Spell v. Edwards (No. 22-30075) – Foundation for Moral Law

Rickey Caster

Rickey Caster was peacefully and respectfully preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ on a downtown street corner on October 31, 2022, when a city police officer approached him, demanding to see a permit for his use of a microphone and speaker. Rickey, believing that a permit was unnecessary for his public speech, initially stated that the law did not require him to have a permit. In a calm and respectful exchange of words, the officer told Caster that he could not use the microphone and speaker setup without a permit. “No problem!” Caster thought as he put his microphone away and continued preaching with the volume of a gifted street evangelist.

However, this was not enough for the officer. Evidently, he did not want Rickey preaching at all that afternoon. Because Rickey would not stop using his voice to preach the Gospel on the sidewalk, the officer handcuffed and arrested 2 of 3 him on the spot. The City of Selma charged Rickey with disorderly conduct and has ordered his appearance in municipal court or payment of a fine of (?) $1000. Video evidence at the scene showed that Rickey was not disorderly in any way whatsoever. In fact, he peacefully and respectfully preached for over half an hour, and there was no indication that any member of the public was disturbed by his religious expression. He addressed the officers as “Sir” and politely but firmly told them he had a legal and constitutional right to preach. The City did not have any probable cause to arrest Rickey for simply preaching the Gospel. Rickey reached out to us.

Street preaching and public ministry have a long history in our Country and around the world, of course, dating back to biblical times. As Christ said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15. Sharing the Gospel “boots on the ground” is a powerful way for individuals to reach the public, often reaching those who may not have had the opportunity to hear it otherwise. The Foundation believes that public evangelism is a cornerstone of our Christian faith and honors those whom God has gifted and called to do such good work. We defended Rickey because arresting a street preacher for simply preaching is unacceptable.

On March 29th, Foundation Lead Staff Attorney Talmadge Butts and co-counsel Katrinnah Darden traveled to Selma with Rickey for trial, and after a discussion with the City prosecutor, the City of Selma agreed to completely drop the case against Rickey! You can read more about the victory on our News page, linked here.

Our work is far from done. Cases like Rickey’s happen far too often all across the Country, even in more conservative Bible belt states like our home here in Alabama. The Foundation for Moral Law is dedicated to fighting for religious freedom on every street corner in America! Street preaching is emblematic of religious liberty because it represents our fundamental right to express religious beliefs and to do so in public. The downtown areas of our cities are often the epicenters of poverty, addiction, and political corruption. Street preachers are on the frontlines of bringing the Gospel to these areas, providing hope and inspiration to those who may be struggling with difficult circumstances.

Willie Lee Conner

Willie Lee Conner shoplifted a nail gun, was wrongly convicted of first-degree robbery, and has now served ten years in prison for it. He is still incarcerated at 56 years old, separated from his loving family, and facing severe health problems. His conviction and sentence are entirely unjust. The Foundation for Moral Law represents Mr. Conner pro bono.

On July 5, 2012, Mr. Conner shoplifted a roof nailer from Lowe’s by putting it into his pants and attempting to leave the premises. When confronted by store employees, he complied and walked with them back to the store. On the way, the nail gun in his pants shifted position and began to dig into his leg. He stumbled and grabbed at it, and in an unfortunate choice of words, said, “I have a gun,” referring to the nail gun. The employees interpreted this to mean that he had a deadly weapon, even though the store’s loss prevention manager had seen him take the roof nailer and put it down the front of his pants. Even so, they wrestled him to the ground (he did not resist) and found the nail gun.

When the employees called the police, they reported a simple shoplifting. Nevertheless, the Baldwin County DA’s Office, seeing an opportunity for a potential “habitual offender,” charged Mr. Conner with first-degree robbery. The crime of first-degree robbery in Alabama requires possession of a dangerous or deadly weapon, or a statement by the perpetrator raising a presumption that they were so armed. But Mr. Conner was accused and convicted solely of committing a theft while in possession of a dangerous and deadly weapon. However, Mr. Conner never had a dangerous or deadly weapon on his person. He is therefore innocent of the crime with which he was charged. A roofing nailer cannot possibly be a deadly weapon. It cannot fire nails at people, and it cannot even drive nails into wood without a compressor, which Mr. Conner did not have.

