Amicus Briefs
Below is a collection of amicus briefs filed by or on behalf of The Family Foundation and/or its legal arm, Founding Freedoms Law Center.
Founding Freedoms Law Center joined an amicus brief with Advancing American Freedom on behalf of our sister organization, The Family Foundation Action, in the case of No on E v. Chiu. A case in which a San Francisco political organization is challenging San Francisco’s unconstitutional and un-American disclosure law that requires certain political speakers to disclose not only their immediate donors, but in some cases, their donor’s donors.
Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish v. Nessel
The Family Foundation of Virginia and it’s legal arm, Founding Freedoms Law Center, joined an amicus brief in support of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish. The Michigan Supreme Court reinterpreted the prohibition on sex discrimination in Michigan’s Civil Rights Act and penal code to include sexual orientation and gender identity. That change requires Grand Rapids-based Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish and its school, Sacred Heart Academy, to hire faculty and staff who lead lives in direct opposition to the Catholic faith, speak messages that violate Church doctrine, and refrain from articulating Catholic beliefs in teaching its students and when advertising the school to prospective students or job applicants. Additionally, by preventing Sacred Heart from operating its school consistent with its beliefs, state officials are violating the rights of parents who specifically chose to send their children to Sacred Heart Academy because the school aligns with their values and religious beliefs.
Christian Healthcare Ministries, Inc. v. Dana Nessel
The Family Foundation of Virginia and it’s legal arm, Founding Freedoms Law Center, joined an amicus brief in support of Christian Healthcare Ministries, Inc. Christian Healthcare Centers, a Michigan faith-based medical nonprofit, filed a lawsuit against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, seeking to vindicate its constitutionally protected right to operate as a religious ministry. Michigan’s civil rights law, which state courts recently reinterpreted to include sexual orientation and gender identity, now requires Christian Healthcare Centers to hire people who do not share their faith, to prescribe cross-sex hormones to facilitate efforts to alter a patient’s biological sex, and to use pronouns that do not accord with a person’s biological sex. All of this violates the ministry’s religious beliefs and undermines its ability to provide safe healthcare to the needy and the rest of the community.
Founding Freedoms Law Center has joined an amicus brief with Advancing American Freedom and 28 others to challenge the Biden Administration’s lawsuit against Idaho which seeks to invalidate the state’s pro-life law on the basis of a radical pro-abortion interpretation of a Reagan-era health law, EMTALA, designed to ensure emergency care for those unable to pay.
Mahmoud v. Montgomery School Board
As parental rights are increasingly coming under attack, The Family Foundation of Virginia and its legal arm, Founding Freedoms Law Center, are joining others to speak up against this injustice. Recently, our organization joined many others in an amicus brief in the 4th Circuit Court to support parents’ fundamental rights. Montgomery County schools currently forbid parents from knowing when their children will be subjected to gender-confusing topics and books in the classroom. This is a direct violation of parents’ right to see to the care and upbringing of their child. Click the case name to read our brief and learn more.
The Family Foundation of Virginia (TFF) and its legal arm, Founding Freedoms Law Center, joined Advancing American Freedom (AAF) in filing an amicus brief to support non-profits keeping their donor information confidential. As AAF General Counsel, Marc Wheat explains, “The IRS’s requirement chills donors’ First Amendment speech and assembly rights out of fear of the IRS mishandling confidential information or political retribution for private donations. Advancing American Freedom will continue to defend American’s rights against burdensome regulations that leave them vulnerable to the government.”
The Family Foundation of Virginia (TFF) and its legal arm, Founding Freedoms Law Center, joined an amicus brief in support of the position that the Biden administration has stepped out of bounds by using the Chevron Doctrine to order hospitals to perform abortions; even if it is contrary to state law. This flagrant disregard of the structure of constitutional government is an arrogant move to override the Supreme Court and it’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v FDA
The Family Foundation of Virginia (TFF) joined an amicus brief at the 5th Circuit for unborn children and their mothers. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and others sued the Food and Drug Administration for their reckless approval process and lack of regulation for the first abortion pill, mifepristone. TFF takes a strong stance against chemical abortions and the deadly results they pose to unborn children along with the risks and negative effects they have on women. To read more about the case, click here.
