RLENT
Veteran Expediter
The ACLU of Louisiana (2006) reached a favorable settlement after filing a federal lawsuit against the Department of Corrections on behalf of an inmate who was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). The inmate, Norman Sanders, was denied access to religious services and religious texts, including The Book of Mormon.
http://www.laaclu.org/News/2005/Aug26SandersvCain.htm
The ACLU of Louisiana (2006) prevailed in its lawsuit defending the right of a Christian man to exercise his religious and speech rights by protesting against homosexuality in front of a Wal-Mart store with a sign that read: "Christians: Wal-Mart Supports Gay Marriage and Gay Lifestyles. Don't Shop There."
http://www.laaclu.org/News/2006/Crayton_111306.htm
ACLU of Louisiana Files Lawsuit to Protect Free Speech Rights of Christian Protestor | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Nevada (2006) defended the free-exercise and free-speech rights of evangelical Christians to preach on the sidewalks of Las Vegas. When the county government refused to change its unconstitutional policy, the ACLU filed suit in federal court.
Oops! Page Not Found.
The ACLU of Southern California (2006) filed suit on behalf of a Vietnamese Buddhist Temple (Quan Am Temple) against the City of Garden Grove and its officials for violating the congregation's First Amendment rights to free religious exercise and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the city's zoning codes, as well as the city's application of the zoning codes to Quan Am Temple. A federal judge issued a preliminary ruling requiring the city to allow "the Temple, the Abbot, and his congregation [to] peaceably practice their Buddhist faith at the Chapwood Property immediately."
http://www.aclu-sc.org/news_stories/view/102046/
The ACLU of Massachusetts (2006) helped a Rastafarian baggage screener wear his hair in accordance with his religion. The screener had been employed for three years by the Logan Airport for the Transportation Security Administration. The ACLU filed a complaint before the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission defending his religious rights.
The ACLU of Michigan (2006) called the U.S. attorney on behalf of a Muslim woman who was being pressured to have her photograph taken without her headscarf by the FBI. While she was willing to be photographed, it would have been a violation of her faith for men who were not members of her family to see her without her religious head covering. The U.S. attorney directed the FBI to accommodate the woman's religion.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (2006) filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan defending the right of people wearing religious head coverings not to have them removed for identity photos. The case was brought against a Coast Guard regulation denying merchant marine licenses to those who would not remove the coverings for photographs.
NYCLU Challenges Coast Guard Ban on Religious Head Coverings in License Photographs | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Virginia (2006) filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting an inmate's allegation that the Virginia Department of Corrections violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by refusing to provide him with meals consistent with his religious beliefs.
http://www.acluva.org/newsreleases2006/Jun12.html
The ACLU of Nebraska (2006) brought a free-exercise claim on behalf of followers of the Church of Scientology, who alleged that Nebraska's mandatory testing of newborn infants for metabolic diseases violated their religious liberty by preventing them, as new parents, from exercising their belief that a newborn should be kept quiet and serene during the first days of life.
The ACLU of Michigan (2005) file a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a Sikh student at Wayne State University, who was charged with violating a Detroit knife ordinance for carrying a ceremonial sword called a Kirpan as required by his faith.
http://www.unitedsikhs.org/docs/kirpan_cases_cited.pdf
The ACLU of Florida (2005) represented Christian and Jewish cemetery plot owners in a challenge to the city of Boca Raton's restrictions prohibiting vertical grave markers, memorials, monuments, and other structures, including Christian crosses and Stars of David.
ACLU Defends Florida Families Fighting Removal Of Religious Symbols from Cemetery | American Civil Liberties Union
The Iowa Civil Liberties Union (2005) defended the rights of two teenage girls who were threatened with punishment by school officials after seeking to wear, for religious reasons, anti-abortion t-shirts to school.
Iowa Civil Liberties Union Defends Right of Students to Wear Anti-Abortion T-Shirts | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of New Mexico (2005) helped release a street preacher who had been incarcerated in Roosevelt County jail for 109 days. The case was brought to the ACLU by the preacher's wife and was supported by the American Family Association.
ACLU Helps Free New Mexico Street Preacher From Prison | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Michigan (2005) filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Joseph Hanas, a Roman Catholic who was punished for not completing a drug rehabilitation program run by a Pentecostal group whose religious beliefs he did not share. Part of the program required reading the Bible for seven hours a day, proclaiming one's salvation at the altar, and being tested on Pentecostal principles. The staff confiscated Mr. Hanas's rosary beads and told him Catholicism was witchcraft.
