Since 1999, the Foundation has granted Becket over $1.5 million. Does the Constitution Require Least-Common-Denominator Prayer? B.A., Columbia International University, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Chief Judge Alice Batchelder. Most recently the Becket Fund helped the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District in New Jersey. “To the degree that the reindeer rules were based on Lemon, this decision said that we now have a new Supreme Court precedent. "It would be better to stop trying to restrict synagogues, churches, and mosques. Among the Becket Fund's governmental clients have been the states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, the city of Jersey City, New Jersey, and Spartanburg County School District No. Kristina Arriaga, who was the Executive Director of the Becket Fund starting in 2010 and a member of the firm since 1995,[11] is now a "Senior Advisor to the Board. Gov. Type a search term or query below and press enter. Religious affiliation is something that binds the staff at the Becket Fund, which was founded by Catholic lawyer Kevin Hasson. [10], In 2011 Hasson stepped down as President of the Becket Fund, making way for William P. Mumma who has since served as the President and Chairman of the Board. [13][14], As of 2014, the Fund had eleven litigating attorneys, and an estimated budget of five million dollars. Since August, Harvest Rock’s Pastor Ché, staff, and parishioners face daily criminal charges of one year in jail and $1,000 in fines every day the church remains open. Michelle joined the Becket Fund in 2012, twenty years after coming to Washington from her native New Jersey to work on Capitol Hill. 2018); Harvest Family Church v. FEMA, 2018 WL 386192 (5th Cir. Previous clients also included the City of Cranston[27] in the attempt to preserve the Prayer Banner at Cranston High School West. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a Washington, D.C.-based pub-lic interest law firm protecting the free expression of all religious traditions through litigation, media outreach and scholarship. 7. Constitutional Law Fellow Becket’s Constitutional Law Fellowship gives exceptional recent law clerks or law school graduates immediate, hands-on experience litigating cutting-edge constitutional cases. 2018); Singh v. Carter, 168 F. Supp. Freedom of religion is a basic human right that no government may lawfully deny; it is not a gift of the state, but instead is rooted in the inherent dignity of the human person. Supreme Court rules prayers OK at town council meetings, Groups push military for more religious liberty, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Public Prayer, Supreme Court endorsed legislative prayer for second time in 30 years, Op-Ed: Government can’t have it both ways on religious freedom, US military expands accommodations for religious attire, Battle at the Supreme Court: Obama vs. Now, a confession: I read that Times piece right after opening a new email press release from the Becket Fund staff. As a result of the case, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled (9-0) in favor of the ministerial exception doctrine for the first time, which exempts religious institutions from anti-discrimination laws in hiring employees. This law firm, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, is also hosting a rally today at the Federal Hall National Memorial, located at 26 Wall Street. [8], The Becket Fund was founded in 1994 by Kevin Hasson, who had previously worked at the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department and the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly, in which capacity he became well-known and controversial for defending Catholic University's decision to fire Charles Curran for his opposition to Church doctrine despite his being a respected moral theologian. It has represented Muslim clients in the European Court of Human Rights, and has assisted in pre-litigation and litigation in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The judge eventually consolidated the two lawsuits. [20][21], The most recent case the Becket Fund has litigated at the Supreme Court was Holt v. Hobbs (2015). During her tenure, Windham has also seen the ranks of Harvard Law alumni on the Becket Fund’s staff grow to include Eric Rassbach ’99, Mark Rienzi ’00 and Angela Wu Howard ’00. 509 (D. Md. [17], They also served as counsel to the plaintiffs in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. (2014)[18] in their fight to exempt themselves from having to pay for four different drugs and devices they deemed as abortifacients. The Becket Fund played a key role in the Supreme Court’s unanimous 2012 decision that gave broader powers to churches and religious schools to circumvent federal anti-discrimination laws. 2011). A group of atheists challenged the words "under God" who considered the phrase a violation of the Establishment Clause. The atheist group did not appeal. [32], The Becket Fund advocates on behalf of religious liberty in international fora. Iowa 2019); Yin v. Columbia International University, 335 F. Supp. The IRS NTEE classification code is V24Z, Political Science within the Social Science Research Institutes, Services category. Burwell.[25]. [23], The Becket Fund has also filed petitions to the Supreme Court in two cases involving the United States Department of Health and Human Services' contraceptive mandate on employer-paid health insurance coverage of contraception, which had at the time been consolidated into Zubik v. Burwell, Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell,[24] and Houston Baptist University and East Baptist University v.
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