Tag Archives: ZZ: Bronx Household of Faith v Board of Education of the City of New York

ADF President and General Counsel Alan E. Sears appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. | MP3 audio 8:38 mins | ADF Media Resources: Bronx Household, Alpha Delta Chi, Utah Highway Patrol, Forsyth Co.

Christian Post: Since then, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, the church has gone through numerous appeals, suffering a setback after each time it achieved a victory. But now, as the church comes close to having its voice heard by the highest court in the land, it is not so much about a single church as it is about freedom to worship.

Fox News NY: “Religious groups and their worship services should not be discriminated against simply because they’re religious,” said Jordan L[a]rence, an attorney for Alliance Defense Fund. “They should be allowed to meet under the terms and conditions as everybody else.”

ADF President and General Counsel Alan E. Sears at the TellADF Blog: Thanks to your generous prayers and support, the Alliance Defense Fund continues to work to protect the right of all Americans to hear and speak the Truth. The depth and breadth of our ADF activities this past week illustrates how much God is graciously enabling us to do in defense of religious liberty. To cite just three quick examples . . .

OneNewsNow.com: Lorence says that contradicts established U.S. Supreme Court precedence. “The U.S. Supreme Court has definitely ruled that the government cannot limit access to generally available public spaces merely because government officials disapprove a form of expression,” the attorney notes. “Equal access means equal access, and that includes religious services.”

Jordan Lorence at Speak Up Movement Church Blog: Tuesday, ADF asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the decision of the federal appeals court in New York City allowing the Board of Education there to single out religious worship services run by private groups, and exclude them from meeting in the public schools during non-school hours

WSJ.com: “Equal access means equal access, and that includes religious services,” said Jordan Lorence, an attorney for the church.

Religion Clause Blog: Petitions seeking Supreme Court review were filed yesterday in two cases of interest. A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed in Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York. (ADF press release.) . . . A petition for certiorari (full text) was also filed in Victory Through Jesus Sports Ministry Foundation v.  Lee’s Summit R-7 School District. (Liberty Counsel press release.)

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday on behalf of Bronx Household of Faith in an equal access lawsuit against the New York City Department of Education.

The Cornell Law School Federalist Society: The Cornell Federalist Society will be hosting Jordan Lorence, Lead counsel in Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of New York, to discuss the case and its ramifications on Constitutional issues.

The Christian Century: 2007 national survey of newly established Protestant churches found that 12 percent met in schools . . . The Bronx church is seeking a rehearing. Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which represents the church, expects the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the ruling. “Religious groups, including churches, shouldn’t be discriminated against simply because they want to rent a public building just like other groups can,” Lorence said.

Vancouver Sun: The Bronx church is seeking a rehearing. Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which represents the church, expects the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the ruling. Lorence said in a news release, “Religious groups, including churches, shouldn’t be discriminated against simply because they want to rent a public building just like other groups can.”

Christian Post: Meanwhile, the Alliance Defense Fund, the Christian legal group representing the Bronx church, says it is appealing the court’s ruling. “Religious groups, including churches, shouldn’t be discriminated against simply because they want to rent a public building just like other groups can,” ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence said in a statement. “The idea that people of faith may be singled out for discrimination is flagrantly contrary to the U.S. Constitution,” he said. “The 2nd Circuit greatly erred by not putting an end to the board’s continued defiance of the First Amendment.”

USA Today: The Bronx church is seeking a rehearing. Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which represents the church, expects the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the ruling. Lorence said in a news release, “Religious groups, including churches, shouldn’t be discriminated against simply because they want to rent a public building just like other groups can.”

Joel Oster at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: In Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York, the Second Circuit issued an opinion that directly contradicts the last thirty years of Supreme Court precedent, takes away a vast amount of legal protection for religious speech, and I guarantee will make every Christian scratch his or her head, and mutter, “What in the world were they thinking?” Let me give you a little context . . .

WNYC: We’re hoping that a higher court will change that,” said Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which represents the church. “Or maybe even the decision-makers themselves will realize how arbitrary it is to single out worship services out of all the myriad uses of things that go on in the public schools.”

Terry Mattingly at the Daily Review Atlas (6/23): “When worship services are performed in a place, the nature of the site changes,” wrote Judge Pierre N. Leval. “The site is no longer simply in a room in school being used temporarily for some activity. … The place has, at least for a time, become the church.” The implication is that a “mysterious transformation” literally takes place during these worship services, noted Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund, a lawyer who has been involved in equal-access cases in New York City and elsewhere for a quarter of a century. “There isn’t some kind of architectural alchemy at work here that suddenly turns a school facility into a dangerous place,” he said. “Allowing unions to rent space in schools doesn’t turn them into union halls. Allowing Alcoholics Anonymous to use a school doesn’t turn it into the Betty Ford Clinic.”

The Republic (6/22): “When worship services are performed in a place, the nature of the site changes,” wrote Judge Pierre N. Leval. “The site is no longer simply in a room in school being used temporarily for some activity. … The place has, at least for a time, become the church.” The implication is that a “mysterious transformation” literally takes place during these worship services, noted Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund, a lawyer who has been involved in equal-access cases in New York City and elsewhere for a quarter of a century.

Emily Belz at WORLD Magazine : “The Establishment Clause is being misunderstood to mean that you cannot accommodate religious private speech as opposed to other private speech,” said Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund, one of the lawyers for the Bronx, N.Y., church that sought to rent from a local middle school. “They have their dance recitals, Boy Scout meetings, union meetings, worship services. Nothing is transformed. The meeting doesn’t work some architectural alchemy on the building.”

ADF attorney Jordan Lorence at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: The Alliance Defense Fund has petitioned the Second Circuit to rehear the Bronx Household of Faith case en banc, which means that all eleven judges will decide whether to rehear the case.

One News Now: Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is asking that the full court hear the appeal. “We are asking the full Second Circuit to hear this case because the U.S. Supreme Court has already definitely ruled that the government must allow religious groups to have the same access that other groups have,” he explains.

Crosswalk: “The Establishment Clause is being misunderstood to mean that you cannot accommodate religious private speech as opposed to other private speech,” said Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund, one of the lawyers for the Bronx, N.Y., church that sought to rent from a local middle school. “They have their dance recitals, Boy Scout meetings, union meetings, worship services. Nothing is transformed. The meeting doesn’t work some architectural alchemy on the building.”

The Tennessean :
Jordan Lorence, a lawyer from the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the Bronx Household of Faith, said the church will appeal.

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a petition with the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit Thursday in an effort to ensure that churches and other religious groups can continue to meet at New York City public schools.

Bronx News Networkbronx: In 1994, they wrote a letter to the Board of Education, asking for permission to use PS 206 on Aqueduct Avenue. When they were rejected, BHOF, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a newly formed conservative Christian legal group (“the ACLU for Christians,” Hall calls it), filed a lawsuit against the Board. They lost and then lost again.

ADF attorney Joe Infranco appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss the Bronx Household ruling. | MP3 audio 19:17 mins

ADF attorney Jordan Lorence on KFUO with Roland Lettner to discuss the Bronx Household ruling. | MP3 audio 9:57 mins | See Jordan’s commentary at Baptist Press: Church is like a rodeo? A court ruling says it is

U.S. Appeals Court: Schools Can Ban Worship | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction: Like Good News Club v. Milford Central School, which also originated from the Second Circuit Court, the Bronx Household case may end up in the Supreme Court, said Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. The Bronx Household of Faith plans to appeal the Second Circuit ruling and submit it for reassessment by the full circuit court or the Supreme Court, he said . . . The Supreme Court has reprimanded the Second Circuit Court for ignoring precedent in the past, [Kim] Colby said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the decision was instantly reversed just based on previous decisions.”

Baptist Press: he U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a stunningly wrong decision June 2 denying the First Amendment rights of churches and other religious groups to meet in government buildings on the same terms and conditions as other community groups.

OneNewsNow.com: But Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) disagrees. The U.S. Supreme Court has already definitively ruled that the government must allow religious groups to have the same access that other groups have,” he notes . . . “Churches that meet in public school buildings have been a huge benefit to the communities around them,” he contends. “It’s very sad when government officials misinterpret the Constitution and attempt to kick such groups out.”

ADF attorney Jordan Lorence at The Speak Up Movement University Blog: The big flaw here is that the majority views a “worship service” as a singular event and refuses to see it as a collection of specific expressive acts. But that is essentially a theological determination, and not a matter of constitutinal law. A federal court, or a public school district can only use the Constitution when examining whether to permit a “worship service” in its forum. That means it should view a ”worship service” as a summation of component expressive elements

WNYC: “In New York City it’s either very expensive or in some of the poorer communities, neighborhoods, there’s not really a usable facility for meetings except in the public schools,” said Jordan Lorence, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund in Arizona which represents the Bronx Household of Faith.

OneNewsNow.com: Jordan Lorence, the Alliance Defense Fund attorney representing the church, says it will appeal Thursday’s decision, which could affect many other churches that meet in public schools.

Gothamist: The Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Bronx Household of Faith, says it will appeal, “Religious groups, including churches, shouldn’t be discriminated against simply because they want to rent a public building just like other groups can. The idea that people of faith may be singled out for discrimination is flagrantly contrary to the U.S. Constitution. The 2nd Circuit greatly erred by not putting an end to the board’s continued defiance of the First Amendment.”

CBN.com: Religious groups, including churches, shouldn’t be discriminated against simply because they want to rent a public building just like other groups can,” ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence said. “The idea that people of faith may be singled out for discrimination is flagrantly contrary to the U.S. Constitution,” he added. “The 2nd Circuit greatly erred by not putting an end to the board’s continued defiance of the First Amendment.”

Charisma: “Religious groups, including churches, shouldn’t be discriminated against simply because they want to rent a public building just like other groups can,” says ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence, who argued before the 2nd Circuit in October 2009. “The idea that people of faith may be singled out for discrimination is flagrantly contrary to the U.S. Constitution. The 2nd Circuit greatly erred by not putting an end to the board’s continued defiance of the First Amendment. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has already definitively ruled that the government must allow religious groups to have the same access that other groups have.”

Federal Court Rules New York City Can Ban Schools From Churches – FoxNews.com: Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, blasted the ruling and called it “very, very disappointing.” “If we do not get an emergency stay, the churches could be thrown out by the school district,” Lorence told Fox News Radio. “They might be meeting on the street.” Lorence said they hope the court will grant a longer stay so that churches can continue to rent public buildings. “The religious groups are not seeking special treatment, but equal treatment,” Lorence told Fox News Radio. “It would be a tragedy if these churches that serve the communities would be tossed out and be made homeless by this anti-religious policy.” But the court determined that allowing churches to use schools resulted in an “unintended bias in favor of Christian religions” – since most Christian churches worship on Sunday.

Christian Post: The Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the Bronx church, plans to appeal. “Religious groups, including churches, shouldn’t be discriminated against simply because they want to rent a public building just like other groups can,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence. “The idea that people of faith may be singled out for discrimination is flagrantly contrary to the U.S. Constitution. The 2nd Circuit greatly erred by not putting an end to the board’s continued defiance of the First Amendment.” . . . “It’s very sad when government officials misinterpret the Constitution and attempt to kick such groups out,” said Lorence. “That is clearly not at all what the authors of the Constitution intended.”

National Law Journal: ordan W. Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., argued for the Bronx Household of Faith. Mr. Lorence said the Bronx Household case is far from over. “We are definitely going to appeal and the only question we have not decided is whether to go en banc to the Second Circuit or go directly for a certiorari petition at the Supreme Court. We’re going to do one or the other,” he said. “I would just say the decision is wrong on so many parts, it’s disappointing.”

ADF attorneys to appeal decision in Bronx church’s lawsuit against NYC Dept. of Education

A federal appeals court has ruled that the city of New York can enforce a rule prohibiting outside groups from using public school facilities after hours for religious worship services.

ADF Attorney Jordan Lorence writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “The 9/11 anniversary reminds me that nine years ago this month, I completed the legal pleadings for a lawsuit on behalf of a small church named Bronx Household of Faith against the Board of Education of the City of New York. Joe Infranco and I represented (and still represent) the small, intrepid church that has successfully challenged the Board of Education’s ban on private groups renting school facilities for worship services during nonschool hours . . . Right now, churches and other religious groups are meeting in public schools because of a permanent injunction prohibiting the Board of Education from enforcing the unconstitutional policy. The Board of Education has appealed the permanent injunction. ADF defended that permanent injunction before the federal appeals court for New York City last October. A decision could come any day now.”

New York Daily News: Mayor Bloomberg was eloquent in his defense of religious freedom when he spoke up for the mosque near the World Trade Center site. We wish his fervor extended to the small church congregations that only want to rent vacant public school auditoriums in New York City for Sunday services . . . The Bronx Household of Faith got its start in 1971, in a poor neighborhood not far from Yankee Stadium. Its dogged attorney, [Jordan Lorence] of the Alliance Defense Fund, has represented the church since 1995, and states the purpose of the congregation this way: ‘to demonstrate how the Gospel of Christ could transform the community – reducing crime and drug use, rebuilding families and ultimately benefiting the entire neighborhood’ . . . some 60 congregations have taken root in city school auditoriums across the city, their future anything but secure.”

ADF attorney Jordan Lorence appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss church use of public school facilities including the Bronx Household of Faith case that has been litigated for over 15 years. | MP3 10 mins | ADF media information on Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York

ADF attorney Jordan Lorence appeared on WABC Radio’s Religion on the Line to discuss the Bronx Household of Faith case involving Sunday church rentals of NYC public school facilities. Jordan has been litigating this case since 1995.

The MP3 runs just under 10 minutes.

The broadcast references this article by Jordan that recently appeared in the NY Daily News: Give churches space in vacant city schools: They’re asking for equal access, nothing more

Related ADF Media information page

ADF Attorney Jordan Lorence writing in the NY Daily News: “All these groups are asking from the city is the ability to use vacant space on weekends just as virtually any other group – from Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to unions to local choruses – can. The churches apply the same way every other group does. They pay the same rental rates the schools require other groups to pay. And Bronx Household is even halfway through constructing its own building across the street. But the city keeps saying no. The city should welcome congregations to use its vacant space on weekends. Churches can be some of the strongest glue that holds often fragile communities together. But the city wants them out.”