ACLU of Michigan Defends Catholic Man Coerced to Convert to Pentecostal Faith in Drug Rehab Program | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Southern California (2005) defended an evangelical scholar who monitored the fundraising practices of several ministries and their leaders after a defamation suit was brought against him in order to silence him.
The ACLU of Michigan (2005) wrote a letter on behalf of a small Pentecostal church which was issued an eviction notice by the city of Ypsilanti. Under the city's zoning ordinance, secular groups are permitted to meet downtown but religious groups must meet outside the downtown area. After the ACLU's letter, the city reversed its position, allowing the church to remain.
The ACLU of Pennsylvania (2004-2005) won two cases on behalf of predominantly African-American churches that were denied permits to worship in churches previously occupied by white congregations. In 2005, the ACLU of Pennsylvania settled a case against Turtle Creek Borough brought on behalf of the Ekklesia Church. After the ACLU's advocacy, the Borough of West Mifflin granted Second Baptist Church of Homestead an occupancy permit in 2002 and, in 2004, agreed to pay it damages and compensate it for its losses.
ACLU of PA Files Discrimination Lawsuit Over Denial of Zoning Permit for African American Baptist Church | American Civil Liberties Union
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The New York Civil Liberties Union (2005) filed a federal lawsuit to stop the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing a policy of detaining, interrogating, fingerprinting, and photographing American citizens at the border solely because they attended Islamic conferences.
Tabbaa v. Chertoff (Challenging DHS policy or practice of detaining, interrogating Americans returning from Islamic conference) | New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) - American Civil Liberties Union of New York State
The ACLU of Michigan (2005) came to the defense of a Muslim 7th-grader who was told that she could not swim in clothing that covered her body in accordance with her faith. After negotiations with the ACLU, the county adopted a model policy that does not deny access to individuals because of their religious garb.
http://www.aclu.org/files/pdfs/womensrights/lettertoroberttetenswashtenawcounty.pdf
The ACLU of Washington (2005) represented The Islamic Education Center of Seattle, a small Muslim nonprofit organization that holds prayer services, education programs, and cultural activities, after the city of Mountlake Terrace denied the Center a conditional land use permit. The City denied the Center permission to operate even though it granted an allowance to a Christian church next door to the Center. With the aid of the ACLU, the Center eventually received its permit from the City.
http://www.aclu-wa.org/detail.cfm?id=294
The ACLU of New Jersey (2005) settled a lawsuit with the New Jersey Department of Corrections on behalf of Patrick Pantusco, an inmate who was denied religious books and other items while in prison. Although it permitted persons of other religions to obtain materials for their religious practices, it denied Mr. Pantusco's requests because it did not recognize Wicca as a legitimate religion. In the settlement, the state agreed to permit Mr. Pantusco access to all requested items and pay damages.
http://www.aclu-nj.org/legal/closedcasearchive/pantuscovmoore.htm
The ACLU of Northern California (2005) filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging restrictions on an asylum seeker's right to wear a religious head covering. The plaintiff, Harpal Singh Cheema, a devout Sikh, had been imprisoned since 1997, while awaiting a decision on his asylum application. The Sikh faith requires men to cover their heads at all times, but Yuba County jail authorities would not allow Mr. Cheema to leave his bed with his head covered.
ACLU Files Lawsuit to Protect Religious Liberty of Imprisoned Asylum Seeker | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Wisconsin (2005) filed suit on behalf of a Muslim woman who had been required to remove her headscarf in front of male prison guards in order to visit her husband at the Columbia Correctional Institution. Ms. Rhouni offered to be searched by a female guard, but the prison would not accommodate her request and respect her religious belief that her head should not be uncovered in the presence of unrelated males.
Muslim Woman Sues Prison for Forcing Her to Remove Headscarf in Front of Male Guards and Prisoners | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Pennsylvania (2005) sued on behalf of a devout Muslim firefighter, Curtis DeVeaux, who was suspended for refusing, for religious reasons, to shave his beard as required by city regulations.
Pennsylvania Judge Upholds Muslim Firefighter's Religious Liberty in ACLU Lawsuit | American Civil Liberties Union
In response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Colorado (2005), the Department of Corrections agreed to resume providing kosher meals to Timothy Sheline, an Orthodox Jewish inmate, whose kosher diet was revoked for one year as punishment for allegedly violating a dining hall rule.
