Gaylor v. Mnuchin
Pastor Chris Butler serves communities in South Side, Chicago The leader of a predominantly African-American congregation, Pastor Chris Butler devotes his life to serving communities in Chicago’s...
Becket Case Database
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Sharonell Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia
WEBSITE for Religious Adoption Cases Children, and a City, in Crisis Sharonell Fulton has fostered more than 40 children over 25 years. She currently cares for two young siblings with special needs....
Dumont v. Lyon
WEBSITE for Religious Adoption Cases A Desperate Need There is a national foster care crisis: more and more vulnerable children are being placed in the foster care system, and there aren’t...
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Trump
WEBSITE for Little Sisters Cases On October 6, 2017, Health & Human Services issued a new rule with an updated, broad religious exemption that finally protected religious non-profits like the Little...
Little Sisters of the Poor v. Azar
WEBSITE for Little Sisters Cases In May 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing HHS and other federal agencies to protect the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious...
California v. Little Sisters of the Poor
WEBSITE for Little Sisters Cases On October 6, 2017, Health & Human Services issued a new rule with an updated, broad religious exemption that finally protected religious non-profits like the Little...
Christian Legal Society v. Martinez
In Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, a Christian student group was denied official recognition by a public law school because the group insisted that its voting members and leaders accept and...
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby
A family seeking the American Dream David and Barbara Green founded Hobby Lobby in a garage. From the beginning, it has been a family business—David worked an extra job to support his...
BLinC v. University of Iowa
Students integrating faith and work Business Leaders in Christ (BLinC) is a Christian student organization at the University of Iowa that hosts weekly discussion groups, where students pray, share...
Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania
Rose Mary Knick sued her local government in 2014 for seizing her private property without compensation, but a Pennsylvania district court dismissed her case. Ms. Knick tried again, but in 2017, the...
Gundy v. United States
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether Congress violated the “nondelegation doctrine” by giving the U.S. Attorney General the power to define whether certain actions constitute crimes—a job...
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Children in Montana have been stripped of their right to participate in a modest scholarship program simply because they attend religious schools. In 2015 the state legislature passed the Montana...
Caplan v. Town of Acton, Massachusetts
Would France let Notre Dame fall into ruin? Should India let the Taj Mahal crumble or England let Big Ben go into disrepair? Of course not. Historic structures enrich cities all over the world as...
Barker v. Conroy
What’s at stake: The court must decide if the House of Representatives can constitutionally exclude someone who is hostile toward religion from its rotation of chaplains who offer prayers each...
Bormuth v. County of Jackson, Michigan
In the Bormuth v. County of Jackson case, Pagan activist Peter Bormuth tried to stop small-town county commissioners from continuing their tradition of voluntary prayer before their meetings. The...
Su v. Stephen Wise Temple
Stephen S. Wise Temple, one of the largest and most prominent Reform Jewish synagogues in Southern California, is defending its right to decide how to conduct its own ministry. In September 2013, the...
Gloucester County v. G.G.
Title IX was enacted in 1972 to promote equality for men and women in education by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “sex.” But in May 2016, the U.S. Department of Education unilaterally...
Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
An artist’s livelihood at stake Jack Phillips is a Christian and a baker. For almost 25 years he has run Masterpiece Cake Shop in Denver, creating artistic, custom-designed cakes for his...
Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
In 2015, Mark Janus, a government employee at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Service, sued his union—the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Janus argued that...
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra
Government has no right to silence one side of any debate, let alone one as deeply important to people on all sides as abortion. But in 2015, California enacted the Freedom, Accountability,...
Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer
The state of Missouri wants to make sure children run on safe playgrounds – unless they attend a religious school. The Trinity Lutheran Church Learning Center is a Christian preschool that wanted to...
McAllen Grace Brethren Church v. Jewell
What would you do if an undercover federal agent came into your church service, confiscated your communion wine, and threatened you with criminal prosecution? Sound crazy? Not if you are Native...
Rocky Mountain Christian Church v. Boulder County
In 2004, Rocky Mountain Christian Church was growing. The nondenominational church and school in Niwot, Colorado applied for the routine permits needed to expand its sanctuary and school buildings. In...
FFRF v. Morris County Board of Freeholders
Historic preservation is important—and legal Historic buildings are an important part of our national heritage, from Independence Hall, to George Washington’s home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, to...
Gagliardi v. The City of Boca Raton, Fla.
In 2015, the City of Boca Raton unanimously approved plans for a new synagogue for the Chabad of East Boca Raton, but a hostile, well-funded opposition threatened to derail the building plans by...
