On April 8, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a notice of appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in response to the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s (TTAB) affirmance of the denial of the “Stop Islamisation of America” or “SIOA” trademark application, which was sought by anti-sharia advocates Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.  

Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, executive directors of the human rights organization, the Freedom Defense Initiative (FDI), applied to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to register the trademark “Stop the Islamisation of America” to foster and provide an understanding of how to prevent sharia-based tyranny and Islamist terrorism.

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.