http://www.alliancealert.org news from the frontlines of the culture war Thu, 24 May 2012 23:12:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/09/groups-support-forsyth-in-prayer-appeal/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/09/groups-support-forsyth-in-prayer-appeal/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:42:41 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=62545 Winston-Salem Journal: "A number of foundations and other nonprofit groups have filed statements of support for Forsyth County as it appeals a federal judge's decision in May to ban prayers that mention Jesus or make other sectarian references at county meetings . . . The county is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a group that supports public expressions of Christianity. Many of the groups filing friend-of-the-court briefs have similar goals." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/09/groups-support-forsyth-in-prayer-appeal/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/03/01/nc-ministers-son-inherited-his-fathers-fighting-style/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/03/01/nc-ministers-son-inherited-his-fathers-fighting-style/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:18:42 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=53689 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." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/03/01/nc-ministers-son-inherited-his-fathers-fighting-style/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/03/01/nc-firm-offered-to-take-prayer-appeal-for-free/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/03/01/nc-firm-offered-to-take-prayer-appeal-for-free/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:14:23 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=53682 Winston-Salem Journal: "Local attorneys in the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton offered to take over the county's defense of its prayer suit for free, just days before last week's vote by the Forsyth County Board of Commissions to appeal the case to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals . . . The result [of the vote] was a 4-3 vote . . . to appeal and have the Alliance Defense Fund continue to represent the county . . . Mike Johnson, one of the ADF attorneys representing the county, said that no firm knows the law in the area of prayer as well as his does. 'We are a giant organization with 1,600 lawyers, and we do these kinds of cases all across the country,' Johnson said, claiming an '82 percent winning percentage' on cases that the ADF chooses to litigate." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/03/01/nc-firm-offered-to-take-prayer-appeal-for-free/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/26/adf-files-appeal-in-forsyth-county-prayer-ruling/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/26/adf-files-appeal-in-forsyth-county-prayer-ruling/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:32:44 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=53468 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." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/26/adf-files-appeal-in-forsyth-county-prayer-ruling/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/25/forsyth-county-appeals-prayer-ruling-a-vote-of-olympian-shortsightedness/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/25/forsyth-county-appeals-prayer-ruling-a-vote-of-olympian-shortsightedness/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:27:27 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=53288 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." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/25/forsyth-county-appeals-prayer-ruling-a-vote-of-olympian-shortsightedness/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/24/winston-salem-journal-the-prayer-fight/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/24/winston-salem-journal-the-prayer-fight/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:00:46 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=53112 Winston-Salem Journal Editorial: "Commissioner Chairman Dave Plyler, the swing vote, approved the appeal after being pressured by a local group, the North Carolina Partnership for Religious Liberty [which] entered the fray because the Alliance Defense Fund [said it would] not pay the legal costs of the American Civil Liberties Union were the county to lose the case . . . The local partnership backing the appeal -- the only thing standing between taxpayers and potentially high legal costs -- has yet to provide detailed information about its members and donors." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/24/winston-salem-journal-the-prayer-fight/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/22/nc-plyler-pivot-of-big-vote/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/22/nc-plyler-pivot-of-big-vote/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:43:23 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=52701 Winston-Salem Journal: "With the board split 3-3, the decision will come down to how board Chairman Dave Plyler votes. Plyler was in negotiations late last week with the Rev. Steve Corts, the leader of a local organization that is encouraging the county to appeal the prayer decision. The N.C. Partnership for Religious Liberty, which Corts heads, recently pledged $100,000 to help the county appeal the case. The group had earlier banked $55,000 to help the county . . . . the ADF won't pay any legal expenses awarded to the plaintiffs if the county ultimately loses, and for Plyler, that's the catch." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/22/nc-plyler-pivot-of-big-vote/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/19/forsyth-appeal-decision-on-monday-feb-22/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/19/forsyth-appeal-decision-on-monday-feb-22/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:16:57 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=52638 North Carolina Family Policy Council: "The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to decide this Monday, February 22 whether or not to appeal a federal district court ruling that declared the Board’s public prayer policy unconstitutional . . . The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF)—the public interest law firm that is leading the county’s defense of the policy free-of-charge—is urging the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners to appeal Judge Beaty’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/19/forsyth-appeal-decision-on-monday-feb-22/feed/ 0