ADF’s 30-Year Legacy Faces a Test: LIT Highlights Elder Abuse and Liberty Case as a Crucial Cause

In the annals of history, there are stories that captivate the heart, leaving an indelible mark on our collective consciousness. The tale of Joanna Burke, an 85-year-old widow, is one such narrative—an odyssey that spans continents, religious devotion, and a lifetime of selfless acts. Yet, beneath the surface of this remarkable life lies a harrowing legal battle that threatens to unravel the very fabric of justice.

Joanna, a WWII child born in Scotland, began her journey as a devout Catholic. Her early years were steeped in faith, and she even exchanged vows in a sacred chapel. However, her worldview underwent a profound transformation as she traversed the globe, encountering the stark realities of a world where, in her eyes, Christianity seemed entwined with financial motives.

Her commitment to altruism knew no bounds. From donating her possessions to nuns running a leper colony in Africa to fundraising for Down Syndrome children in the United Arab Emirates, Joanna’s life became a testament to the power of compassion. Little did she know that her own life would soon be marred by a legal quagmire that would test the limits of her resilience.

The turning point came after the 2008 financial crisis in America, where Joanna had taken up residence as an American citizen. What ensued was a legal battle marked by corruption, lies, and deception within the very profession meant to uphold justice. The repercussions of this legal maelstrom were devastating, leading to the recent passing of her husband of nearly seven decades.

The latest chapter in this tragic saga unfolds with the specter of an illegal maneuver to seize Joanna’s homestead. At 85 years old, she finds herself not only grieving the loss of her life partner but also battling discrimination and targeted attacks for daring to share her story. The allegations she brings forward are grave—fraud, predatory lending, and evidence pointing to corruption at the highest echelons of the judiciary and the American government.

Joanna Burke’s case is not merely a personal plight; it represents a cry for justice that resonates far beyond her own circumstances. It challenges the very principles that organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom claim to hold dear—principles of justice that should be ever-present, untainted by corruption.

As concerned citizens and advocates for truth, we must ask ourselves:

Will organizations dedicated to defending freedom and justice heed the call? Will they stand up for Joanna Burke and, by extension, for the principles that underpin a just society?

In this age of information, where stories of injustice often unfold in the shadows, Joanna Burke’s tale serves as a stark reminder that no one is immune to the vagaries of a legal system gone awry. It is a call to action for those who champion the cause of justice, urging them to shine a light on the darkness that threatens to engulf the very essence of a fair and equitable society.

Beneath the surface of this remarkable life lies a harrowing legal battle, one fueled by the flames ignited during the 2008 financial crisis—a crisis that birthed a joint conspiracy between government and banks to wrest homes from citizens rather than compensate them for predatory and fraudulent loans.

The story of Joanna Burke is not just a legal case; it is a rallying cry for all those who believe in the pursuit of truth and justice. As concerned citizens, it is our duty to ensure that her voice is heard and that her battle becomes a catalyst for change in a system that should, above all else, defend the principles it claims to uphold.

The questions LIT asks in conclusion: Will Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) intervene, and become a voice against the Greatest Theft of Citizens Homesteads in American history? Or, in the alternative, will any citizens join and support her cause for justice?

“I am reaching out to you as a passionate advocate for justice, seeking assistance in a pressing matter that aligns with the core principles that Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) upholds.

My non-profit, Blogger Inc. operates a legal blog at LawsinTexas.com (LIT). I have recently brought attention to a compelling case which involves elder abuse, liberty, and a crucial test of justice.

I firmly believe that ADF’s expertise in defending civil rights is crucial in navigating the complexities of this case, which was not far off settlement but would reignite recently in a very lawless manner by both lawyers and active judges representing PHH Mortgage Corporation and Deutsche Bank National Trust Co.

Your commitment to justice aligns seamlessly with the principles at the heart of this matter.

I kindly request a moment of your time to review the published case, and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss how ADF’s support could make a significant impact in this pursuit of justice.”

“Thank you for reaching out. While we certainly are sympathetic to Ms. Burke’s situation, this case falls outside the scope of cases we typically handle. Accordingly, we must decline representation in this matter.”

Best regards, Ryan Bangert – SVP, Strategic Initiatives & Special Counsel to the President, Alliance Defending Freedom, for Faith, for Justice.

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT

Alliance Defending Freedom is a nationally recognized and respected law firm that is well-qualified to provide Title VII religious liberty legal training.

ADF attorneys have a long history of litigating matters involving religious liberty rights that specifically involve Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).5

Prominent public officials have recognized ADF’s legal accomplishments and expressed their respect for the professionalism and respectful candor of ADF attorneys.

