FFRF sues over Pennsylvania 'Year of Bible'

FFRF filed suit challenging a declaration by the Pennsylvania House that 2012 is "The Year of the Bible." FFRF brought suit on behalf of its 599 Pennsylvania members, including 41 named state members, and its chapter, Nittany Freethought. The federal lawsuit was filed March 26, 2012, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Defendants are State Rep. Rick Saccone, author of the resolution, Clancy Myer, House Parliamentarian and Anthony Frank Barbush, House Chief Clerk. “FFRF's membership includes individuals residing in Pennsylvania who have had direct and unwanted exposure to the Year of the Bible Resolution and the hostile environment created thereby as a result of the official declaration of a state religion by the Pennsylvania Legislature,” notes the legal complaint. Members include “individuals [who] oppose governmental speech endorsing religion because they are made to feel as if they are political outsiders.” The bible “contains violent, sexist and racist models of behavior that FFRF members find personally repugnant, and which potentially could encourage persons who rely on them to act in a manner harmful to them and others.” HR 535 sends a message of Christian endorsement and disparagement to nonbelievers. “HR 535 improperly proclaims the bible to be ‘the word of God,’ . . . the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has no such authority or right to determine what is ‘the word of God,’ or if there is a ‘word of God,’ or if there is a ‘God’,” maintains FFRF. Our nation is not founded on religious belief or a bible, but upon “a secular and godless Constitution, which grants sovereignty not to a deity or a ‘holy book,’ but to ‘We the People.’ ”

FFRF asked the court to find that HR 535 violates the Establishment Clause, to order defendants to discontinue further publication and distribution of HR 535, to declare that public officials in Pennsylvania are indeed subject to the Establishment Clause, to declare that the theocratic principles of the bible do not constitute the ”official, preferred or endorsed religion” of the state, and to declare that the government is not “Judeo-Christian.”

U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner on Oct. 1, 2012, dismissed the case, ruling House officials had legislative immunity, but chastened House officials for "premeditated pandering" and expressed alarm that the resolution passed unanimously. Conner wrote: "At worst, it is premeditated pandering designed to provide a reelection sound bite for use by members of the General Assembly. But regardless of the motivation . . . its express language is proselytizing and exclusionary. . . . The court is compelled to shine a clear, bright light on this resolution because it pushes the Establishment Clause envelope behind the safety glass of legislative immunity."

Legal complaint 
Read News Release
Motion to Dismiss 

Plaintiff's Opposition to the Motion to Dismiss
Defendants' Reply Brief

Order

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FFRF v. Ulysses Press (Sept. 13, 2011)

FFRF filed a copyright infringement suit on Sept. 13, 2011 relating to unauthorized use of its Freethought of the Day website feature. See our statement.

The suit is Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Bookpack, Inc., United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Case No. 11-CV-634.

The case was settled in 2011. 

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FFRF vs. Gov. Rick Perry's prayer rally (July 13, 2011)

FFRF filed a federal lawsuit on July 13, 2011 in the Southern District Court of Texas in Houston seeking to block Texas Gov. Rick Perry from continued association with the evangelical Christian prayer rally he initiated at Reliant Stadium in Houston to take place on Aug. 6, 2011. On behalf of its 700 Texas members, FFRF, as well as five of its Houston members asked  the federal court to declare unconstitutional Perry’s initiation, organization, promotion and participation in the Aug. 6 prayer event. Perry had issued a proclamation to promote the prayer rally calling Aug. 6 a "Day of Prayer and Fasting for our Nation's Challenges." The rally itself was initiated by Perry. The American Family Association took on the details for the event, called "The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis." The website for The Response, linked from the governor’s official website, http://www.governor.state.tx.us, conveys Gov. Perry’s hope that the prayer rally will provide divine guidance to the nation, and Perry’s videotaped invitation to join him on Aug. 6 to turn to Jesus and ask for God’s forgiveness. The homepage bears Perry’s open invitation as governor to “fellow Americans” to join him and other “praying people” in “asking God’s forgiveness, wisdom and provision for our state and nation. There is hope for America. It lies in heaven, and we will find it on our knees.”

