Click to read the Foundation’s ObamaCare brief.

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, founder and President of the Foundation, said concerning the case,

“The Obama Healthcare Plan is simply unconstitutional, not only because it interferes with religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution, but also because it’s a clear violation of the 10^th Amendment.  Socialized medicine was never a power given to the federal government.  Probably the most shocking revelation of the whole ordeal was that Congress never understood the Bill before it was passed—and probably still does not.”

The Foundation argues that the Constitution should be interpreted as the Framers intended it, that the Framers established a federal government with limited, delegated powers, and that the Constitution gives the federal government no authority to require states to expand their Medicaid programs and require citizens to purchase medical insurance.  According to the Tenth Amendment, these powers are reserved to the states, or to the people.  And just as Congress cannot require the states to expand their Medicaid programs, Congress also cannot cut off states’ federal Medicaid funds if they refuse to do so.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in late March.  Over 5 hours are set aside for argument, more than for any other case in nearly half a century.

The Foundation for Moral Law, a national non-profit legal organization, is located in Montgomery, Alabama, and is dedicated to restoring the knowledge of God in law and government through litigation and education relating to moral issues and religious liberty cases.

UPDATE: The trial has been postponed until 10:00 AM tomorrow, February 14.

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA — The Foundation for Moral Law, a national pro-life, religious-liberties organization, will defend two Montgomery, Alabama, pro-life sidewalk counselors, Jeshua Screws and David Day, accused of trespass by a Montgomery abortion clinic for trying to avoid a sprinkler that the clinic uses to forcefully spray pro-life people off the public sidewalk with a sweeping 25-foot jet of water. A jury trial is scheduled for February 13, 2012, starting at 9:00 AM in Judge Tracey McCooey’s courtroom in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

Roy Moore, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and President of the Foundation for Moral Law, stated:

“The law is being abused to silence these men protesting the deprivation of the right to life, which is one of our unalienable rights given by God and recognized in the Declaration of Independence by our Founding Fathers.”

Ben DuPré, the Foundation attorney representing Screws and Day, said the abortion clinic cannot force pro-life advocates off the public sidewalk and then claim the pro-lifers are violating the law. “Montgomery’s abortion clinic does not have a right to wrongfully spray people off the sidewalk because they don’t like their message of saving life and finding hope in Jesus Christ, and then turn around and accuse them of trespass for avoiding the sprinkler.” Huntsville attorney Jason McCartha will also be helping to defend the pro-life counselors at trial.

DuPré noted that the sprinkler is not there to water the grass. “The abortion clinic staff routinely turn the sprinkler on and off in an attempt to hit pro-life advocates standing on the public sidewalk. They even pull this stunt in the middle of winter causing ice to form on the sidewalk and street–a clear safety and traffic hazard for drivers and pedestrians.”

As seen in the picture above, to avoid the abortion clinic’s jet of water, pedestrians and joggers frequently walk behind the sprinkler head and onto the clinic property and then return to the sidewalk to proceed. However, when Jeshua and David, trying to exercise freedom of speech and religion on public property, tried to avoid the water jet in the same manner as they had seen passersby frequently do, the abortion clinic owner had them arrested and is claiming they committed criminal trespass.

“This is not about trespass,” said DuPré, “It’s about an abortion clinic trying to protect its cash flow by intimidating, harassing, and silencing those peacefully urging women not to give the clinic hundreds of dollars to take an innocent life.”

The Foundation for Moral Law, a national non-profit legal organization, is located in Montgomery, Alabama, and is dedicated to restoring the knowledge of God in law and government through litigation and education relating to moral issues and religious liberty cases.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

May you have a joyous Christmas and a blessed New Year.

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:23

–Judge Roy Moore & Staff
Foundation for Moral Law

Click here to read the Foundation’s demand letter to the Town of Brighton Attorney William Moehle and Chief of Police Mark T. Henderson.

Judge Roy Moore, President of the Foundation for Moral Law and the former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, noted that the Brighton police should be upholding the law:

“Those who believe in abortion never cease to try to restrict any opposition to their anti-life agenda. The Brighton police should be upholding the law and the freedom of people to speak up for the God-given right to life rather than running interference for the abortionist.”

In the letter, the Foundation explains that Brighton police officers have been making unwarranted threats against Rev. Warren and Mr. Crawford for their lawful use of pro-life signs and amplification equipment outside the abortion clinic of Dr. Morris Wortman, at 2020 South Clinton Avenue in the Town of Brighton.  Additionally, as if to prove their anti-life bias, Brighton police in September ordered members of the pro-life prayer group Bound4Life Rochester to produce identifying information for simply praying silently on the public sidewalk outside the same clinic.

