Cases | Independence Law Center

Case Page: 303 Creative v. Elenis: Religious Liberty and Free Speech At the Supreme Court

303 Creative v. Elenis is the case of a Colorado website designer who is defending her right to use her artistic talents in a way that is consistent with her religious beliefs. After working for various businesses and organizations in marketing and graphic design, Lorie started her own business, 303 Creative, in order to have the freedom to use her artistic passion to convey and celebrate messages…

Case Page: Kennedy v. Bremerton School District

Coach Joseph Kennedy was fired from his job as a high school football coach in the Bremerton School District after he knelt at midfield after games to offer a quiet personal prayer. The school allowed other on-duty employees to engage in personal secular conduct at the time but would not allow Coach Kennedy to engage in his personal religious conduct. The Free Exercise and Free…

Case Page: Vlaming v. West Point School Board

Peter Vlaming, a high school French teacher in Virginia, was terminated from his job at West Point High School because he could not comply with the school board’s ultimatum that he use male pronouns to refer to a female student who identified as male. Mr. Vlaming extended every reasonable accommodation to his student, including using the student’s preferred name and attempting to avoid…

Case Page: Meriwether v. The Trustees of Shawnee State University

Dr. Nicolas Meriwether, a philosophy professor, was punished by Shawnee State University because he declined a male student’s demand to be referred to as a woman, with feminine titles and feminine pronouns. Dr. Meriwether offered to use the student’s first or last name, but Shawnee State University and the student demanded the professor speak and act contrary to the truth, his philosophical…

Case Page: Calvary Chapel of Stroudsburg v. Monroe County

The Independence Law Center filed this case because county officials were forcing a church to pay taxes on their entire property and building as if they were a for-profit corporation – something no church should have to do. The result: a big win, which means that rather than paying unjust taxes in the tens of thousands of dollars, those funds can go directly to advancing the church’s…

Case Page: Sharonell Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia

Summary On March 15, 2018, Philadelphia stopped placing foster children with families working with Catholic Social Services (CSS), which was just one among 30 foster agencies in the City. The City terminated the contract with CSS and made it illegal for CSS to continue providing any foster care services unless it abandoned its longstanding religious beliefs and instead endorsed the City’s…