On July 22, FFRF exposed the use of Gov. Perry on robocalls promoting the rally: “This is Governor Rick Perry and I'm inviting you to join your fellow Americans in a day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our nation. As an elected leader, I am all too aware of government's limitations when it comes to fixin’ things that are spiritual in nature. That's where prayer comes in, and we need it more than ever. With the economy in trouble, communities in crisis and people adrift in a sea of moral relativism, we need God's help. That's why I'm calling on Americans to pray and fast like Jesus did, and as God called the Israelite to do in the Book of Joel. I sincerely hope you will join me in Houston on August the sixth and take your place in Reliant Stadium with praying people asking God's forgiveness, his wisdom and provision for our state and nation. To learn more, visit TheResponseUSA.com, then makes plans to be part of something even bigger than Texas.” On July 25, FFRF filed a motion seeking to enjoin Perry was continuing to promote the prayer rally. FFRF asked that Perry be barred from participating “in his official capacity as governor as a speaker at the event,” and to rescind his proclamation calling Aug. 6 a “day of prayer and fasting for our nation’s responses.” U.S. District Judge Gray Miller dismissed the lawsuit on July 28, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked standing. “Nobody would have trouble seeing the injury if a governor aligned himself with a radical Muslim group and used his office to call all citizens to a daylong prayer to Allah rally," noted FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.

FFRF held a “dinner of nonprayer and nonfasting” Aug. 5 for Houston-area members to honor the local co-plaintiffs in the case. After being denied use of any billboards near the stadium to protest the entanglement, FFRF commissioned an airplane to fly a banner: "Gov: Keep state/church separate. FFRF.ORG," over the stadium event and leased a mobile billboard with a caricature of the prayerful governor next to this message: "Beware Prayer by Pious Politicians: Get off your knees and get to work."

Legal Complaint
Proposed Order
Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Plaintiffs' Brief in Support of Preliminary Injunction
Exhibits
Declaration of Annie Laurie Gaylor
Declaration of Kay Staley
Declaration of Scott Weitzenhoffer
Perry Order Setting Hearing on Motion

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FFRF & Friends Sue Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer over Arizona Day of Prayer

FFRF, with four of its Arizona members, filed a lawsuit on March 15, 2010 in U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, to enjoin Arizona Gov. Janice K. Brewer from declaring an Arizona Day of Prayer in this or future years. She has issued such proclamations in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer. The lawsuit also seeks a declaratory judgment declaring that Brewer violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in declaring her Arizona Day of Prayer last year.

Legal Complaint
Amended Complaint: filed 8/24/11

Response to Complaint
Order Schedule Hearings

Motion to Dismiss: filed 9/13/11
Response to Motion to Dismiss: filed 10/3/11
Motion for Partial Summary Judgment: filed 9/30/11

Order Dismissing Case: filed 12/12/11

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FFRF & Friends Challenge 'Under God' in Pledge in New Hampshire Schools (with Mike Newdow)

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has joined Michael Newdow in launching a new challenge of the religious phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Plaintiffs include the Foundation and a Hanover couple with children in the schools who are Foundation members. The suit, filed in federal court on Oct. 31, 2007, names Congress and three local school districts. A 2002 state law requires New Hampshire schools to include recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in every school day, but adds that student participation is voluntary. The parent plaintiffs believe that by including the phrase in the pledge, the district is "endorsing the religious notion that God exists" and thereby creates a "societal environment where prejudice against atheists . . . is perpetuated." "It should be noted that Plaintiffs are making no objection to the recitation of a patriotic Pledge of Allegiance," the Complaint notes. "The government is certainly within its right to foster patriotism, and it may certainly make the determination that recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance serves that purpose. However, government may not employ or include sectarian religious dogma towards this end. By placing the religious words 'under God' into the pledge, Congress not only interfered with the patriotism and national unity the pledge was meant to engender, but it actually fostered divisiveness. . . in a manner expressly forbidden by the Constitution," writes Newdow in the legal complaint.

