Freedom From Religion Foundation - Litigation

Litigation

Wins

• FFRF v. Thompson - In February 1996, a federal district court ruled that Wisconsin's Good Friday holiday was a First Amendment violation because its sole purpose "was the promotion of religion."
• FFRF v. Faith Works – In January 2002, a federal district court decided that Faith Works, a faith-based addiction treatment program, was receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in public money in violation of the Establishment Clause. The judge wrote, “Because I find that the Department of Workforce Development's grant to Faith Works constitutes unrestricted, direct funding of an organization that engages in religious indoctrination, I conclude that this funding stream violates the establishment clause. The Seventh Circuit later ruled against FFRF on the narrower of whether or not prisoners joining specific faith based programs on their own free will or are coerced by the government endorsement of religion.
• FFRF v. Montana Faith-Health Cooperative - In October 2004, the Federal District Court for the District of Montana held that the state's "direct and preferential funding of inherently and pervasively religious parish nursing programs was undertaken for the impermissible purpose, and has the impermissible effect, of favoring and advancing the integration of religion into the provision of secular health care services." According to the court, the state funding of faith-based healthcare violated the First Amendment.
• FFRF v. HHS - In lawsuit ending in January 2005, a court vacated HHS's funding of a Christian organization, MentorKids, because the "federal funds have been used by the MentorKids program to advance religion in violation of the Establishment Clause."
• FFRF v. U.S. Department of Education - In April 2005, FFRF and the USDOE settled a lawsuit, with the USDOE agreeing not to distribute $435,000 of federal funds to the Alaska Christian College, a Bible college run by the Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska.
• FFRF v. Rhea County Schools ("Scopes II") - This litigation occurred in the same place as the famous Scopes Trial, hence the nickname Scopes II. In June 2005, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district judgment holding that it was unconstitutional for the school district to "teach the Bible as literal truth" to students, including first graders.
• FFRF v. Univ. of Minnesota - In September 2005, the University of Minnesota agreed to cease its partnership with the "Minnesota Faith Health Consortium, a partnership with Luther Seminary, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and Fairview Health Services," and to cease teaching "courses on the intersection of faith and health" and FFRF agreed to drop its lawsuit on those same issues.
• FFRF v. Gonzales - The May 2006, challenge to faith-based prison programs forced the Federal Bureau of Prisons to "cancel" "at least five single faith" programs. The suit continued against other violations but the parties later stipulated a dismissal of the case.
• FFRF v. Indiana Family & Social Services - May 2, 2007 challenge of the creation of a chaplaincy for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA). The FSSA hired Pastor Michael L. Latham, a Baptist minister, in 2006, at a salary of $60,000 a year. In September 2007, in response to FFRF's suit, Indiana ended the program.
• FFRF v. City of Green Bay - In December 2007, FFRF challenged a nativity scene at Green Bay's city hall. The judge dismissed the suit because "the plaintiffs have already won. . . the Plaintiffs have won a concrete victory that changes the circumstances on the ground."
• Federal judge Barbara Brandriff Crabb ruled that the statute establishing the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional, as it is "an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function," although this ruling was later dismissed.
• Doe v. School Board of Giles County, VA - In September 2011, FFRF and the ACLU brought suit on behalf of anonymous plaintiffs against Giles County challenging a Ten Commandments display at Narrows High School. The case was settled in July 2012; the school board agreed to pay attorneys fees and not to display the Ten Commandments in public schools.
• FFRF v. Town of Whiteville, TN - In August 2012, FFRF and the town settled the FFRF lawsuit challenging a Latin cross displayed on top of the town's water tower. After FFRF wrote three initial letters, but before the lawsuit was filed, the town removed one arm of the cross. The removal cost the town $4,000 and as part of the settlement the town paid $20,000 in FFRF's attorneys fees. The town also agrees never to replace the missing arm and not to place other crosses on public property.

Losses

• Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation - A case before the Supreme Court challenging the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiative programs. The Court ruled 5-4 that taxpayers do not have the right to challenge the constitutionality of expenditures in made by the executive branch.
• FFRF v. Department of Veterans Affairs - April 19, 2006 challenge of the pervasive integration of "spirituality" into health care by the Department of Veteran Affairs was stayed while the Supreme Court considered the Hein case and dismissed after Hein was decided for lack of standing. The Seventh Circuit did not decide on the merits, only on standing (a jurisdictional issue).
• In April 2011, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed FFRF's challenge to the National Day of Prayer holding that FFRF did not have standing to challenge the NDoP statute or proclamations and that only the President was injured enough to challenge the NDoP statute.

Pending Litigation

• In June 2012, FFRF appealed a lower court's decision in a challenge to remove a Nativity Scene in Michigan. The case is ongoing.

Other actions

• Prudhommes Restaurant, Columbia, PA - July 18, 2012 - FFRF wrote several letters to Prudhommes explaining that offering a 10% discount to Sunday patrons who present a church bulletin is a violation of state and federal law, specifically the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The individual who brought the matter to FFRF's attention has filed a discrimination complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations and FFRF is only involved in an advisory capacity.
• On July 24, 2012, after receiving a letter from FFRF, the Steubenville, Ohio city council decided to remove the image of the Christ the King Chapel at the Franciscan University of Steubenville from its town logo.
• FFRF has asked the city of Woonsocket, Rhode Island to remove a the Latin cross from a World War 1 and 2 memorial on public land.