Colorado Agrees to Restore Jewish Prisoner's Kosher Diet in Response to ACLU Lawsuit | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Nebraska (2005) settled a lawsuit against the city of Omaha on behalf of Lubna Hussein, a practicing Muslim woman who wore a headscarf and long sleeves for religious reasons. Hussein was twice denied entry to Deer Ridge pool property to watch her children swim because she refused to wear a swimsuit. The city changed its policy to allow for medical and religious exceptions.
City of Omaha and ACLU of Nebraska Announce Settlement in Lawsuit Over Muslim Woman Barred from Public Pool | American Civil Liberties Union
ACLU Files Swim Suit - Channel 6 News - The People You Know. The News You Trust.
The ACLU of Southern California (2005) represented a Native American inmate who refused, for religious reasons, to cut his hair. Prison officials punished the inmate by revoking his visitation rights and extending his time in prison. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the prison ban on long hair violated the prisoner's religious freedom and ordered the prisoner released immediately.
ACLU of Southern California Wins Release for Native American Inmate Who Refused on Religious Grounds to Cut His Hair | American Civil Liberties Union
ACLU Files Religious Liberty Lawsuit on Behalf of Native American Who Refuses to Cut Hair | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU (2005) filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a group of Ohio prisoners who were denied religious items and literature, as well as time to worship, in violation of federal law. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the prisoners, upholding the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA).
ACLU Applauds Supreme Court Ruling Protecting Religious Liberty in Prisons | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Southern California (2005) supported Jewish residents of Orange County after a special election was scheduled on the first day of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. The ACLU called on the county to make accommodations for Jewish residents who wished to vote early in the election.
The ACLU of Virginia (2005) filed suit on behalf of Cynthia Simpson, a Wiccan woman whom county leaders refused to include in a list of religious leaders invited to give invocations at meetings of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors. The Board's reason for refusing to add her to the list was that "Chesterfield's non-sectarian invocations are traditionally made to a divinity that is consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition."
Simpson v. Chesterfield County
The ACLU of Louisiana (2005) successfully represented a Rastafarian mother and her fourth grade son before the Lafayette Parish School Board. The Board seized the child's
books and suspended him for having dreadlocks. The nine-year-old child was allowed to return to school.
http://www.laaclu.org/News/2005/Dec0705DreadlocksRapides.htm
http://www.laaclu.org/News/2005/Aug26SandersvCain.htm
The ACLU of Louisiana (2006) prevailed in its lawsuit defending the right of a Christian man to exercise his religious and speech rights by protesting against homosexuality in front of a Wal-Mart store with a sign that read: "Christians: Wal-Mart Supports Gay Marriage and Gay Lifestyles. Don't Shop There."
http://www.laaclu.org/News/2006/Crayton_111306.htm
ACLU of Louisiana Files Lawsuit to Protect Free Speech Rights of Christian Protestor | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Nevada (2006) defended the free-exercise and free-speech rights of evangelical Christians to preach on the sidewalks of Las Vegas. When the county government refused to change its unconstitutional policy, the ACLU filed suit in federal court.
Oops! Page Not Found.
The ACLU of Southern California (2006) filed suit on behalf of a Vietnamese Buddhist Temple (Quan Am Temple) against the City of Garden Grove and its officials for violating the congregation's First Amendment rights to free religious exercise and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the city's zoning codes, as well as the city's application of the zoning codes to Quan Am Temple. A federal judge issued a preliminary ruling requiring the city to allow "the Temple, the Abbot, and his congregation [to] peaceably practice their Buddhist faith at the Chapwood Property immediately."
http://www.aclu-sc.org/news_stories/view/102046/
The ACLU of Massachusetts (2006) helped a Rastafarian baggage screener wear his hair in accordance with his religion. The screener had been employed for three years by the Logan Airport for the Transportation Security Administration. The ACLU filed a complaint before the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission defending his religious rights.
The ACLU of Michigan (2006) called the U.S. attorney on behalf of a Muslim woman who was being pressured to have her photograph taken without her headscarf by the FBI. While she was willing to be photographed, it would have been a violation of her faith for men who were not members of her family to see her without her religious head covering. The U.S. attorney directed the FBI to accommodate the woman's religion.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (2006) filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan defending the right of people wearing religious head coverings not to have them removed for identity photos. The case was brought against a Coast Guard regulation denying merchant marine licenses to those who would not remove the coverings for photographs.