Parents Protecting Our Children v. EAU Claire Area School District, Wisconsin
The Family Foundation of Virginia (TFF) joined an amicus brief in support of parents’ rights in the care and upbringing of their children. EAU Claire Area School District passed a policy that hid critical information from parents. The school was intentionally concealing whether they were assisting children in “transitioning” to another gender which included pronoun and name usage and apparel changes. This is a direct and horrendous violation of parental rights and TFF stands with Parents Protecting Our Children.
Foote v. Ludlow School Committee
The Family Foundation of Virginia (TFF) joined an amicus brief in support of parents’ rights. Ludlow School Committee, which oversees Ludlow School District, enacted a policy prohibiting school employees from sharing a child’s self-claimed gender identity with the parents unless the child consented to the communication. TFF filed in support of parents, arguing that this policy is a violation of parental rights.
Faith Bible Chapel International v. Gregory Tucker
Founding Freedoms Law Center filed an amicus brief in support of Faith Bible Chapel International regarding the ministerial exception.
303 Creative is a website design company owned by Lorie Smith. She has challenged the Colorado law that would require her to create website/designs that contradict her deeply held religious beliefs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled against her. In September 2021 her case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where her petition was granted for review. The Family Foundation filed an amicus brief in support of 303 Creative.
Vlaming v. West Point School Board
Founding Freedoms Law Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of Peter Vlaming, who was a high school French teacher at West Point schools until he was fired for not using a student’s “preferred pronoun”. His case has been appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, where his case has been recently granted a hearing.
Shurtleff v. Boston centers around the use of three flagpoles in front of Boston’s City Hall. Boston made one of these flagpoles temporarily available for civic groups to fly their chosen flag while they used the adjoining plaza….Boston’s animosity to the Christian flag will hopefully be taken as an opportunity by the Court to shut the book on this improper reading of the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on this case on January 18. — read more on Case News
Trustees of New Life in Christ Church v. City of Fredericksburg
The Family Foundation, jointly with others, filed an amicus brief in support of New Life in Christ Church. “Virginia law, as definitively interpreted by its Supreme Court, allows a real estate tax exemption for more than one minister of a church and for ministers other than the lead minister of the congregation. Here, though, the city decided that the church’s employees who are responsible for its ministry to local college students are not ministers of the church.” - read more here
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
The Family Foundation, jointly with other family policy organizations, filed an amicus brief in support of Dobbs and the Mississippi 15-week ban on abortion. This case is the most direct challenge to Roe v. Wade and since Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 and the potential to overturn Roe.
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
This amicus brief was filed on behalf of The Family Foundation, supporting Coach Kennedy and his right to Free Exercise and Free Speech. It urges the Court to recognize that Coach Kennedy did not leave his Constitutional Rights at the schoolhouse doors, thus forbidding him from having private prayers before games.
Gordon College et al. v. Margaret Deweese-Boyd
This amicus brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of The Family Foundation, asking it to review the case and adopt the rule of the so-called “ministerial exception,” a doctrine that exempts religious organizations from discrimination laws in employment decisions.
Rutledge v. Little Rock Family Planning Services
This amicus brief was filed on behalf of The Family Foundation in support of writ of certiorari filed by Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a 2019 Arkansas law prohibiting a practitioner from performing an abortion solely on the basis of a diagnosis or belief that the unborn child has Down Syndrome.
Americans for Prosperity v. Becerra (Bonta)
This amicus brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of The Family Foundation and argued that California’s requirement for the disclosure of major donors of all charities in the state should be considered a violation of the freedom of assembly, which has become a “forgotten freedom” in the Court’s jurisprudence over the last half-decade.
Gloucester County School Board v. Grimm
This amicus brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of The Family Foundation in support of the Gloucester County School Board’s right to maintain sex-segregated bathrooms in public schools under Title IX of the federal Civil Rights Act.