ADF attorneys have specific experience providing legal training on religious liberty and Title VII compliance. Their legal training in various venues has been approved for continuing legal education (CLE) credit, and they have provided legal training as part of the resolution of litigation in other First Amendment cases.

The training provided by ADF attorneys in response to the district court’s order in this case would address legal issues surrounding enforcement of Title VII, developments in judicial interpretations of Title VII, the history and context of religious liberty protections found in Title VII, and best practices to ensure compliance with Title VII’s prohibition on religious discrimination and its religious-accommodation requirement.

ARGUMENT

I.  ADF is a nationally respected law firm that is well-qualified to provide Title VII legal training about religious discrimination in the workplace.

ADF is a nonprofit public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting every American’s fundamental right to freely exercise their religion.

ADF attorneys have often litigated matters involving Title VII, as well as constitutional claims involving clients’ religious liberty rights.6 ADF attorneys have also provided hundreds of hours of professional legal education on the First Amendment, religious discrimination, and compliance with federal religious accommodation laws, many of which have been approved for CLE credit. Based on their experience and qualifications, ADF attorneys are well-qualified to provide Title VII religious liberty legal training.

A.          ADF is a national civil rights law firm engaged in legal advocacy and public education.

Launched in 1994, ADF has grown into the world’s largest law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty, free speech, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and marriage and family.

ADF maintains a robust practice of litigating matters involving religious liberty rights, including the application of Title VII’s protections against religious discrimination in the workplace.

ADF’s litigation is handled by a dedicated team of over 80 full- time attorneys committed to protecting Americans’ fundamental rights. Many ADF employees have worked at the highest levels of government, including the White House, the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney offices, state Attorney General offices, and for Members of Congress.

Others were part of prominent law firms like Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Jones Day, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and Baker Botts.

And over 40% of ADF’s attorneys have held federal clerkships— including at the U.S. Supreme Court and nine of the 12 U.S. Courts of Appeals—or clerkships at state supreme courts. ADF has more former clerks as a percentage of total attorneys than some of the largest and most respected law firms in the country.

In addition to public interest litigation, ADF engages in expansive public education campaigns.

As part of this effort, “ADF provides information to the public about the importance of proper laws concerning freedom of religion, freedom of speech, the sanctity of every human life, parental rights, and the values of marriage and family in the United States and throughout the world.”7

As part of this outreach, ADF attorneys have lectured and taught in venues across the country.

Lawyers and members of the public attend these educational events, and the topics covered range from complying with federal laws like Title VII to constitutional rights and legal ethics.

A.          ADF has defended the civil rights of every American for nearly 30 years.

ADF is one of the nation’s most respected and successful advocacy organizations before the Supreme Court.

Since 2011, ADF has been involved in representing parties in 15 victories at the Supreme Court over the last 12 years.8

These victories have secured the rights of nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including churches, religious organizations, family- owned businesses, and many others.

And these victories benefit not only the represented party but every American.

In 2018, SCOTUSblog analyzed which law firms were the “Supreme Court all-stars” during the 5-year period of 2013 through 2017.9

ADF was the leading law firm in terms of wins in First Amendment decisions, with four victories during that time.10 Even more impressively, ADF was the only law firm with a perfect 100 percent win rate at the High Court during that period.11

ADF’s work extends beyond the Supreme Court, representing clients in federal and state jurisdictions around the country. It has prevailed in more than three-fourths of all cases litigated to conclusion.

Of ADF’s Supreme Court victories, many have involved defending clients’ religious liberty rights.12

For example, in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer, ADF defended a church’s freedom to participate equally in neutral government programs without discrimination based on the church’s religious identity.13

And in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, ADF defended a pastor’s right to place small signs pointing people to his worship services—a decision that has become the leading precedent on the impermissibility of content-based discrimination.14

ADF’s victories at the Supreme Court and in lower courts have helped protect every American’s right to freely live out his or her faith.  And while many ADF clients have been Christians, ADF has also defended the rights of Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and people of no faith.15

A.          ADF attorneys have experience litigating claims of Title VII anti-religious discrimination.

ADF attorneys are well-suited to provide Title VII religious accommodation training because they have litigated cases under that statute involving anti-religious discrimination.

For example, in Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corporation, ADF attorneys are representing a music and orchestra teacher, John Kluge, asserting that a school violated Title VII’s  religious accommodation requirement.16

ADF attorneys also recently settled Queen of Angels Catholic Bookstore v. City of Jacksonville, relying in part on Title VII.17

The city of Jacksonville agreed that Queen of Angels Catholic Bookstore is an exempt religious organization under Title VII and city law.