NYCLU Challenges Coast Guard Ban on Religious Head Coverings in License Photographs | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Virginia (2006) filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting an inmate's allegation that the Virginia Department of Corrections violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by refusing to provide him with meals consistent with his religious beliefs.
http://www.acluva.org/newsreleases2006/Jun12.html
The ACLU of Nebraska (2006) brought a free-exercise claim on behalf of followers of the Church of Scientology, who alleged that Nebraska's mandatory testing of newborn infants for metabolic diseases violated their religious liberty by preventing them, as new parents, from exercising their belief that a newborn should be kept quiet and serene during the first days of life.
The ACLU of Michigan (2005) file a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a Sikh student at Wayne State University, who was charged with violating a Detroit knife ordinance for carrying a ceremonial sword called a Kirpan as required by his faith.
http://www.unitedsikhs.org/docs/kirpan_cases_cited.pdf
The ACLU of Florida (2005) represented Christian and Jewish cemetery plot owners in a challenge to the city of Boca Raton's restrictions prohibiting vertical grave markers, memorials, monuments, and other structures, including Christian crosses and Stars of David.
ACLU Defends Florida Families Fighting Removal Of Religious Symbols from Cemetery | American Civil Liberties Union
The Iowa Civil Liberties Union (2005) defended the rights of two teenage girls who were threatened with punishment by school officials after seeking to wear, for religious reasons, anti-abortion t-shirts to school.
Iowa Civil Liberties Union Defends Right of Students to Wear Anti-Abortion T-Shirts | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of New Mexico (2005) helped release a street preacher who had been incarcerated in Roosevelt County jail for 109 days. The case was brought to the ACLU by the preacher's wife and was supported by the American Family Association.
ACLU Helps Free New Mexico Street Preacher From Prison | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Michigan (2005) filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Joseph Hanas, a Roman Catholic who was punished for not completing a drug rehabilitation program run by a Pentecostal group whose religious beliefs he did not share. Part of the program required reading the Bible for seven hours a day, proclaiming one's salvation at the altar, and being tested on Pentecostal principles. The staff confiscated Mr. Hanas's rosary beads and told him Catholicism was witchcraft.
ACLU of Michigan Defends Catholic Man Coerced to Convert to Pentecostal Faith in Drug Rehab Program | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Southern California (2005) defended an evangelical scholar who monitored the fundraising practices of several ministries and their leaders after a defamation suit was brought against him in order to silence him.
The ACLU of Michigan (2005) wrote a letter on behalf of a small Pentecostal church which was issued an eviction notice by the city of Ypsilanti. Under the city's zoning ordinance, secular groups are permitted to meet downtown but religious groups must meet outside the downtown area. After the ACLU's letter, the city reversed its position, allowing the church to remain.
The ACLU of Pennsylvania (2004-2005) won two cases on behalf of predominantly African-American churches that were denied permits to worship in churches previously occupied by white congregations. In 2005, the ACLU of Pennsylvania settled a case against Turtle Creek Borough brought on behalf of the Ekklesia Church. After the ACLU's advocacy, the Borough of West Mifflin granted Second Baptist Church of Homestead an occupancy permit in 2002 and, in 2004, agreed to pay it damages and compensate it for its losses.
ACLU of PA Files Discrimination Lawsuit Over Denial of Zoning Permit for African American Baptist Church | American Civil Liberties Union
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The New York Civil Liberties Union (2005) filed a federal lawsuit to stop the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing a policy of detaining, interrogating, fingerprinting, and photographing American citizens at the border solely because they attended Islamic conferences.
Tabbaa v. Chertoff (Challenging DHS policy or practice of detaining, interrogating Americans returning from Islamic conference) | New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) - American Civil Liberties Union of New York State
The ACLU of Michigan (2005) came to the defense of a Muslim 7th-grader who was told that she could not swim in clothing that covered her body in accordance with her faith. After negotiations with the ACLU, the county adopted a model policy that does not deny access to individuals because of their religious garb.
http://www.aclu.org/files/pdfs/womensrights/lettertoroberttetenswashtenawcounty.pdf
The ACLU of Washington (2005) represented The Islamic Education Center of Seattle, a small Muslim nonprofit organization that holds prayer services, education programs, and cultural activities, after the city of Mountlake Terrace denied the Center a conditional land use permit. The City denied the Center permission to operate even though it granted an allowance to a Christian church next door to the Center. With the aid of the ACLU, the Center eventually received its permit from the City.
