Liberty Counsel

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Liberty Counsel is a non-profit public interest law firm and ministry that provides free legal assistance in defense of religious liberty, the sanctity of human life, and the traditional family.[1] Liberty Counsel is headed by attorney Mathew D. Staver, who founded the legal ministry in 1989 and currently serves as its Chairman. Before entering the law, Mat Staver was a Christian minister and pastor. Anita L. Staver, his wife, serves as President of Liberty Council. A close partnership exists between Liberty University, its newly formed Law School, and Liberty Counsel. Liberty University was founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell and Mat Staver serves as the law school's Dean.[1]

Liberty Counsel operates in three distinct, yet related areas: education, litigation and public policy promotion. The firm handles mainly First Amendment cases and issues, especially in the areas of religious liberties, freedom of speech, church/state issues in public schools and in the public square, the sanctity of human life at all stages, and traditional family values (include the defense of marriage between one man and one woman).[2] Educational materials are made available to individuals who want to understand the law and their constitutional rights so that they may confidently exercise their civil liberties and religious freedom.

Although most legal issues brought to the firm are settled favorably without litigation through advice and communication, Liberty Counsel does provide free legal representation in civil rights and liberties litigation when needed. The firm has an 86% win ratio at trial. Liberty Counsel also provides information, research, and expertise to affect legislation and public policy at the local, state, and national level. In particular, Liberty Counsel operates the Liberty Center for Law and Policy, which monitors and influences legislation.[3]

Liberty Counsel has established its goals revolving around influencing policy and providing courts with the legal rationale to develop precedent favorable to its mission. The firm has made a significant contribution to the free expression defense in religious establishment cases, as well as promoting religious tolerance and the tolerance of religion in the public square. Liberty Counsel's central goal is to educate both its membership and public officials about the role of religion in public life.[4]

Contents

[edit] Notable cases

  • McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky[5] defending a Ten Commandments public monument. Liberty Counsel challenged the legal test regarding religious displays used by the courts since the 1970s. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia delivered a stinging dissent that challenged prevailing Supreme Court jurisprudence regarding the Establishment Clause of the constitution. [6]
  • Wigg v. Sioux Falls School District 49-6[7] - the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that after school Bible study classes on campus after school hours does not violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, since it constitutes private free-speech.[8]
  • Madsen v. Women's Health Ctr.[9] - the United States Supreme Court defined the limits of injunctive relief available to abortion clinics against pickets and demonstrators. The Court established the Madsen Test for injunctive relief, which is permissible only upon showing that 1) the defendant has violated or imminently will violate some provision of law, 2) there is a discerable danger of recurrent violations, and 3) a following speech restrictive injunction may not burden speech more than necessary to serve a significant government interest.[10]

[edit] Writings

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Falwell Saw Law School as Tool to Alter Society. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
  2. ^ Hacker, Hans J. The Culture of Conservative Christian Litigation. 2005. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
  3. ^ Liberty Counsel, