Federal Litigation Update

I wanted to take a moment to highlight several of our cases that are pending in federal and state courts throughout the country.  This has been a very active summer at the American Center for Law and Justice. 

In Tennessee, we are in federal court representing Teen Challenge.  Teen Challenge has one of the most successful drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs in the world.  They are a ministry that has been in existence for decades since being founded by David Wilkerson.  This Christian ministry has been used by God to change the lives of tens of thousands of people who have found themselves subject to drug and alcohol dependencies.  It is an unapologetically Christ-centered program.

We have had to go to federal court to defend the right of Teen Challenge to exist in Tennessee.  Teen Challenge is very specific as to what they need in order for their programs to succeed.  Members of a local government authority denied the ability for Teen Challenge to open its facilities on property (a 13-acre tract of land) that they had already purchased, although there was no zoning issue whatsoever.  There was almost a mob-like atmosphere at the city hall meeting when the program was discussed.  The development of the project has been put on hold pending this federal litigation.  Our Senior Counsel out of our office in Nashville, Larry Crain, filed this case in federal court and its now in the discovery stages.  Two staff counsel out of our Nashville office are also working on this case, which is moving along quickly.

In addition, we are waiting for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to rule in the Summum v. City of Pleasant Grove case.  Summum is an organization that tries to counter Ten Commandments monument displays throughout the United States.  In particular, they demand that a city that owns and displays a Ten Commandments monument must put up their monument.  This would be like the governing officials of the Statute of Liberty Park in New York being required to display a monument criticizing America.  

The case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit en banc which means that the entire Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals is looking at the case.  I have assigned a senior research team in our Virginia office to further prepare this case for certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States.  The decision in the Summum case is due any day now.  The government agencies that accepted these monuments over 50 years ago have been put in a constant litigation posture because of these groups.  We are committed to continuing to fight for the integrity of the Ten Commandments displays in cities across the United States. 

I also wanted to give a quick update on the Conscience Clause cases that are being handled by our Senior Counsel, Frank Manion.  These cases represent the cutting edge in the pro-life movement.  We are currently involved in over a dozen cases, defending the right of medical professionals to not participate in abortion proceedings.  This is time-consuming but very important litigation to protect the right to life. 

Please visit the ACLJ website for frequent and updated information on these cases.