“Just as unborn children are targeted by the abortionist on the inside, Brighton police have made a habit of targeting pro-life ministry on the public streets outside the abortion mill,” said Foundation attorney Ben DuPré, who along with local New York attorney Kevin Johnson of Klafehn & Heise PLLC, signed the demand letter.  “However much Dr. Wortman and officials of Brighton may dislike Rescue Rochester’s and Bound4Life’s message or even mere presence, the Constitution does not permit the force of law to be used to harass and intimidate pro-life ministry in Brighton.”

Reverend Michael Warren of Rescue Rochester stated, “It is tragic that our judicial and law enforcement institutions have been so blinded by the bloodguilt of over 50 million children killed by abortion that they are determined to silence a ministry that offers the one safe choice available to abortion minded women. It’s unfortunate that The Brighton Police Department finds itself co-opted by the pro-abortion political machine. By the grace of God we will continue to be a voice for the voiceless at Rochester area abortion mills.”

The letter concluded by demanding from the Town of Brighton written assurances by November 21, 2011, that pro-life speakers will be allowed to freely engage in the expression of their protected speech on the public sidewalks near and adjacent to Dr. Wortman’s abortion clinic.

Judge Moore and the Foundation, together with Col. Ron Ray and First Principles Press of Kentucky, had filed an amicus curiae brief in this case on behalf of 35 Kentucky Senators arguing that an acknowledgment of God does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Click here to read the Kentucky Senators’ Brief.

Judge Roy Moore commented on the Court of Appeals’ opinion:

It’s a great victory for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Appeals Court recognized what we argued on behalf of thirty-five Kentucky Senators: that just like our National Motto “In God We Trust” and other examples throughout history, the mere acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the Judeo-Christian God was not a violation of the Establishment Clause–and it never will be.

After the Kentucky law was enacted, the radical American Atheists group filed a suit against the Commonwealth to block the law. Judge Thomas Wingate of the Franklin Circuit Court ruled the law to be a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and a violation of the Kentucky Constitution. 

On appeal, the Foundation’s brief on behalf of the Kentucky Senators explained that the Establishment Clause only forbids laws “respecting an establishment of religion,” not laws that simply recognize our need for God’s protection.  The Founding Fathers wanted to prevent an official, national denomination, but even they acknowledged God and His Divine Providence in many official acts and laws.  Neither the words of the First Amendment nor their meaning have changed, and all judges ought to apply the original meaning of those words when interpreting the Constitution.  As the Court of Appeals affirmed, the Kentucky Homeland Security law does not establish a religion, but acknowledges God in a perfectly constitutional manner.

Read the Foundation’s brief in Bronx Household of Faith v. NYC Dept. of Education.

Arguing a legal principle known as “equal access,” the Foundation contends that since the school rents its facilities to other organizations, it must rent the facility to religious groups on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, President of the Foundation, said concerning the case,

“Repeatedly, the Supreme Court has said public schools may not discriminate against Christian groups when they rent their auditoriums to outside organizations. By refusing to rent to the Bronx Household of Faith, the New York Board of Education is thumbing its nose at the Supreme Court. We hope the Court will restate its position clearly and forcefully.”

The NYC Board of Education made the long-discredited argument that it must censor religious worship by churches like Bronx Household of Faith to avoid violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Foundation’s brief argues, however, that granting churches the same access to facilities as other groups is certainly not a “law respecting an establishment of religion,” especially as that phrase was understood by the Founding Fathers, who held Sunday worship services in the House of Representatives.

You may be wondering, “How did such a large group of Christian law graduates from a Korean law school end up as Alabama lawyers?”

It all started when one of our attorneys, Col. John Eidsmoe, began teaching two-week fall courses at HILS several years ago, which blossomed into a relationship between the Foundation and HILS that has been an international blessing for all. In January 2010, HILS interns began arriving for brief internships at the Foundation’s office in Montgomery, Alabama. They are still coming!

In a typical internship, a current student or recent alum of HILS would come to Alabama for a three-week period to work in our office.  They would gain experience researching, writing, drafting appellate briefs, and sometimes attending oral arguments at the Alabama Supreme Court. Many HILS students, who at HILS are educated about western law in English by American and Korean professors, would at the Foundation gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution, the religious freedoms it protects, and the Christian foundation of American law and government.  Many would also get sponsored for admission to the Alabama bar by the Alabama attorneys in our office.

For our part, the Foundation would receive helpful, practical assistance in our mission of defending religious liberty and America’s Christian heritage.  Since we were also teaching HILS students more about our American system of government, we gained a fresh perspective on how a non-Westerner views America, but also a new appreciation for the blessing and “city on a hill” that American ideals of God-given liberty and legal norms can still be to the world. And finally, we made a lot of great friends.

