B.P.J. is a transgender girl in middle school who challenged her exclusion from participating in school sports by West Virginia's anti-transgender sports ban. A district court found that Title IX does not protect a transgender student’s right to participate in school sports consistent with the student’s gender identity. In a brief led by the National Women’s Law Center, ADL joined 51 organizations committed to gender justice to support B.P.J.’s appeal of…
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In August 2022, Indiana passed a law banning abortion in the state under almost all circumstances. ADL joined a large interfaith coalition in this amicus brief, drafted by Americans United for the Separation of State, opposing the abortion ban, asserting that it “runs roughshod” over religious pluralism protected by the Indiana Constitution. The brief contends that Indiana’s new law, reflecting the intent of those legislators supporting it, “imposes one…
In Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977), the Supreme Court held that an employer is required to allow a religious accommodation for an employee under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 unless doing so would constitute an “undue hardship” for the business. However, the Court defined an “undue hardship” as anything that imposes “more than a de minimis cost” for the employer — a very low standard that has made it difficult over the years…
This is the first time the Supreme Court is hearing a case regarding the scope of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the key law that has been interpreted to provide near-total protection from liability to internet platforms for harm caused by user-generated content. The case, brought by the family of an American murdered by ISIS, alleges that YouTube knowingly hosted and recommended terrorist content, thus aiding and abetting terrorism. The lower court would not even let the case…
Lonnie Billard, a former drama teacher and substitute teacher at Charlotte Catholic High School, was fired after posting on Facebook that he was planning to marry a man. ADL joined 47 organizations committed to gender justice and LGBTQ+ rights in an amicus brief supporting Mr. Billard. The brief, filed before the Fourth Circuit, was led by the National Women’s Law Center. It points out that Title VII provides necessary workplace civil rights protections for nearly one million employees…
This case involves a challenge to Indiana’s 2022 sports ban targeting transgender girls and young women. The ACLU brought the case on behalf of A.M., a 10-year-old transgender girl who was forced to leave her elementary school softball team as a result of the ban. A.M. won a preliminary injunction finding that the ban likely violates Title IX, and Indiana appealed. ADL joined 58 other organizations in an amicus brief led by the National Women’s Law Center in support of A.M. The…
This case, directly relevant to ADL’s Democracy Initiatives, involves a claim by the North Carolina General Assembly that under the oft-discredited “independent state legislature theory” it has the sole power to set the state’s congressional map, and this power cannot be challenged under the state’s constitution in state courts. ADL’s brief, joined by The Sikh Coalition, The Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Women of Reform…
This case involves a challenge to a Texas law that that seeks to stop social media censorship and would effectively eviscerate the ability of major platforms to engage in meaningful content moderation. ADL joined a coalition amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to prevent the law from going into effect, arguing that the law “decimates platforms’ efforts to effectively and usefully curate content” and “forces disgraceful and wasteful speech onto platform users.”…
This case involves Equal Protection Clause and Title IX challenges to a county school board policy that prohibits transgender students from using the restroom which conforms to their gender identity. ADL and 50 other organizations joined an amicus brief led by the National Women’s Law Center opposing this policy. ADL had joined a previous brief in this case in 2019, resulting in a favorable decision from an 11th Circuit panel. In an en banc hearing, the full 11th Circuit is revisiting…
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) has a policy that allows K-12 athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. This inclusive policy and others like it help protect the safety and wellbeing of transgender youth, and help ensure that all women and girls can access the well-documented benefits of playing sports. In an amicus brief led by the National Women’s Law Center, ADL joined 34 other organizations in supporting CIAC against this…
In this case brought by families of dozens of American victims of Hamas terrorist attacks, the U.S. Court of Appeals granted summary judgment in favor of a British-based bank that provides banking services to a company, Interpal, that has been designated as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) by the U.S. Treasury Department. The issue is whether a bank that is “generally aware” of Interpal’s connection to Hamas can be held liable under U.S. anti…
Mississippi passed a law in 2018 that bars abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. ADL joined with the National Women’s Law Center and 71 other organizations on an amicus brief urging that the law — an unmistakable challenge to Roe v. Wade — be found unconstitutional. The brief focuses on due process and explains that the devastating impact of allowing a pre-viability abortion ban to stand — or overturning the right to abortion entirely …
Alabama only allows people to change the gender marker on their driver’s licenses if they undergo surgical procedures and submit proof to the state, meaning that transgender people who do not want, cannot afford, or are medically unable to have the required surgeries are prevented from having a license that accurately reflects their gender. Carrying a license with an inaccurate gender marker puts transgender people — especially Black and brown transgender women — at a…
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits voting practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in language minority groups. In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that two Arizona election provisions — one that prohibits third-party ballot collection and another that prohibits the counting of out-of-precinct votes — violated Section 2 because of their discriminatory impact on communities of color. The…
At issue in this case is the extent to which K-12 schools can regulate student speech that occurs off-campus. ADL joined a brief prepared by the National Women’s Law Center, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, urging the Court to ensure that when it comes to off-campus speech, schools can regulate student bullying, harassment, or threats, but not speech that is merely perceived to substantially disrupt school activities. The…
At issue in this case is whether the First Amendment ministerial exception should be expanded to categorically bar any Title VII or other hostile work environment claims by clergy and other ministerial employees of religious organizations. The purpose of the exception is to ensure that faith-based organizations have full control in hiring, firing and disciplining employees who perform religious duties. ADL joined a legal brief rejecting this expansion. The brief asserts that such an expansion…
At issue in this case is a plan by the Harris County Clerk to send ballot-by-mail applications and voting information to all 2.4 million registered voters in Harris County. The Texas Attorney General sued to block this plan, arguing that the planned mailing exceeded the County Clerk’s authority. ADL’s Southwest regional office and the Texas NAACP, represented by the Brennan Center, filed a brief defending the authority of the Harris County Clerk.
Following a district judge…
At issue in this case is the legality of new federal rules providing excessively broad religious and moral exemptions from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate. The mandate requires employer health insurance policies to cover prescription contraception for women without cost sharing. These discriminatory rules harm women because they effectively allow any employer, including public corporations, to opt out of the mandate. The prior rules already exempted houses of worship,…
This case challenges a law Louisiana passed in 2014 that imposed new requirements on abortion providers, including mandating that they have active admitting privileges at a local hospital. The impact of this law would be that only one abortion clinic would remain open in Louisiana, and there would not be any physician in the state providing abortions after 17 weeks. ADL joined with the National Women’s Law Center and 71 other organizations on an amicus brief urging that the law —…
At issue in these cases is a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Rule that creates an overly broad and preferential religious exemption for healthcare employees, contractors and volunteers. The Rule effectively provides these individuals who have religious objections to certain medical procedures, including abortion or sterilization, with the right to hinder or even block a hospital from performing such procedures. ADL’s briefs filed on behalf of religious and civil rights…