Mr. Conner did not mean to threaten with the statement “I have a gun;” he was only giving the reason he had doubled over, stumbled, and was adjusting his pants. And even if he had been charged with first-degree robbery under the “presumption” prong because of this statement, any “presumption” that he was armed was immediately rebutted on the scene by the store employees’ search of him because they found that he had no gun.

Mr. Conner’s conviction was affirmed on appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals and the Alabama Supreme Court. However, Chief Justice Roy Moore dissented because he believed Mr. Conner was innocent. He therefore took a personal interest in the case and, after he left the Court, sought to help Mr. Conner through the Foundation for Moral Law. At the Foundation, we are dedicated to the strict interpretation of the Constitution as intended by its Framers, and normally handle cases involving religious liberty. However, we have made an exception for Willie Conner because his conviction and sentence constitute a gross miscarriage of justice.

After representing him for almost 2 years and trying every possible avenue—federal court, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, a petition to the United States Supreme Court—no justice has been served. His most recent petition for writ of habeas corpus to the trial court was denied and this was affirmed on appeal. The Foundation will be appealing this decision to the Alabama Supreme Court and continuing to fight for Willie in every way we can. Read the latest on this case on our News page, linked here.

Pastor Tony Spell

Pastor Tony Spell is the Pastor of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; a Pentecostal Church with nearly 2,000 members. Its weekly activities involve singing and preaching the Word, baptisms, laying hands on the sick to pray for them, and providing food for the hungry in the community.

In early 2020, Louisiana’s Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards capped gatherings, including churches, at 10 people! Pastor Spell concluded that complying with the Governor’s orders would violate God’s command to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:24-25) and decided to keep holding services. As a result, he was served with six criminal summonses. Shortly afterward, he was arrested for allegedly trying to run over a protestor outside his church, although video evidence showed that he neither hit him nor even approached him. At his arraignment, the judge told Pastor Spell that he could no longer preach to his congregation. When Pastor Spell could not agree, the judge ordered him to be equipped with an ankle bracelet. He was confined to his house and told that he would be arrested if he left.

Never before, to our knowledge, has a pastor in America been criminally charged and confined to house arrest for doing what Christians have done for two thousand years: going to church! The trial judge eventually backed down and had the ankle bracelet taken off of him, but the criminal charges against him were still pending.

We have been fighting this egregious infringement of religious liberty in court for over 2 years now. In May 2022, the Louisiana Supreme Court quashed the criminal charges against Pastor Spell because the Governor’s executive orders violated his fundamental right to exercise his religion. This was a great victory, but the fight is not over.

Pastor Spell’s case for damages against the Governor is still live in federal court. Most recently, in February 2023, the Fifth Circuit ruled against us. As soon as we learned this, we began preparing our final petition at the United States Supreme Court.

Our Petition, which you can read by clicking the button below, is completely unique. Every COVID-19 “victory” for religious liberty has been based on an “unfair treatment” argument, i.e., that the government cannot restrict churches any worse than it restricts department stores. However, government should not allowed to close the Church just because it also closed Wal-Mart. This is a very dangerous precedent because there is no limit on what government can deem an “emergency.”

Our Petition argues that, based on the text and history of the Constitution, the Founders intended the First Amendment to enshrine a strict jurisdictional separation of Church and State that forbids the State from shutting down the Church. The Church is a special and separate institution that cannot be “equally” restricted with just any other secular entity.

Spell v. Edwards is an excellent opportunity for the Supreme Court to untangle the mess that has been made of our religious freedom; to declare once and for all that the State cannot keep a church from assembling. Our duty to “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together” (Heb. 10:25) is for us to decide as a Church, not to be dictated by a Governor, President, or any government! Please join us in prayer that the Supreme Court will take up Spell v. Edwards and affirm this vital truth. Visit our News page here to read the latest on this case.

