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Becket Case Database

View our entire legal documents library here.

Gregory Tucker v. Faith Bible Chapel

Faith Bible Chapel is a church in Arvada, Colorado that for over half a century has welcomed everyone to come and experience the presence of God and have an ever-growing relationship with Jesus. The church has a Christian school, Faith ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Education, Religious Communities

Fellowship of Christian Athletes v. San Jose Unified School District

For over a decade, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes student club met at San Jose Unified School District schools in California without incident. But when a teacher within the district singled out FCA’s religious beliefs for ridicule, goaded students ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Education

Individual Members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana v. Anonymous Plaintiff 1

Religious believers of many faiths have been protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which Congress passed with overwhelming support in 1993 to ensure that the federal government cannot unreasonably violate Americans’ religious freedom. Since then, many states have adopted ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
Indiana Court of Appeals
Practice Area(s):

Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission

To help fulfill its religious obligation to care for those in need, the Diocese of Superior created and continues to operate the Catholic Charities Bureau. As the social ministry arm of the Diocese, Catholic Charities Bureau provides loving support to ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
Supreme Court of Wisconsin
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

Sisters of Mercy v. Becerra

A federal mandate issued in 2016 required doctors to perform gender transition procedures on any patient, including a child, even if the doctor believed the procedure would be harmful. The mandate was struck down in court after it was challenged by ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Singh v. Berger

Aekash Singh, Jaskirat Singh, and Milaap Singh Chahal are Marine Corps recruits and devout members of the Sikh faith. After being recruited for service in the Marines, all three were told they had to choose between their religious obligation to ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Apache Stronghold v. United States

Oak Flat (known in Apache as Chi'chil Bildagoteel) is a sacred site in Arizona’s vibrant Tonto National Forest where Native Americans have gone to worship, pray, and conduct religious ceremonies since time immemorial. Recognizing its responsibility to Native peoples, ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Newark

Top 10 Case
Faruq Abdul-Aziz and Shakoor Mustafa were Newark, New Jersey police officers and devout Sunni Muslims whose religious beliefs required them to grow a beard. They both had beards while serving on the force for at least ten years, but in 1997 ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo

Top 10 Case
Agudath Israel of America – an Orthodox Jewish advocacy organization first founded in 1922 – and several of its affiliated synagogues located in New York City sued New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his discriminatory “cluster action initiative.” Ostensibly a measure to target ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

St. Joseph Parish v. Nessel

St. Joseph is a Catholic parish located in St. Johns, Michigan. Since 1924, St. Joseph has operated a top-notch elementary school, St. Joseph Catholic School, that exists to pass on the Catholic faith to the next generation. Like Catholic parishes across ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division
Practice Area(s):
Free Speech, Religious Communities

Rogers v. HHS

South Carolina provides numerous opportunities for foster families to help care for children in need. The state licenses families directly, serving families and children without regard to religion, race, disability, sex, or sexual orientation. The state also partners with a ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
Practice Area(s):
Public Square

Intermountain Fair Housing Council v. Boise Rescue Mission Ministries

Top 10 Case
For over 50 years, the Boise Rescue Mission has served the neediest in their community by providing addiction recovery programs, holiday meals, assistance with job searches, and youth activities. As a Christian ministry, the Mission has helped hundreds of people build ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

Dalberiste v. GLE Associates

As a practicing Seventh-day Adventist, Mitche Dalberiste’s religious beliefs keep him from working from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Many employers take voluntary action to respect employees’ Sabbath, recognizing how central this practice is to many faiths. However, after ...
Case Status:
Certiorari Denied
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
Supreme Court of the United States
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Diocese of Albany v. Vullo

In 2017, the New York State Department of Financial Services mandated that employers cover abortions in their employee health insurance plans. Following the order, a diverse coalition of religious groups that includes contemplative goat-herding Anglican nuns asked the New York state ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
New York Court of Appeals
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom, Religious Communities

Smith v. Ward

For 10 years, inmate Lester Smith has been fighting for his right to wear a beard in accordance with his Muslim religious beliefs. Even though 38 states and the Bureau of Prisons allow prisoners to have untrimmed beards, the Georgia Department of ...
Case Status:
Certiorari Denied
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Oakwood Adventist Academy vs. Alabama High School Athletic Association

Oakwood Adventist Academy teaches its students to excel without compromising their faith, on and off the court. When a basketball semi-finals game was scheduled for the Sabbath, the school asked if it could swap game times so that Oakwood students ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
Practice Area(s):
Public Square

