AFLC Month in Review: June 2012

This was yet another busy and blessed month for the American Freedom Law Center.  In many respects, it was bittersweet.  We had a major victory in a pro-life speech case in federal court in California.  However, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down rulings in the Arizona immigration and Obamacare cases—cases in which AFLC was heavily involved—that threaten the very structure of our constitutional republic and the freedoms of all Americans.  If anything, these two cases highlight the critical importance of the work we do at AFLC . . . work we could not do without your generous support.  As you know, AFLC is a nonprofit law firm.  Consequently, we provide all of our legal work pro bono (i.e. at no charge to our clients).  You can support our important work by making a secure, online, tax-deductible donation here.

Here are the highlights for this month:

• AFLC Co-Founders and Senior Counsel Robert Muise and David Yerushalmi argued before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in defense of a pro-life group sued for copyright infringement by the Northland Family Planning Clinic, Inc., a Michigan-based abortion provider.  The abortionists are represented by the largest intellectual property law firm in the United States.  The following week the federal judge ruled in our favor in this landmark case, holding that the pro-life group’s use of the abortionist’s copyrighted material was “fair use” and thus not an infringement.  You can read more about that case here and the victorious ruling here.
• Muise and Yerushalmi were in Washington, D.C. for three days taking the depositions of several high-ranking officials from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim Brotherhood front group, that Yerushalmi sued for fraud.  Muise is co-counsel in this case.  You can read more about the case here.
• On June 8th, thousands of Americans all across the Nation gathered to publicly protest the HHS mandate, which requires employers to provide insurance plans that include coverage for contraception, sterilization, abortifacients, and related education and counseling. (You can read about our challenge to the HHS mandate here.)  Muise had the honor and privilege of speaking to thousands of God-loving, flag-waving patriots at the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Yerushalmi also had the honor and privilege to speak at the religious freedom rally held in Trenton, New Jersey.  You can read more about the Michigan event here.
• Muise was invited to speak at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Livonia, Michigan as part of the national “Fortnight for Religious Freedom” sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  He was also invited to speak at “Heart to Heart,” a Catholic women’s apostolate.  His topic for both speeches was the current threats to religious freedom. The events were well attended.
• Muise defended the depositions of David Wood and Paul Rezkalla, who are AFLC’s clients and plaintiffs in the Acts 17 v. City of Dearborn case.  Wood and Rezkalla are two of the four Christian missionaries who were unlawfully arrested and jailed for peacefully preaching to Muslims during an Arab festival held in Dearborn, Michigan.  You can read more about that case here.
• AFLC filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, asking the full court (en banc) to rehear the AIG case. As you know, Yerushalmi and Muise filed a federal lawsuit challenging the AIG bailout under the Establishment Clause since hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars were being used to support sharia (Islamic law that is hostile to our Constitution).  The Sixth Circuit incorrectly concluded that our client, a Marine combat veteran and federal taxpayer, lacked standing (i.e., he wasn’t legally harmed) to challenge the bailout.  You can read about the petition here, and you can read more about the case here.
• Muise was invited to speak about the Obamacare case at the annual Arizona State Bar convention held in Phoenix, Arizona due to his expertise on the subject.  Yerushalmi and Muise were the first to file a federal lawsuit challenging the individual mandate provision of Obamacare.  You can read more about the convention here and the Obamacare lawsuit here.
• Muise filed a reply brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the Dixon v. University of Toledo case, in which AFLC is representing Ms. Crystal Dixon, an African-American, Christian woman who was fired by the University of Toledo for expressing her personal religious convictions on the issue of homosexuality in an op-ed published by a local newspaper.  You can read more about that case here.
• The United States Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the Arizona immigration case.  You can read about that ruling here and about AFLC’s involvement in that case here.
• The United States Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the Obamacare case.  In a 5 to 4 decision, the Court upheld Congress’ authority to compel private individuals to purchase healthcare insurance under penalty of federal law (the individual mandate).  Chief Justice Roberts sided with the liberal wing of the Court in what can only be described as a political decision.  In a strange twist, the Court upheld the individual mandate under Congress’ taxing and spending power.  You can read about that ruling here and about AFLC’s involvement with the Obamacare litigation here.
• Due to Muise’s featured role in the Obamacare litigation, he was asked to be a commentator on the Supreme Court’s decision for local and national media, including the Detroit Free Press and the National Law Journal.  He also conducted numerous radio interviews on the subject.

As you can see, we have not only accomplished a great deal this past month, but it is quite obvious that there is still a lot of work to do and many battles yet to be fought.  Make no mistake, we are not discouraged by the Supreme Court’s recent rulings, we are emboldened by them.  While the liberal left may be breathing a sigh of relief with these decisions, we are breathing fire . . . and sharpening our swords to redouble our efforts to protect our faith and freedom from the elite secular progressives who seek to destroy our Nation by destroying our Constitution and the Judeo-Christian values it represents.

As we approach our Independence Day this 4th of July, we must always remember what a few good men inspired by God can accomplish.

May God bless you, and may He continue to bless America.