On Jan. 18, 2008, 51 members of Congress won court permission to intervene in the lawsuit. The interveners, including three U.S. Senators — Sam Brownback, James M. Inhofe, and Ted Stevens — and 48 members of the House, asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit. A number of individual religionists in the school district, as well as the Knights of Columbus, also intervened in the lawsuit. (The Catholic men's club originally spearheaded the campaign to insert "under God" into the previously secular pledge.) U.S. Dist. Judge Steven J. McAuliffe issued an order on Aug. 7, 2008, agreeing to dismiss Congress as a defendant. But the Court denied the State of New Hampshire's motion to dismiss, as well as the motion to dismiss filed by several intervening individuals and the Knights of Columbus. A 3-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Nov. 12, 2010 against FFRF's challenge of the new Hampshire School Patriot Act. A request for en banc review was turned down on Dec. 28, 2010. Michael Newdow with plaintiffs asked the Supreme Court to review the decision on March 25, 2011.

Legal Complaint (pdf)
Press release about Complaint
McAuliffe Aug. 7, 2008 ruling (pdf)
First Amended Brief, filed October 2008 (pdf)
FFRF to appeal dismissal by McAuliffe, Oct. 2009

Decision by 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Nov. 2010
FFRF News Release on decision
FFRF Petition for Rehearing
Petition for Rehearing Denied

Writ for Certiorari

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FFRF Sues Bush (Now Obama) over National Day of Prayer Proclamations

The Foundation, a national state/church watchdog, filed a federal lawsuit on Oct. 3, 2008, broadly challenging the federal law designating a National Day of Prayer and requiring a National Day of Prayer Proclamation by the President. In addition to suing Pres. George W. Bush (amended to Pres. Barack Obama), the lawsuit named his press secretary, Dana Perino (amended to Robert Gibbs), Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, one of 50 governors to also issue prayer proclamations, and Shirley Dobson, chair of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. Public Law 100-307 sets the first Thursday in May as "National Day of Prayer." The 1952 law, passed at the behest of Rev. Billy Graham, exhorts citizens to "turn to God in prayer, at churches." The Foundation is seeking a declaration that the law violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The suit alleges that a task force associated with Focus on the Family is "working hand-in-glove" with the government in organizing the National Day of Prayer. When FFRF, for pragmatic reasons, dropped the  Wis. governor as a defendant, the court also dropped the NDP Task Force as a defendant. However, the judge permitted the case to continue and ruled that the plaintiffs — FFRF and six of his officers and board members — had standing to bring the suit.

In a historic decision on April 15, 2010, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled in FFRF's favor, finding the law unconstitutional and enjoining Pres. Obama not to issue a prayer proclamation. Crabb stayed the order for the injunction during the appeal. On April 14, 2011, a 3-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled that FFRF and its nonbelieving plaintiffs did not suffer any injury in being exhorted to set aside an entire day for prayer once a year by Congress and the President, and thus did not  have standing to sue. FFRF is asking for an en banc review by the entire 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Case No. 08-CV-588

Press Release (Oct. 3, 2008)
Complaint (Oct. 3, 2008)
Amended Complaint (Feb. 10, 2009)
2008 Presidential Proclamation & all 50 2008 gubernatorial proclamations (pdf)
Federal Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Jan. 12, 2009)
Defendant Shirley Dobson's Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint (March 9, 2009)
Defendant Shirley Dobson's Motion to Dismiss Brief (March 9, 2009)
Reply in Support of The Federal Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint (March 12, 2009)
Plaintiffs Brief in Opposition to Motions to Dismiss (April 7, 2009)
Exhibit A (pdf)
Exhibit B (pdf)
Exhibit C (pdf)
Exhibit D (pdf)
Exhibit E (pdf)
Exhibit F (pdf)
Exhibit G (pdf)
Exhibit H (pdf)
Exhibit I (pdf)
Defendant Shirley Dobson's Reply in Support of Her Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint (April 24, 2009)
Opinion and Order Re: Motion to Dismiss (May 26, 2009)
Plaintiffs' Responses to Federal Defendants' Statement of Proposed Findings of Fact (Nov. 16, 2009)
Plaintiffs' Brief in Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment (Nov. 20, 2009)
Plaintiffs' Additional Proposed Findings of Fact in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Nov. 20, 2009)
Deposition of Shirley Dobson (Nov. 20, 2009)
Exhibits for Dobson Deposition
Plaintiffs' Brief in Support of Judgment in Their Favor (Dec. 10, 2009)
Plaintiffs' Proposed Findings of Fact (Dec. 11, 2009)
First Opinion and Order (March 1, 2010)
Final Opinion and Order (April 15, 2010)

