American businesses. Trading free access to contraception for our foundational reverence for religious liberty is a betrayal of our history—and a short-sighted plan for America. House Speaker Frank McNulty took up the mantle of Hercules’ cause, and rightly commended them for their work. I pray the Denver City Council will do the same. Choosing to marginalize the owners of Hercules for their religiosity is an insult to the founding values of our nation.

Alan Sears appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss various cases and issues including Newland v. Sebelius. | MP3 audio 7:12 mins

WRCBTV.com (includes video): Commission Chairman Larry Henry and County Attorney Rheubin Taylor have referred all questions to the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Arizona-based Christian legal group who authored its new prayer policy. The ADF also is lead defense counsel and is paying the Commission’s costs of defending its prayer policies.

Andy Newland at the Washington Times: With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, we asked for an injunction that would block enforcement of the mandate while our lawsuit proceeds. A federal judge granted that injunction — the first legal victory of its kind against the abortion-pill mandate — and it was at that point, interestingly, that Denver city officials decided a proclamation honoring our company was no longer in order.

Human Events: Hercules Industries of Denver, Colorado is a successful 50-year-old heating and air-conditioning company, which was due to receive a Good Citizenship Award from the city for their many contributions to the community. The generous health care plan offered to their 265 employees, which a Denver Post editorial noted includes “premium benefits for pregnancy, women’s wellness and risk reduction,” was also cited in the proposed award. But Hercules Industries is owned by a Catholic family, the Newlands. They objected to ObamaCare’s outrageous imposition on their religious liberty.

Engage Family Minute: The American Dream has promised that we are given the freedom to pursue happiness. Many have realized that dream through the growth of their small business. But, what if the government says that you can only pursue the American Dream if that dream is entirely secular? As Senior Counsel to the Alliance Defending Freedom and former U.S. Attorney, Mike Norton, points out, for one Colorado small business owner, the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a., “Obamacare”) has done just that.

SCOTUS Blog: The two high-profile lawyers who started the nation’s most significant lawsuit attempting to gain marriage rights for same-sex couples told the Supreme Court on Friday that it might find it very interesting to take up that issue now, but urged the Justices not to do so in the only case now at the Court that could raise that question — the case testing the constitutionality of California’s “Proposition 8.” Attorneys Theodore B. Olson and David Boies argued that the case has procedural flaws, made no change in the law, involves no conflict among lower courts, and might raise core constitutional issues that the Court may not be ready to confront.

Americans should not be forced to pay for experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments, and violate federal law. That law’s clear intent has been utterly ignored.”

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.”

Fox News Insider (includes video): Greg Baylor, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, said, “We can all agree that politicians shouldn’t use someone’s faith or their stand for freedom to deny them recognition for the good service that they’ve provided to their community.

Denver Post Editorial: A proclamation honoring a 50-year-old Denver business was pulled by its sponsor last week after she learned that the company opposed a provision of federal health reform requiring insurance coverage to include no-cost access to contraception and other preventive care.
In scuttling the proclamation, Denver city councilwoman Robin Kniech noted that it’s “silly season,” meaning that political disagreements are amplified in anticipation of the November election. In our view, her decision only makes things sillier.

Michael Norton at the Denver Post: Re: “Finding middle ground on contraception coverage,” Aug. 5 editorial. The Post’s editorial incorrectly concluded that “a suitable compromise” to a court order prohibiting enforcement of Obamacare and its abortion pill mandate against Hercules Industries would be to require Hercules’ insurance company to provide such abortion pill coverage.

Upper Arlington News: A federal judge sided with the city last week in a discrimination lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defense Fund — now called Alliance Defending Freedom — on behalf of Tree of Life Christian School . . . Erik Stanley, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, said the group is considering its options.”We’re still studying the ruling,” Stanley said. “No decisions have been at this point about what our next step will be.” [more]

AP on Tampa Bay Online: Gilio sued, employing the services of Christian legal organizations: David Gibbs of the Christian Law Association and lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom . . . Matt Sharp, a lawyer from Alliance Defending Freedom, said this type of case is not unusual. “We … unfortunately see this pop up all too often where students can’t express their faith in school,” Sharp said. “This is a common thing, but fortunately the courts have commonly held that schools can’t restrict this.”