While we were able to assist these fine folks in applying for the Alabama bar exam, it was a tougher road than normal—or should have been. It is hard enough for Americans to take any bar exam, but HILS graduates were taking a bar exam not in their native language and in a land thousands of miles from home. That was just the foreseeable difficulties. Most had planned to take the exam in February, and were days away from the exam when an unforeseen deficiency in their applications (through no fault of their own) led the state bar to deny their application. Thus, most HILS graduates, after considerable expense and time spent here in preparation for the bar exam, had to defer their application until the July 2011 bar exam. Despite all the struggle and opposition they faced, HILS graduates showed incredible grace, strength, and perseverance. They returned in the summer and, praise be to God, over half of the 50 or so exam-takers passed!

So it was with great joy and thanksgiving that we celebrated their hard-fought admission into the ranks of the Alabama State Bar last week. We know our friends from Korea will render legal service and aid with diligence and a servant’s heart, fulfilling their alma mater’s key verse to “Do Justice, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with your God – Micah 6:8.” They will also have first-hand experience to empathize with clients who feel they have been burned by “the system” and feel completely helpless. That is exactly the kind of advocate that a client needs.

Here  is a group shot of our happy gathering. Judge Roy Moore is on the front row, fourth from the left. To his right is Justice Tom Parker of the Alabama Supreme Court. Col. John Eidsmoe is on the back row directly behind Judge Moore. Foundation attorney Ben DuPré is the first one on the front row.

Read the Foundation’s amicus brief in ACLU of Florida v. Dixie County, Florida here.

Roy Moore stated:

“Each Ten Commandments case seems to bring us a different outcome than the last, depending only upon the particular judge or judges involved. The only consistency is inconsistency. Are we a nation under God and law, or an oligarchy under judicial tyranny? The Ten Commandments are the moral foundation of our law and the First Amendment lays out our religious liberties under the Constitution—and neither has been altered since they were first enacted. If usurping federal judges continue to hold that God’s law violates the Establishment Clause, then it is those judges that need to be removed, not the Ten Commandments.”

In their brief, Judge Moore and the Foundation urge the Court to rule based upon the words of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as it was understood by its framers at the time of its ratification. The question is not whether the display violates some court-created test like the “Lemon Test” or the “Endorsement Test,” but whether it is a “law respecting an establishment of religion.” The Foundation argues that the Dixie County Ten Commandments monument is not a “law,” it does not dictate to anyone what their “religion” must be, it does not “establish,” recognize, or fund any particular religion, and therefore it is not a violation of the First Amendment.

The Foundation for Moral Law, a national non-profit legal organization, is located in Montgomery, Alabama, and is dedicated to restoring the knowledge of God in law and government through litigation and education relating to moral issues and religious liberty cases.

On June 22, 2011, Jeshua Screws, Chaplain of the Alabama Constitution Party, and David Day were trying to communicate their pro-life message and share the Christian gospel on the public sidewalk in front of the abortion clinic called Reproductive Health Services in Montgomery. As they often did before, the abortion clinic staff turned its single, oscillating sprinkler on and off several times, spraying a jet of water 20 feet across the entire length of the public sidewalk and onto the road, in an attempt to force the pro-life protesters off the sidewalk in front of the clinic.

To avoid the jet of water, pedestrians and joggers frequently walk behind the sprinkler head and onto the clinic property, like the woman in the picture above.

Read the Foundation’s amicus brief in DeWeese v. ACLU here.

Roy Moore stated:

“For centuries, the Ten Commandments have stood at the forefront of our legal system as the moral foundation of law. Recently another school has arisen which denies that law has a moral or religious foundation and views law as simply the creation of man. Judge DeWeese’s poster in his courtroom simply contrasts these two legal philosophies and expresses his preference for the former. Unfortunately, many of those in power today not only enshrine the humanist view of law but also want to silence those who hold the traditional view. The Foundation stands with Judge DeWeese in affirming the Ten Commandments as the moral foundation of law.”

Judge DeWeese’s display of the Ten Commandments has a long history. In 2000, he hung a framed poster of the Ten Commandments on the wall of his courtroom and the Bill of Rights on the opposite wall. The federal courts ruled the display of the Ten Commandments was unconstitutional and ordered its removal.

In 2006, Judge DeWeese put up a new poster called “Philosophies of Law in Conflict,” in which the Ten Commandments were listed alongside Secular Humanist precepts to demonstrate the contrast between the fixed standards of morality in God’s law and the changing moral standards of man. A federal court ordered Judge DeWeese to remove this display, and the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed. Judge DeWeese is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari and issue a ruling in Judge DeWeese’s favor.

In their brief, Judge Moore and the Foundation urge the Court to rule based upon the words of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as it was understood by its framers at the time of its ratification. The question is not whether the display violates some court-created test, but whether it is a “law respecting an establishment of religion.” The Foundation argues that the display is not a “law,” it does not dictate to anyone what their religion must be, it does not recognize or fund any particular religion, and therefore it is not a violation of the First Amendment.

The Foundation for Moral Law, a national non-profit legal organization, is located in Montgomery, Alabama, and is dedicated to restoring the knowledge of God in law and government through litigation and education relating to moral issues and religious liberty cases.