http://www.aclu-wa.org/detail.cfm?id=294
The ACLU of New Jersey (2005) settled a lawsuit with the New Jersey Department of Corrections on behalf of Patrick Pantusco, an inmate who was denied religious books and other items while in prison. Although it permitted persons of other religions to obtain materials for their religious practices, it denied Mr. Pantusco's requests because it did not recognize Wicca as a legitimate religion. In the settlement, the state agreed to permit Mr. Pantusco access to all requested items and pay damages.
http://www.aclu-nj.org/legal/closedcasearchive/pantuscovmoore.htm
The ACLU of Northern California (2005) filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging restrictions on an asylum seeker's right to wear a religious head covering. The plaintiff, Harpal Singh Cheema, a devout Sikh, had been imprisoned since 1997, while awaiting a decision on his asylum application. The Sikh faith requires men to cover their heads at all times, but Yuba County jail authorities would not allow Mr. Cheema to leave his bed with his head covered.
ACLU Files Lawsuit to Protect Religious Liberty of Imprisoned Asylum Seeker | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Wisconsin (2005) filed suit on behalf of a Muslim woman who had been required to remove her headscarf in front of male prison guards in order to visit her husband at the Columbia Correctional Institution. Ms. Rhouni offered to be searched by a female guard, but the prison would not accommodate her request and respect her religious belief that her head should not be uncovered in the presence of unrelated males.
Muslim Woman Sues Prison for Forcing Her to Remove Headscarf in Front of Male Guards and Prisoners | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Pennsylvania (2005) sued on behalf of a devout Muslim firefighter, Curtis DeVeaux, who was suspended for refusing, for religious reasons, to shave his beard as required by city regulations.
Pennsylvania Judge Upholds Muslim Firefighter's Religious Liberty in ACLU Lawsuit | American Civil Liberties Union
In response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Colorado (2005), the Department of Corrections agreed to resume providing kosher meals to Timothy Sheline, an Orthodox Jewish inmate, whose kosher diet was revoked for one year as punishment for allegedly violating a dining hall rule.
Colorado Agrees to Restore Jewish Prisoner's Kosher Diet in Response to ACLU Lawsuit | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Nebraska (2005) settled a lawsuit against the city of Omaha on behalf of Lubna Hussein, a practicing Muslim woman who wore a headscarf and long sleeves for religious reasons. Hussein was twice denied entry to Deer Ridge pool property to watch her children swim because she refused to wear a swimsuit. The city changed its policy to allow for medical and religious exceptions.
City of Omaha and ACLU of Nebraska Announce Settlement in Lawsuit Over Muslim Woman Barred from Public Pool | American Civil Liberties Union
ACLU Files Swim Suit - Channel 6 News - The People You Know. The News You Trust.
The ACLU of Southern California (2005) represented a Native American inmate who refused, for religious reasons, to cut his hair. Prison officials punished the inmate by revoking his visitation rights and extending his time in prison. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the prison ban on long hair violated the prisoner's religious freedom and ordered the prisoner released immediately.
ACLU of Southern California Wins Release for Native American Inmate Who Refused on Religious Grounds to Cut His Hair | American Civil Liberties Union
ACLU Files Religious Liberty Lawsuit on Behalf of Native American Who Refuses to Cut Hair | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU (2005) filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a group of Ohio prisoners who were denied religious items and literature, as well as time to worship, in violation of federal law. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the prisoners, upholding the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA).
ACLU Applauds Supreme Court Ruling Protecting Religious Liberty in Prisons | American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU of Southern California (2005) supported Jewish residents of Orange County after a special election was scheduled on the first day of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. The ACLU called on the county to make accommodations for Jewish residents who wished to vote early in the election.
The ACLU of Virginia (2005) filed suit on behalf of Cynthia Simpson, a Wiccan woman whom county leaders refused to include in a list of religious leaders invited to give invocations at meetings of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors. The Board's reason for refusing to add her to the list was that "Chesterfield's non-sectarian invocations are traditionally made to a divinity that is consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition."
Simpson v. Chesterfield County
The ACLU of Louisiana (2005) successfully represented a Rastafarian mother and her fourth grade son before the Lafayette Parish School Board. The Board seized the child's
books and suspended him for having dreadlocks. The nine-year-old child was allowed to return to school.
http://www.laaclu.org/News/2005/Dec0705DreadlocksRapides.htm
