Here are the highlights for July:
* On July 16, we, along with Notre Dame Law Professor Gerard Bradley, filed a “friend of the court” brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in the case of Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corporation.
The brief was filed in favor of the appellant, Mr. John Kluge, a teacher in the Brownsburg Community Schools. Mr. Kluge was effectively discharged for dissenting from the harmful and unscientific gender-identity policies of the school district.
Our “friend of the court” brief was filed on behalf of several doctors and other medical professionals in the areas of pediatrics, pediatric psychology, endocrinology, pediatric endocrinology, and family medicine.
Their professional commitments to the well-being of children who report discomfort with their being a boy or a girl led them to offer their expert opinions in this case.
The brief forcefully demonstrates that medical and scientific research do not support the school district’s policies, and, in fact, demonstrate that they are exceedingly harmful to children.
* On July 17, we filed an application for leave to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court in our case representing four pro-lifers who were arrested, charged, and convicted of a felony for their non-violent and peaceful actions at an abortion center in Flint, Michigan in 2019.
You can read our filing in the Michigan Supreme Court here.
* On July 25, the City of Los Angeles denied our administrative claims against the City for contributing to the blight and private property damage caused by the homeless epidemic. Pursuant to statute, before we can sue the City, we have to serve notice that we intend to file a lawsuit against the City for effectively taking private property in violation of the Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution and for creating public nuisances.
The notice was a procedural requirement prior to suing the City. The City typically denies claims or just ignores them. Now that this procedural hurdle has been crossed, we will soon be filing the actual lawsuit.
The thrust of the claims on behalf of AFLC’s client, Adom Ratner-Stauber, a substantial property owner-manager, is that the City has failed to control homelessness, and that the homeless encampments occupying his property and surrounding properties have caused, and continue to cause, significant property damage and financial loss.
* On July 29, we filed a motion to dismiss the civil lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against Fr. Fidelis, a pro-life Catholic priest from New York.
Fr. Fidelis is the latest target of the weaponization of Biden’s DOJ, which is being used by the Left to attack political opponents and pro-lifers.
This past May, the DOJ filed a federal civil lawsuit under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) against several pro-lifers arising out of two peaceful rescues held at abortion centers in northern Ohio in June 2021.
Fr. Fidelis was found guilty of a simple trespass as a result of charges brought by a local prosecutor. Now, the DOJ wants to federalize a local misdemeanor offense by using FACE, which carries draconian civil and criminal penalties, as its weapon of choice.
The DOJ’s lawsuit turns federalism on its head. You can read our motion to dismiss here.
* Our defense of Andy Hess, the Michigan man who is the subject of a politically-motivated “terrorist threat” felony charge, continues.
We began the “preliminary examination” in this case on May 30, and it was scheduled to continue on June 21. However, the court abruptly canceled the hearing due to the heat wave and the fact that the AC in the courthouse was not working.
The PE was rescheduled for July 26, but was moved due to a personal matter (Hess’s counsel had to attend the funeral of a friend).
The PE is now scheduled to resume on September 6 at 1:30 pm in Pontiac, Michigan.
We also have pending a motion to dismiss, which should be argued at the next hearing.
* Our efforts to save “Baby Doe” from the Taliban continue as we battle Gitmo lawyers from large law firms. As you know from prior reports, Baby Doe was miraculously rescued from the battlefield of Afghanistan and adopted by a Marine family.
Subsequently, the Gitmo lawyers started litigation in Virginia state courts to challenge the adoption on behalf of two Afghanis, referred to in the litigation as John and Jane Doe, who claim that Baby Doe was handed over to them by John Doe’s father.
The Does then sued Major Joshua Mast, his wife, and his brother, Richard Mast, an attorney, who represents his brother and sister-in-law in the Virginia litigation, in federal court in Virginia.
On July 24, after more than two years, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia finally ruled on the motions to dismiss filed by our client and the other defendants. While the court permitted three of the claims to move forward, most of the claims were dismissed.
We are now preparing our client’s answer to the complaint and potential counter claims.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We couldn’t do what we do without them!