Similarly, ADF attorneys recently relied on Title VII’s religious organization exemption to defend a homeless shelter in Wyoming.18

ADF defended that religious nonprofit from state and federal officials who threatened to punish it for hiring employees who share the ministry’s religious beliefs.

ADF attorneys have also filed amicus briefs in cases involving Title VII claims. ADF submitted amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court in Groff v. DeJoy, arguing that the more-than-a-de-minimis-cost standard established by Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison doomed all manner of religious accommodations in the workplace, including those that cost nothing and have no material effect on an employer’s business.19

The Court agreed with the views advanced by ADF on the proper interpretation of Title VII, holding that Title VII requires employers to grant religious accommodations in the absence of substantial additional costs in relation to the business.20

ADF attorneys also filed amicus briefs at the Seventh and Fourth Circuits in Garrick v. Moody Bible Institute and Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School, arguing that Title VII protects religious employers when they make hiring decisions in line with their faith.21

ADF attorneys are well-qualified, by practice specialty and experience, to provide legal training on Title VII’s prohibition of anti- religious discrimination.

II.     ADF has a strong reputation as a civil rights law firm.

A.          Prominent public officials have praised ADF’s legal accomplishments.

Prominent lawmakers, judges, leaders in the U.S. Justice Department, and litigators respect ADF’s work to protect Americans’ fundamental rights.

For example, U.S. Senator James Lankford wrote that “[t]he Alliance Defending Freedom is a national and reputable law firm that works to advocate for the rights of people to peacefully and freely speak,

live and work according to their faith and conscience without threat of government punishment.”22 In 2018, the late Senator Orrin Hatch praised ADF:

“ADF’s legal work is widely respected. ADF has been an effective advocate for its views on religious liberty and free speech cases.”23

Moreover, based on its record of victories at the Supreme Court, he concluded, “that’s a pretty good indication to me that they are defending mainstream views.”24

That view was echoed in 2017 by Senator Charles Grassley, who said that ADF “is an advocacy organization that litigates religious liberty cases. They’ve won seven cases in front of the Supreme Court the past 7 years. They’re not outside the mainstream.”25

Various U.S. Attorneys General have also lauded ADF’s accomplishments. Former Attorney General Ed Meese said: “ADF and its leaders advocate their views without needlessly dividing.

They respectfully make their case in the courts. Every group should follow their example, no matter where they fall on the political spectrum.”26

And former Attorney General Jeff Sessions praised ADF’s record in 2018:

“You have a 9-0 record at the Supreme Court over the past seven years—and that includes two of the most important cases of the last term.  In the lower courts, you’ve won hundreds of free speech cases.

That’s an impressive record. These are not fringe beliefs that you’re defending. You endeavor to affirm the Constitution and American values.”27

These public officials and others have recognized ADF’s ability to defend mainstream principles of religious liberty. Their vote of confidence affirms the national reputation held by ADF and its attorneys.

III. ADF is well-equipped to provide court-ordered training on religious liberty and compliance with Title VII’s requirement for religious accommodations.

A.          ADF    attorneys    have    provided    many    hours    of professional legal training approved for CLE credit.

ADF attorneys regularly provide professional legal training that has been approved for CLE credit in states across the country. Over the past ten years, ADF attorneys have provided over 100 hours of CLE- approved courses covering a range of First Amendment issues, including religious liberty and free speech rights.

ADF attorneys have also provided CLE-approved courses on many other topics, such as ethics and the contours and application of various federal laws.

For example, as recently as September 2023, an ADF attorney presented as part of a course on the United States and Virginia Constitutions, Title VI, and Title IX in K-12 Education.28

ADF’s history of providing legal training that has been reviewed and approved for CLE credit by state bars shows that neutral third parties recognize ADF’s capability to provide effective legal training.

B.          ADF attorneys have provided legal training as part of the resolution of litigation.

This case would not be the first in which ADF attorneys provided legal training as part of the resolution of a lawsuit. In at least two other cases, ADF attorneys provided training to government officials on First Amendment rights as part of a court-approved settlement.

In a recently settled case, DeJong v. Pembrook, ADF attorneys conducted a First Amendment free speech training session with three professors at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.29 The lawsuit involved school officials who violated the constitutional rights of a former art therapy graduate student because she expressed views that differed from many of her classmates.

