This morning, South Bay Pentecostal Church and its pastor, Bishop Arthur Hodges III, filed in the U.S. Supreme Court their reply brief to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s defense of his COVID-19 restrictions on religious services. Last week, South Bay Church and Bishop Hodges filed an emergency appeal to Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to block the church ban after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the…
This morning, Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund attorneys and co-counsel filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of South Bay United Pentecostal Church and its pastor, Bishop Arthur Hodges III, asking for an injunction to block California Governor Gavin Newsom from enforcing his ban on church services. The attorneys filed the motion hours after the Ninth Circuit denied South Bay Church’s request for an emergency injunction late…
South Bay Pentecostal Church and its pastor, Bishop Art Hodges III, filed a civil rights lawsuit on May 11 in San Diego federal court, challenging Governor Gavin Newsom’s series of stay-at-home orders that have banned religious services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the Complaint To stem the spread of the coronavirus, Newsom on March 19…
HHS Reminds Entities Not to Deny Medical Care based on “Stereotypes” and “Ruthless Utilitarianism” The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a bulletin warning healthcare providers receiving federal funding to “keep in mind their obligations” not to discriminate against elderly and disabled patients when prioritizing…
The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund (FCDF) sent a letter this afternoon to Poway Unified School District Superintendent Marian Kim Phelps, expressing concern about the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)—a designated terrorist organization—holding an event with anti-Semitic U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) at Westview High School’s Performing Arts Center. According to District officials, CAIR’s facility…
State bureaucrats refuse to issue a license to open a home for sex-trafficked girls because of the charity’s Catholic beliefs about sexual orientation and abortion. Children of the Immaculate Heart, a Catholic charity that cares for victims of human trafficking, filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order in state court today. The charity…
In a stunning victory for religious freedom, a proposed California state bill that would have forced Catholic priests to break the sacramental seal of confession was shelved one day before a critical legislative hearing. If passed, Senate Bill 360 would have required priests to report alleged instances of abuse or neglect of minors heard during…
The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund today sent a public records request to West New York School District, demanding the production of documents that could show whether the District is unlawfully promoting religion. Last month, Memorial High School hung a large banner beseeching “Allah” to “shower” students with “love and wisdom.” FCDF is also seeking…
The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday on behalf of Them Before Us, a children’s rights group, asking the Court to take the case of a biological father who was stripped of custody of his two children. A New York judge awarded custody of the…
School Officials Had Unwittingly Partaken with Local Mosque’s “Dawah Educational Awareness in the Public Schools” to Convert Schoolchildren to “Accept Islam with Allah’s guidance.” Two days after FCDF sent a “cease and desist letter” to the West New York School District, attorneys for the school district’s Board of Education notified FCDF on Friday that “the…