Lonnie Hollon

Secretary

lonnie@morallaw.org

Lonnie Hollon is serving as the Foundation’s Professional Secretary. Lonnie graduated top of her class from Victory Christian Academy in May 2021 with numerous academic honors. Lonnie is a member of the First Baptist Church of Posey Crossroads and does various volunteer work with the church. She is also an avid softball player, playing most of her life and now with her church league. She is enrolled at Auburn University at Montgomery on an academic scholarship while working full-time for the Foundation for Moral Law. She plans to continue working here while completing her schooling and seeking the Lord’s direction for her professional career.

Talmadge Butts

Lead Staff Attorney

talmadge@morallaw.org

Talmadge grew up in Reform, Alabama, where he graduated from Pickens County High School. He has always loved the outdoors and participated in scouting from an early age, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. He graduated summa cum laud with Honors from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He then attended Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law where he participated in moot court nationally, was an Articles Editor on the Faulkner Law Review‘s Executive Board, and was a Sir Edward Coke Fellow with the Blackstone and Burke Center.
He now lives in Montgomery, Alabama with his wife Ashley Butts, where they are members of Gateway Baptist Church. As the Foundation’s Lead Staff Attorney, he oversees the firm’s nationwide case management, ensures all legal work is properly edited and formatted for filing, and researches and writes legal briefs, motions, and other court filings.

Caleb Elisha Moore

Executive Director

caleb@morallaw.org

Caleb serves as the Executive Director of the Foundation for Moral Law. He is a graduate of Troy University with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences. Caleb began his journey with the Foundation in 2014 and has served in various roles from Secretary to Executive Director during his nine-year term. Caleb oversees all employees at the Foundation, manages donor data, organizes mailings, and performs many other administrative obligations. He also owns a small consulting firm where he continues to promote liberty and freedom in the political arena. He is currently in the process of applying to law school and plans to carry on the work of the Foundation for future generations.

Col. John Eidsmoe

Senior Counsel and Resident Scholar

eidsmoeja@juno.com

John Eidsmoe is a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and Judge Advocate, and a retired Mississippi State Guard Colonel and Chaplain. He is a Professor of Constitutional Law at the Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy, and a Professor of Christian Apologetics for the Institute of Lutheran Theology and Chafer Theological Seminary. In his various teaching roles, his students have awarded him Outstanding Professor and Professor of the Year five times. He has served as Senior Staff Attorney with the Alabama Supreme Court and has filed numerous amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts. He is an ordained pastor with the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, for which he serves as Director of Military Chaplaincy, and pastors two rural Alabama churches. He is Chairman of the Board of the Plymouth Rock Foundation, a Board member of Lutherans for Life, Commander of a local American Legion Post, and is Grand Officer, Knight Commander, and Chaplain with the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem. He has authored 16 books, including Historical & Theological Foundations of Law (3 vols.), Christianity & the Constitution, Columbus & Cortez, and God & Caesar, and has produced numerous DVD albums, including the Institute on the Constitution. He hosts the radio program Constitution Classroom and speaks worldwide for churches and civic organizations. He is a Third Degree Black Belt with the American Taekwondo Foundation and a Fifth Degree Black Belt with the Gospel Martial Arts Union. He and his wife, Marlene, have been married since 1970, have three children (David, Kirsten, and Justin), and live in rural Pike Road, Alabama.

Kayla Moore

President

kayla@morallaw.org

Kayla serves as the President of the Foundation for Moral Law. She is the wife of our founder, Judge Roy Moore, to whom she has been happily married for 38 years. Kayla graduated from Southside High School in 1979, and shortly after, attended Jacksonville State University and The University of Alabama. Kayla won many achievements in pageantry, including Former Miss Alabama World Most Photogenic, 2nd Runner up Miss Alabama US Teen. She has extensive business experience in business management and administrative oversight. She has been President of the Foundation since 2012 and served various roles within the organization before then. She is a nationally recognized speaker and writer.