In American society, which is guided by Judeo-Christian principles, free speech and religious freedom are protected against censorship or punishment. Indeed, there is no room under the United States Constitution for a more restrictive view. Furthermore, government entities, including law enforcement agencies, have a constitutional duty not to effectuate a heckler’s veto, nor may they join a violent mob intent on suppressing speech. Instead, officials must take reasonable action to protect persons exercising their free speech rights.

STATUS: On May 14, 2013, AFLC filed a notice of appeal in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals after a lower court judge dismissed the case. 

On April 23, 2013, AFLC filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and its Chief of Police for prohibiting a pro-life advocate from displaying a “Free Ultrasound” sign in his vehicle, which he legally parks on the public street outside of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Ann Arbor.  AFLC filed the lawsuit on behalf of Paul Dobrowolski, who for many years has engaged in peaceful and non-obstructive anti-abortion protests on the public sidewalks and streets outside of the local Planned Parenthood. 

Joelle Silver is a high school science teacher in the Cheektowaga Central School District.  As a devout Christian, Silver’s faith defines who she is as a person, and it guides all aspects of her life, including her job as a public school teacher. On June 22, 2012, Silver received a “counseling letter” from School District officials, which forced her to cleanse her classroom, her speech, and her actions of anything religious in nature.  As a result of the School District’s actions, AFLC filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York on behalf of Silver, challenging the School District’s actions, which deprived and continue to deprive Silver of her fundamental constitutional rights.

STATUS: AFLC filed its memorandum of law in opposition to the School District's motion to dismiss the lawsuit on April 2, 2013.

On February 15, 2012, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC), along with co-counsel and civil rights attorney Charles S. LiMandri, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, challenging the constitutionality of the Obama administration’s “contraception” mandate.  The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Priests for Life, a national, Catholic, pro-life organization based in New York.

STATUS:  On Friday, April 12, 2013, a New York federal judge dismissed Priests for Life's complaint "without prejudice" because the government claimed that new implementing regulations would not be finalized until August 1, 2013.  Even though these new regulations will not remedy the constitutional and statutory defects of the HHS mandate, the judge decided not to hold the case in abeyance pending the finalized regulations.  Consequently, Priests for Life will need to refile its complaint in August, which AFLC will do on behalf of Priests for Life.  Meanwhile, the lawsuit successfully prevented the government from enforcing the mandate against Priests for Life in 2013.  In short, the fight is far from over!

Captain Paul Fields has served honorably as a police officer on the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma Police Department for more than 17 years.  In early 2011, he was ordered to attend and to have the officers under his command attend a “Law Enforcement Appreciation Day” hosted by the Islamic Society of Tulsa.  The event was scheduled for Friday, March 4, 2011—Friday is the “holy day” or “Sabbath” for Islam.  The event involved “Mosque tours,” meeting “Local Muslims & Leadership,” watching the “weekly congregational prayer service,” and receiving presentations on Islamic “beliefs.”  When Captain Fields, a Christian, objected to the order on religious grounds, he was immediately stripped of his command, transferred to another division, and subjected to an internal investigation.  Following the investigation, he was suspended without pay for two weeks and his punitive transfer was made permanent.

STATUS: AFLC filed its reply brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on May 2, 2013.

AFLC Co-Founders and Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise, on behalf of the Freedom Defense Initiative (FDI), Pamela Geller, and Robert Spencer, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against SMART for refusing to display FDI's religious freedom message on buses that run in Detroit in violation of the First Amendment.

STATUS: As of February 2013, discovery has commenced.

The American Freedom Law Center is representing Christian missionaries who were jailed for preaching the Gospel to Muslims at an Arab festival in Dearborn, Michigan in 2010.  This case is a prime example of the "civilization jihad" being waged within our borders.

STATUS: This case is currently in the discovery phase.

According to the facts as carefully laid out in court filings, CAIR has engaged in a massive criminal fraud in which literally hundreds of CAIR clients have been victimized and because of the CAIR cover-up they still don’t realize it. The fact that CAIR has victimized Muslims and non-Muslims alike demonstrates that CAIR is only looking out for CAIR and its ongoing effort to bilk donors out of millions of dollars of charitable donations thinking they are supporting a legitimate organization.

Crystal Dixon, a devout Christian and an African American, was the Associate Vice President for Human Resources at the University of Toledo.  In 2008, the Toledo Free Press ran an op-ed comparing the so-called struggles of homosexuals with the civil rights struggles of African Americans.  Ms. Dixon objected to the comparison and wrote her own, personal opinion piece in response.  For expressing her religious beliefs in the newspaper, she was fired.  

STATUS: On February 27, 2013, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied AFLC's petition for a rehearing en banc (full court).  AFLC now has 90 days to file its petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the high court to review this important First Amendment case.