As part of that training, ADF attorneys discussed the history of free speech protections in the First Amendment and explained how free speech rights protect students on college campuses, especially those with minority views.

In addition, ADF attorneys also provided legal training following the litigation in Fresno State Students for Life v. Thatcher.30

That case also involved the violation of student free speech rights when a Fresno State University professor instructed students to join him in defacing and erasing a pro-life student group’s sidewalk chalk messages.

As part of the settlement, the professor was required “[t]o complete a training session on First Amendment rights” taught by ADF attorneys.31

Much like the training in DeJong, ADF attorneys discussed free speech rights and practices protecting those rights.

C.          Legal training by ADF attorneys in this case would cover Title VII’s protections for religious freedom.

ADF attorneys are prepared to provide legal training on the religious liberty protections in Title VII pursuant to the district court’s order.

The training would cover recent Supreme Court cases interpreting Title VII, current trends involving conflicts between religious employees and employers, and best practices to avoid violating employees’ religious liberty rights.

The training would analyze cases enforcing Title VII, including Groff v. DeJoy and other notable federal appellate decisions.32

It would also discuss legal scholarship addressing the implications and significance of Groff. And it would explain the history of religious liberty protections found in Title VII.

CONCLUSION

ADF is well suited to provide comprehensive and professional legal training about the religious liberty requirements of Title VII.

Over the last 30 years, ADF has emerged as a nationally recognized civil rights law firm.

It has a strong reputation for winning its cases before courts across the country, including 15 at the U.S. Supreme Court in the last 12 years. ADF attorneys have experience litigating matters that implicate Title VII’s religious exemptions and have a long history of providing professional legal training that has been approved for CLE credit by state bars across the nation.

These facts about ADF’s qualifi- cations to provide legal training on Title VII and religious liberty should aid the Court in deciding whether to uphold the district court’s decision to impose legal training as a sanction.

Respectfully submitted,

By:/s/ John J. Bursch

James A. Campbell
Gregory Chafuen
Alliance Defending Freedom
44180 Riverside Pkwy
Lansdowne, VA 20176
(571) 707-4655

jcampbell@adflegal.org
gchafuen@adflegal.org
John J. Bursch
Ryan L. Bangert

Alliance Defending Freedom
440 First Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20001
(616) 450-4235

jbursch@adflegal.org
rbangert@adflegal.org
Counsel for Amicus Curiae
October 19, 2023

The conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom on Friday argued it was well qualified to instruct three lawyers at Southwest Airlines on religious liberty should an appeals court uphold a federal judge’s order mandating the training as a sanction.

Alliance Defending Freedom in a brief told the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it had a long history of providing legal training on religious liberty matters to lawyers, lawmakers and members of the public.The group said its attorneys have regularly conducted continuing legal education courses that have been approved by state bar associations, showing that “neutral third parties recognize ADF’s capability to provide effective legal training.”

It said that experience coupled with its history arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging government policies that curtail its clients’ rights made it “well-qualified to provide Title VII religious liberty legal training.”

ADF has led efforts in court to restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone and helped draft the Mississippi law that was at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last year overturning the constitutional right to abortion.

The brief comes as the 5th Circuit is weighing whether to allow Dallas-based U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr’s sanctions order to take effect and allow the religious training he mandated Southwest’s lawyers sit for with ADF to take place.

The court on Sept. 25 granted the lawyers a reprieve from the training requirement by administratively staying Starr’s order while it considers whether to put his sanctions order on hold even longer while Southwest pursues an appeal.

Southwest did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The airlines has called the sanctions order “extraordinary and unprecedented” and has said that Starr abused his civil-contempt power in imposing the training requirement.

The sanctions order stemmed from a 2017 lawsuit by a former flight attendant, Charlene Carter, who accused the airline of firing her for objecting on religious grounds to her union’s participation in a protest for which Planned Parenthood was a sponsor. Carter says she is a Christian who opposes abortion.

The judge awarded her $800,000 in damages and ordered Southwest to reinstate her after a jury ruled in her favor last year. Southwest is appealing those decisions.

In an Aug. 8 order, Starr, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump, tasked ADF with training the airline’s lawyers after he determined they undermined an earlier decision he made in the case.

Starr said that instead of notifying employees of their rights against religious discrimination, as he had ordered Southwest to do, the lawyers penned a memo warning them not to violate company civility policies that led to Carter’s firing.

The case is Carter v. Southwest Airlines Inc, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-10008.

For Carter: Matthew Gilliam of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

For Southwest: Shay Dvoretzky of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and Paulo McKeeby of Reed Smith