Slockish v. U.S. Department of Transportation

In 2008, the federal government knowingly bulldozed a Native American sacred site to add a turn lane to a nearby highway—even though the government admitted it could have added the turn lane without harming the sacred site. The site, known ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Fitzgerald v. Roncalli High School and Archdiocese of Indianapolis

Roncalli is a Catholic high school in Indianapolis that exists to transmit the Catholic faith to the next generation. To accomplish its religious mission, Roncalli asks all of its administrators, teachers, and guidance counselors to sign a contract agreeing to ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
Practice Area(s):
Education, Religious Communities

Belya v. Kapral et. al

Father Alexander Belya claims that he was elected as a Vicar Bishop in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). The Church and its leadership insist that he was not, and that he is not qualified to be a ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

YU Pride Alliance v. Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University is America’s oldest Jewish institution of higher education. “Yeshiva” literally means a school for studying the Talmud—and Talmud studies remain at the heart of everything Yeshiva does. Most undergraduate students spend up to five hours each ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
New York Appellate Division
Practice Area(s):
Education, Religious Communities

Franciscan Alliance v. Becerra

A federal mandate issued in 2016 as part of Obamacare requires doctors and hospitals across the country to perform gender-transition procedures on any patient, including a child, even if the procedure violates the doctor’s conscience and could harm the patient. ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Payne-Elliott v. Archdiocese of Indianapolis

In 2017 a high school teacher at Cathedral Catholic High School in Indianapolis violated his agreement with the school, and centuries of Church teaching, by entering a same-sex civil union. After two years of deliberation, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis informed the ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
Indiana State Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

Sisters of Life v. Bassett

The Sisters of Life are a Catholic religious community who devote themselves to the love of God by professing vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The Sisters also take a vow to protect the sacredness of human life, which they ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Practice Area(s):
Free Speech, Religious Communities

Lebovits v. Cuomo

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have unnecessarily, unscientifically, and wrongly targeted Orthodox Jews for a series of shutdown orders ostensibly designed to restrict COVID-19. These orders were overbroad and targeted all members ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
District Court for the Northern District of New York
Practice Area(s):
Education, Religious Communities

Maxon v. Fuller Theological Seminary

Fuller Theological Seminary is one of the world’s leading Christian graduate educational institutions. It is a multidenominational, international, and multiethnic seminary committed to training global Christian leaders for the fulfillment of their religious callings in Christian ministries. At the ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Education, Religious Communities

Capitol Hill Baptist Church v. Bowser

In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic put life on hold for so many across the country, Capitol Hill Baptist Church suspended in-person services for the first time in its nearly 150 year history out of concern for the health and safety ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

Starkey v. Roncalli High School and Archdiocese of Indianapolis

Roncalli is a Catholic high school in Indianapolis that exists to transmit the Catholic faith to the next generation. To accomplish its religious mission, Roncalli asks all of its administrators, teachers, and guidance counselors to sign a contract agreeing to ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

Ingersoll v. Arlene's Flowers

Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers, is a floral artist and devout Christian who enjoys creating custom floral arrangements to celebrate her customers’ life events. In 2013 a long-time customer and friend asked Barronelle to do the flowers for his ...
Case Status:
Certiorari Denied
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
Washington Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Free Speech, Individual Freedom

Shurtleff v. City of Boston

The City of Boston allows community groups to hold flag-raising ceremonies and display flags of their choosing on one of the flagpoles near City Hall. After granting permits for nearly 300 different flag raisings, Boston issued its first permit denial in 2017 ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
United States Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Free Speech, Public Square

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District

Coach Kennedy, a former high school football coach, was at the Supreme Court to defend his right to kneel in brief, quiet prayer at midfield after games. Becket filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, arguing that religious expression is ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
United States Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Free Speech, Public Square

Little Sisters of the Poor v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Top 10 Case
Despite a 2016 victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, an Executive Order, and a new rule that protects the Little Sisters of the Poor and other non-profit religious groups from the unconstitutional HHS mandate, the Little Sisters are still in ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
United States Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Dr. A v. Hochul

The State of New York has enacted a COVID vaccine mandate that has banished government employees and private healthcare workers with religious objections to the vaccine from working in their respected fields in New York and stripped them of their ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
United States Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

In 1973, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in the landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade, reaching beyond the text of the Constitution to establish a right to abortion. Ever since, abortion advocates have waged proxy wars to expose and punish ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
United States Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Public Square