Before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Brief for Appeal by Obama Administration, Defendant-Appellants, filed July 2, 2010

ACLJ Amicus Brief
Attorneys General Amicus Brief
Dobson et. al Amicus Brief
Justice and Freedom Fund Amicus Brief
Foundation for Moral Law Amicus Brief
National Day of Prayer Task Force Amicus Brief
Wallbuilders Amicus Brief

FFRF Response Brief, Sept. 30, 2010
Appendix to FFRF Response Appeal

Oral Arguments (Dec. 2, 2010)

Friend of the Court briefs in favor of FFRF

Center for Inquiry

American Humanist Association
Institute for Humanist Studies
Military Religious Freedom Foundation
Secular Student Alliance
Society for Humanistic Judaism

Americans United for Separation of Church and State
The American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Wisconsin
The Interfaith Alliance Foundation

American Jewish Congress (and appendix)

Appellants' Reply Brief

Decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, April 14, 2011
Petition for rehearing en banc

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FFRF v. Geithner Parsonage Exemption

The Freedom From Religion Found­­ation, along with 21 of its California members, has filed a nationally significant federal lawsuit in Sacramento to challenge tax benefits for “ministers of the gospel,” commonly known as “the parsonage exemption.”

Ministers, who are paid in tax-free dollars, also may deduct their mortgage interest and property tax payments. Under both federal and California law, allowances paid to “ministers of the gospel” are not treated as taxable income. “Ministers of the gospel” may uniquely claim these benefits, so the statutes convey a governmental message of endorsement, unconstitutionally favoring religious employees and institutions over all others, the Foundation maintains.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 16 in California Eastern District Court, Sacramento office. Judge William Shubb will preside over the case. Attorney Richard Bolton, Madison, Wis., with local counsel Michael Newdow, Sacramento, represent the Foundation and its plaintiff members.

The Foundation seeks a declaration that, on their face and as administered, provisions allowing tax benefits for “ministers of the gospel,” provided for by the IRS and Treasury Depart­ment, violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Defendants are Timothy Geithner, U.S. Treasury secretary; Douglas Shulman, Internal Revenue Service commissioner; and Selvi Stanislaus, executive officer of the California Franchise Tax Board, who are all providing tax benefits only to “ministers of the gospel,” rather than to a broad class of taxpayers.

The exemptions permit clergy to deduct from their taxable income housing allowances furnished as part of compensation. The unique benefits to clergy date to 1954, when Congress amended the tax code to permit all clergy to exempt their housing costs from their incomes taxes. U.S. Rep. Peter Mack, author of the amendment, declared:

Certainly, in these times when we are being threatened by a godless and antireligious world movement we should correct this discrimination against certain ministers of the gospel who are carrying on such a courageous fight against this foe. Certainly this is not too much to do for these people who are caring for our spiritual welfare.

Section 107(2) allows ministers to avoid paying taxes on income declared to be a “housing allowance.” The privilege also permits churches to save money on clergy salaries. Most egregiously, clergy may “double-dip,” i.e., deduct their mortgage payments and real estate taxes from income tax, even though they paid for these with tax-exempt dollars, amounting to a government subsidy solely for clergy.

In 2002, Congress acted to protect the exemption, after the IRS sued over an abusive housing allowance taken by Rev. Rick Warren, by limiting deductions in future to “reasonable rental value.”

“All other taxpayers pay more because clergy receive this privileged benefit,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, Foundation co-president.

