On April 3, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a lengthy memorandum of law in opposition to a Buffalo-area school district’s motion to dismiss AFLC’s federal civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of Joelle Silver, a Christian public school teacher who was forced by school officials to censor her personal speech and remove all religious content from her classroom under threat of being fired.  

On March 11, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed its opening brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in defense of Captain Paul Fields, a Tulsa, Oklahoma police officer who was summarily punished for refusing to attend and refusing to assign officers under his command who shared his religious beliefs to attend a mandated Islamic proselytizing event held at a local mosque.  The event included mosque tours, meeting local Muslims and leadership, watching the weekly prayer service, and receiving presentations on Islamic beliefs.  

On March 7, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a reply brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of its petition for a writ of certiorari, which asks the high court to review an appellate court decision which held that several Michigan pastors and a family values advocate lacked standing to challenge the constitutionality of the controversial federal “Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.”  AFLC’s brief is in response to the Solicitor General’s opposition to the petition, which was filed on February 4, 2013.  The Supreme Court Justices are scheduled to hold a conference on March 15, 2013, to determine whether to grant the petition.  

On February 19, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, requesting that the court issue an order preventing the Wayne County Sheriff and his deputies from restricting a group of Christian evangelists from displaying banners and signs with Christian messages on the public sidewalks during the 2013 Arab Festival to be held in Dearborn, Michigan.