Carson v. Makin

This is the United States Supreme Court’s latest look at the religious freedom issues surrounding school choice. The state of Maine offers tuition assistance to students in rural areas who choose to attend private schools over commuting to far-away ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
United States Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Education

Hedican v. Walmart

Many Americans from many different religious traditions observe holy days such as Christmas or Yom Kippur, including, for some, a weekly Sabbath day. For Seventh-day Adventists, the Sabbath is observed from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, a time when they ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
United States Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

McAllen Grace Brethren Church v. Jewell

Pastor Robert Soto is an award-winning feather dancer and Lipan Apache religious leader who was threatened with criminal fines and imprisonment for using eagle feathers in his religious worship. After an undercover federal agent raided his traditional religious ceremony and ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom, Religious Communities

Ramirez v. Collier

Over millennia of human history and across many faith traditions, those condemned to death have been accompanied to their deaths by members of the clergy, who have prayed over them during their executions. And for 300 years, the American legal tradition ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
U.S. Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

303 Creative v. Elenis

Lorie Smith started her website and graphic design business, 303 Creative, to work on projects consistent with her religious beliefs. But when a Colorado law prevented her from expanding her services to include wedding websites—since she can’t in good ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
U.S. Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):

Pavez vs. Chile

La legislación internacional sobre derechos humanos protege los derechos de las iglesias y organizaciones religiosas de decidir quién enseña sus creencias a la siguiente generación. A diferencia de los Estados Unidos, muchas escuelas gubernamentales en Chile ...
Case Status:
Lost
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

Pavez v. Chile

International human rights law protects the rights of churches and religious organizations to decide who teaches their beliefs to the next generation. Unlike in the United States, many government schools in Chile offer religion classes taught by educators who are ...
Case Status:
Lost
Becket Role:
Amicus
Deciding Court:
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

Billard v. Diocese of Charlotte

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte operates Catholic schools to accomplish a religious mission – not only to provide a robust academic education, but to help form students in the Catholic faith. To accomplish that mission, the Diocese asks all its ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

Chahal v. Seamands

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...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Practice Area(s):
Public Square, Religious Communities

St. Vincent Catholic Charities v. Ingham County Board of Commissioners

For more than 40 years, St. Vincent Catholic Charities has been resettling refugee adults and families in the Lansing, Michigan area. St. Vincent helps refugees obtain housing, get needed medical care, find jobs, and build new lives safe from the dangers ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
Western District of Michigan
Practice Area(s):
Free Speech, Public Square, Religious Communities

Chung v. Washington Interscholastic Activities Association

Joelle and Joseph Chung are siblings, avid high school tennis players, and active members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in their hometown, Chehalis, Washington. Joelle was a top player on her high-school tennis team, but in her senior year, she ...
Case Status:
Dismissed
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Buck v. Gordon

Thousands of foster children nationwide are waiting for their forever family, but there are not enough families willing to foster and adopt. In Michigan, no one addresses this crisis more effectively than faith-based adoption agencies like St. Vincent Catholic Charities. ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Free Speech, Individual Freedom, Public Square

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston v. HHS

Over 25,000 children are waiting for a forever family in the Texas foster care system. Motivated by their Catholic faith, the people of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston care for the poor, the widowed, and the immigrant. The Archdiocese would like to ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom, Public Square

Young Israel of Tampa v. Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority

In October 2020, Young Israel of Tampa, an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, submitted an ad to the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) seeking to advertise its annual celebration of Chanukah. HART rejected the ad because it was religious—and it has ...
Case Status:
Active
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Practice Area(s):
Free Speech, Public Square

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington v. Bowser

During the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has been a safe haven to its more than 655,000 parishioners. When the pandemic struck, Catholic Charities scaled back its services and ramped up its charitable efforts, serving more than ...
Case Status:
Dismissed
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Practice Area(s):
Individual Freedom

Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish

St. Andrew the Apostle Parish has been serving the city of Chicago for over 120 years. As music director at St. Andrew, Sandor Demkovich was responsible for planning liturgies, choosing the music for Masses and other important sacraments, and playing the ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities

Diocese of Lubbock v. Jesus Guerrero

In response to calls from Pope Francis for greater transparency, Roman Catholic dioceses around the world have published lists of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing a “minor,” which is defined by Catholic canon law to include adults lacking full ...
Case Status:
Won
Becket Role:
Counsel
Deciding Court:
Texas State Supreme Court
Practice Area(s):
Religious Communities
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