“The income taxation of ministers of the gospel under the general rules that apply to other individuals would not interfere with the religious mission of churches or other organizations or the ministers themselves,” the legal complaint maintains. The statutes are not an accommodation of religion, therefore, but a subsidy.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled that a tax benefit given only to religion violates the Establishment Clause (Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock, 1989).

Complaint (Oct. 15, 2009)
Government's Motion to Dismiss (Feb. 26, 2010)
Stanislaus' Motion to Dismiss (Feb. 26, 2010)
Plaintiffs' Opposition to Government's Motion to Dismiss (April 20, 2010)
Plaintiffs' Opposition to Stanislaus' Motion to Dismiss (April 23, 2010) 
Stanislaus' Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss (May 3, 2010)
Government's Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss (May 3, 2010)
Plaintiffs' Reply Memorandum Regarding Question by Court (May 13, 2010)
Ex. A - Plaintiff's Reply Memorandum Regarding Questions
Ex. B - Plaintiffs' Reply Memorandum Regarding Question
Decision and Order (May 21, 2010)
Amended Complaint (June 18, 2010)
Motion to Dismiss (Dec. 23, 2011)

Withdrawn in 2011. See new Sept. 13, 2011 challenge.

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FFRF Sues to Stop Religious Engravings at Capitol Visitor Center

The Foundation and its Co-Presidents filed suit on July 14, 2009, to stop the prominent engraving of "In God We Trust" and the religious Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington D.C. The lawsuit was filed by attorney Richard Bolton in U.S. District Court in the western district of Wisconsin. The House and the Senate passed resolutions in July 2009 directing the Architect of the Capitol to engrave the mottos, with an expected cost of at least $100,000. Religious members of Congress had threatened to delay the opening of the Visitors Center, through which every visitor to the Capitol must now pass, unless "God is welcomed back into the Center." The Foundation contends that the motto, "In God We Trust," is a johnny-come-lately, usurping the original, secular "E Pluribus Unum" (from many, come one), only adopted during the Red Scare in the 1950s. Similarly, the once secular pledge was tampered with by Congress in 1954, when it added "under God" wording.

Read press release
Read Complaint 09-CV-439 (pdf)
Opinion and Order, Sept. 29, 2010

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Watchdog, Parents File Suit Against South Carolina Release-Time Credits

The Foundation and two parent complainants in Spartanburg, S.C., filed suit in U.S. District Court, Spartanburg Division, Greenville, S.C., on June 17, 2009, challenging the awarding of academic credits for evangelical release-time instruction. "A public school could not constitutionally teach this course, but in South Carolina, a student can now get a public school academic credit for taking this class," explained George Daly, a well-known North Carolina civil rights attorney who is representing the plaintiffs.

Read press release
Moss v Spartanburg Co. School District 7:09-cv-01586-RBH Complaint (pdf)
Exhibit A (pdf)
Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss
Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss
Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss Equal Protection Claim
Plaintiff's Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dissmiss Second Amended Complaint
Opinion and Order for Motion to Dismiss
Third Amended Complaint
Defendant's Answer to Plaintiffs' Third Amended Complaint
Response of Plaintiffs to Defendants Motion for Summary Judgement
Memorandum in Response to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment
Plaintiff's Reply to Defendant's Response to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment
Reply Memorandum in Support of Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment
Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment
Memorandum in Support of Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment
Summary Judgment Opinion and Order

Before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals

Plaintiffs' Opening Brief
Defendant's Response Brief
Plaintiffs' Reply Brief

Decision (June 28, 2012)
Petition for Rehearing En Banc
On July 31, 2012, the petition for rehearing was denied by the Fourth Circuit

The petition for a writ of certiorari was filed on Oct. 2, 2012. The Court denied the petition on Nov. 13. 