Kondrat’yev, et al v. City of Pensacola
A historic cross in a historic city The City of Pensacola has a rich history older than the U.S. itself. A key seaport connected to the Gulf of Mexico, it is named after the Native American people...
First Resort, Inc. v. Herrera
A mission to care for women Support Circle is a non-profit clinic and counseling center dedicated to providing support for women facing unplanned pregnancies. At no cost to the women they...
Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Lehigh County
Seals and flags often reflect our history and culture Images of historic significance are common on the seals and flags of states, counties, and towns across America. New Mexico’s flag has a single...
Merced v. Kasson
The City of Euless, Texas tried to stop Jose Merced, a Santeria priest, from performing certain religious rituals in his own home. Becket stepped in to protect him. A unanimous panel of the Fifth...
Harvest Family Church v. Federal Emergency Management Agency
In January 2018, after going all the way to the Supreme Court, three disaster-damaged churches defeated a decades-old federal rule that unfairly banned disaster relief aid for houses of worship just...
Eternal Word Television Network v. Azar
Thirty years ago, a cloistered nun named Mother Angelica started a small television network in her monastery garage to spread the teachings of the Catholic Church. Today, the network she started,...
Lee v. Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church
A small African-American church serving the people of Pittsburgh Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church is a small, historic African American church in Pittsburgh. Founded in 1899, its current worship...
Whole Woman’s Health v. Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops
No good deed goes unpunished The Catholic Church has long been known for its pro-life stance. In line with these beliefs, Catholic churches in Texas have worked with hospitals and families for many...
New Doe Child # 1 v. United States of America (Eighth Circuit)
Atheist activist Dr. Michael Newdow has sued yet again in his attempt to scrub “God” from the public square. This time he has sued the government to challenge our national motto, “In God We...
East Texas Baptist University & Houston Baptist University v. Azar
Houston Baptist University & East Texas Baptist University East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University are Christian liberal arts colleges in Texas that hold faith central to their...
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship v. Wayne State University
A welcome addition for 75 years The InterVarsity student group on Wayne State campus began in the 1940s as one of the first InterVarsity chapters in the United States. It provided a place for...
Moses v. Ruszkowski
New Mexico textbooks for kids Every child has the right to a quality education. Accessing that right is already an uphill battle for students in New Mexico, especially for thousands of low-income and...
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship v. University of Iowa
A faith community for students, focused on fellowship and service For 25 years, the InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship student group has been part of campus life at the University of Iowa, a...
Islamic Center of Murfreesboro v. Rutherford County
It was supposed to be like any other house of worship… In 2010, the Muslim community in Murfreesboro, Tennessee began building a mosque and community center. Little did they know, their innocuous...
Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns, Inc. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore
In 2009, the City of Baltimore passed an ordinance targeting the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns, a pregnancy center with a mission to protect the physical, emotional and spiritual...
Slockish v. U.S. Federal Highway Administration
The Klickitat and Cascade Tribes: The People of Mount Hood The Klickitat and Cascade Tribes of Yakama Nation have lived in the areas surrounding Mount Hood for centuries. It has been the center...
Trump v. Hawaii
President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive orders banning entry for citizens of certain Muslim-majority countries. Becket filed an amicus brief when one of the orders came...
Archdiocese of Washington v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
Every Christmas season, the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., conducts a holiday campaign called “Find the Perfect Gift” to remind people of the religious meaning of Christmas and to invite them to...
American Humanist Association v. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
For 90 years, a war memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland has stood as a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by local soldiers in World War I. Yet in 2014, the American Humanist...
Wheaton College v. Azar
In 2012, a government mandate threatened Wheaton College, a Christian school and one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country, with crippling fines unless it violated its religious beliefs....
Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Weber
A mountain memorial to honor fallen soldiers Since 1954, a statue of Jesus has stood atop a Montana ski slope as a monument to soldiers who died in World War II. After World War II, soldiers from the...
Colorado Christian University v. Azar
Colorado Christian University is the first interdenominational Christian college to challenge in federal court a new Obamacare mandate that requires private employers to pay for abortifacients in...
Ave Maria University v. Azar
Jim Towey, President of Ave Maria University, knows first-hand the immense value religious people of all faiths bring to the public square and is determined to stop the Administration’s efforts to...
Chahal v. Seamunds
The United States Military Academy at West Point will now accommodate Sikh soldiers, allowing them to wear their essential articles of faith, after two young men persisted for the right to serve...
Ingersoll v. Arlene's Flowers
For nearly forty years, 71-year-old Barronelle Stutzman has created custom floral arrangements to celebrate her customers’ life events. For nine years Barronelle joyfully served Rob Ingersoll,...