Becket at the Supreme Court

Becket has an unparalleled, undefeated record at the U.S. Supreme Court. In the last ten years, Becket has won eight Supreme Court cases. Five of those victories were unanimous. Almost half of all Supreme Court victories for religious freedom over the last decade were Becket cases.  

Beyond the headlines, Becket is also one of the few law firms in the country that have won emergency relief from the Supreme Court—and it has done so multiple times, staving off multimillion–dollar fines for the Little Sisters of the Poor, protecting religious colleges from illegal government regulations, and helping Jewish synagogues win the first-ever Supreme Court victory against discriminatory COVID-19 bans on religious worship. 

Becket’s Supreme Court expertise is broad and deep, with decades of experience on cutting-edge religious liberty cases, training at top-tier law firms and in academia, numerous clerkships (including at the Supreme Court), and three attorneys who have personally provided winning oral arguments in the Supreme Court.  

Mark Rienzi
McCullen v. Coakley

Eric Rassbach
Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrissey-Berru

Lori Windham
Fulton v. City of Philadelphia

Setting good precedent for religious liberty at the Supreme Court is the most powerful way to protect our most fundamental freedom. That’s why we employ a focused strategy to bring the most salient issues and the strongest arguments to the nation’s highest court. 

OUR CASES & BRIEFS 

• Merits-stage cases where Becket served as counsel to a party
  • Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021) 
  • Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James Catholic School v. Biel (2020) 
  • Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania (2020)
  • Zubik v. Burwell (Little Sisters of the Poor) (2016), East Texas Baptist University  v. Azar (Consolidated with Zubik), and Reaching Souls International and GuideStone v. Azar (2015)
  • Holt v. Hobbs (2015)
  • McCullen v. Coakley (2014)
  • Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014)
  • Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC (2012)
• Merits-stage cases where the Court relied on Becket’s friend-of-the-court brief 
  • Ramirez v. Collier (2022)
  • Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta (2021)
  • Harvest Rock Church v Newsom and South Bay Pentecostal v. Newsom (2021)
  • Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020)
  • American Legion v. American Humanist Association (2019)
  • Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (2017) 
  • Heffernan v. City of Paterson (2016)
  • Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. (2015)
  • Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
  • Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015)
  • Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014) 
  • Sossamon v. Texas (2011)
  • Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn (2011) 
  • Salazar v. Buono (2010) 
  • Pleasant Grove v. Summum (2009) 
  • Kelo v. City of New London (2005) 
  • Locke v. Davey (2004) 
  • Mitchell v. Helms (2000) 
• Merits-stage cases where Becket filed an amicus brief and the Court decided our way
  • Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021)
  • Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)
  • Lee v. Tam (2017) 
  • Gloucester County School Board v. G.G. (2017)
  • Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton (2017)
  • EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. (2014) 
  • Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International (2012)
  • Negusie v. Mukasey (2008) 
  • Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita (2005) 
  • Cutter v. Wilkinson (2004) 
  • Van Orden v. Perry (2004)
  • Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2003)
  • Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2001) 
  • Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2000) 
  • Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (1999)
  • Agostini v. Felton (1996) 
• Cert-stage petitions for a writ of certiorari filed by Becket where the Court denied cert
  • Ricks v. Idaho Board of Contractors (2021)
  • Dalberiste v. GLE Associates (2021) 
  • Patterson v. Walgreens (2019)
  • Stormans v. Wiesman (2015)
  • Big Sky Colony v. Montana Dep’t. of Labor and Industry (2013)
  • Elmbrook School District v. Doe (2013)
  • The Lighthouse Institute for Evangelism, Inc. v. The City of Long Branch (2007)
  • Living Water Church of God v. Charter Township of Meridian (2007) 
  • Adkins v. Kaspar (2004) 
• Cert-stage briefs in opposition filed by Becket 
  • Ganulin v. U.S. (2000) 
• Cert-stage briefs for respondents in support of cert filed by Becket 
  • Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (2013)
• Cert-stage amicus briefs filed by Becket in support of certiorari 
  • Michigan Catholic Conference v. Burwell (2014) 
  • University of Notre Dame v. Burwell (2014)
  • Bronx Household of Faith v. The Board of Education of the City of New York (2014) 
  • Ilagan v. Ungacta (2012) 
  • The Falls Church v. The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (2013) 
  • Timberridge Presbyterian Church v. Presbytery of Greater Atlanta (2011) 
  • Gauss v. The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (2011) 
• Emergency Petitions before the Supreme Court 
  • Agudath Israel v. Cuomo (2020)