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Newdow, FFRF & Coalition Sue to Halt Inaugural Prayers

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, its co-presidents and several of its members are among the many co-plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit, Newdow v. Roberts, filed on Dec. 30, 2008, by attorney Michael Newdow in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to enjoin the Presidential Inaugural Committee from sponsoring prayers at the official Inauguration. The 34-page Legal Complaint also punctures some myths, documenting that for most of our country's history, no clergy led prayers at inaugurations. The original complaint has been amended to include many more freethinkers, including minor students, from around the nation, as well as a variety of groups. The case was dismissed, and lost on appeal.

Case No. 08-2248 RBW

Read press release/complaint
Oral Argument Request Brief (Appeal) (pdf)
Brief Appendix (pdf)
Decision by Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Newdow v. Roberts, No. 09-5126 (May 7, 2010) (pdf)

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FFRF Sues City of Rancho Cucamonga over Censorship of "Imagine No Religion" Billboard

The national Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit on Nov. 26, 2008, in federal court against the City of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., for taking actions which led to the censorship of its "Imagine No Religion" billboard on Archibald and Foothill Blvd, Route 66. The Foundation had prepaid for the board and contracted for a two-month run beginning in mid-November. The Board had been up for less than a week when it was removed at the apparent instigation of a city official. "The Defendants' actions conveyed a message that religion is favored, preferred, and promoted by the City of Rancho Cucamonga and its officials, despite subsequent attempts to cover up the Defendants' involvement in sending an objectively understood message disapproving FFRF's billboard," said the Foundation.

Case No. 2:08-CV-7833
Read Complaint (pdf)
Press Release (Nov. 26, 2008)
Proposed Order (pdf)
Declaration of Annie Laurie Gaylor (pdf)
Declaration of Wendy Leung (pdf)
Declaration of Richard L. Bolton (pdf)
Plaintiff's Statement of Genuine Issues in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (pdf)
Plaintiff's Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (pdf)
Summary Judgment Decision from Judge (pdf)

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FFRF Sues Colorado Governor Over Prayer Proclamations

The Foundation, with the help of Denver-area members and plaintiffs, filed suit on Nov. 12, 2008, against Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter Jr., for showing governmental preference for religion in issuing National Day of Prayer proclamations in tandem with the National Day of Prayer (NDP) Task Force.

The Foundation filed the lawsuit in state court in Denver, both on behalf of four named plaintiffs and its more than 400 Colorado members. The lawsuit seeks to declare Day of Prayer proclamations and dedications by Gov. Ritter in violation of the Religious Freedom clause of the Colorado Constitution, and seeks an order enjoining him from issuing further such proclamations. The Complaint notes that not only has Ritter issued official National Day of Prayer proclamations, but he appears to have aligned himself and the State of Colorado with a national observance called Reign Down USA, an evangelical movement that promotes prayer, ostensibly for restoration of the nation.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on May 10, 2012 in FFRF's favor: "A reasonable observer would conclude that these proclamations send the message that those who pray are favored members of Colorado’s political community, and that those who do not pray do not enjoy that favored status.”

Case No. 08-CV-9799

Press Release

FFRF Complaint (11/12/10)
Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
Exhibit D
Exhibit E
Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment

Memorandum of Law
Defendants' Motion
Plaintiffs' Cross-Motion
Plaintiffs' Brief in Opposition
Plaintiffs' Responses
Plaintiffs' Proposed Findings
Affidavit of Richard L. Bolton

Order Summary Judgement (10/28/10)

FFRF Amended Notice of Appeal; Proposed Order (12/14/10)
Order re FFRF Amended Notice of Appeal (12/14/10)

FFRF Opening Appellate Brief
Colorado Answer Brief
FFRF Reply Brief

Opinion (in FFRF's favor) by Judge Bernard, concurring Loeb and Lichtenstein
May 10, 2012

Colorado Petition to Supreme Court 
FFRF Response
Colorado Reply

FFRF press release, May 10, 2012

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Christian County Sued

The Freedom From Religion Foundation went to federal court in Missouri to sue over the phrase "So help me, God" on tax forms, on behalf of a plaintiff in Christian County in 1998. The case was dismissed from federal court since it concerned taxes. The Foundation refiled in state court in 1999. In April 2001, the judge ruled against the Foundation, but ordered that the plaintiff or other citizens be allowed to cross out "So help me God."

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A Banner Case

In January 1996, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sued over the removal of its properly-placed banner, "State/Church: Keep Them Separate," from the rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol, at the orders of Gov. Tommy Thompson. The Foundation had obtained a lawful permit to place the sign to counter various seasonal promotions of religion at the State Capitol. The Foundation lost at the federal court level in 1996. However, the State regulations now permit moderate-sized signs.

The Foundation has erected a Winter Solstice sign every year since, which has been called a "tourist attraction."
View Article

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Challenges Creche in Waunakee Park

In early 1991, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with two local plaintiffs, challenged a lighted nativity scene in a public park in Waunakee, Wisconsin, which was stored, lighted and maintained by the town. The Foundation appealed a decision calling the creche a "secular" symbol in 1992. In 1994, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, unbelievably, upheld the creche, saying the constitution required it to "protect the rights of the majority." The Freedom From Religion Foundation no longer takes lawsuits in state court in Wisconsin!

View Article
View Dissent

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In God We Don't Trust

After numerous requests by its membership, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with its attorney Robert R. Tiernan, went to federal court in Denver challenging "In God We Trust." The Freedom From Religion sued the federal government in 1994 to have "In God We Trust" removed from currency and as our national motto. The motto was put on all paper currency by an Act of Congress in 1955. The phrase was chosen as our national motto by an Act of Congress in 1956. It first appeared on paper currency in 1957.

As evidence that the "God" motto is considered an endorsement of religion by the public, the Foundation commissioned an independent national survey. Sixty-one percent consider "In God We Trust" religious, and 71% believe it endorses a belief in God. A majority also regard the motto as preferring religion over nonreligion. (Chamberlain Research, poll of 900 adults, conducted May 18-23, 1994)

The Foundation lawsuit was dismissed by a 10th Circuit federal judge on the grounds that "In God We Trust" is not a religious phrase (1994). The Foundation appealed the dismissal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which did not take the case in 1996. View Article

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Ten Commandments Suit in Denver

The Freedom From Religion Foundation went to Colorado state court to remove a Ten Commandments monument on Capitol grounds in Denver in 1989. The trial judge ruled that the Ten Commandments were the basis of constitutional law in 1992. In June 1993, the Foundation won the case before the Colorado Court of Appeals. The State Supreme Court in November 1994 reversed the appeals court ruling, and the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1995, refused to take the case.

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Illinois Chapel Litigated

In 1986, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with Illinois member Steve Van Zandt, filed a federal lawsuit to stop the building of a chapel at the Illinois statehouse. The chapel had been suggested during a visit by TV evangelist Pat Robertson. In December 1986, the Foundation won its lawsuit at the trial level, with a strong, eloquent decision. In January 1988, the appeals court inexplicably ruled that the prayer room had a "secular purpose." The silver lining: the chapel was never used.

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Gaylor v. Risser

In 1978, the Foundation filed a federal lawsuit challenging public payment of prayers by preachers to open the Wisconsin Legislature. The case languished in federal court for five years without being heard, then was dismissed when the U.S. Supreme Court acted on a similar Nebraska case, Marsh v. Chambers (1983), finding that the prayers were "traditional." The Foundation later prevailed on the Wisconsin Senate to drop paid prayers for at least one session (1985).

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Round One; Ten Commandments

In 1985 the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging a Ten Commandments monument in a public park in La Crosse, Wisconsin, donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Preparing for the trial in 1987, the attorney in the case deposed the Eagles official who came up with the idea, who explained how he and director Cecil B. DeMille got together to promote the Ten Commandments, Minnesota granite and DeMille's new epic movie. The federal judge found that, based on a technicality, the La Crosse plaintiff, a lifelong resident, schoolteacher and daughter of the former local Congressman, did not have standing to sue (1987). This case has been revisited by the Foundation with 22 local plaintiffs, and to date, the Foundation has prevailed in court.

See Highlighted Court Successes: FFRF Wins Ten Commandments Case

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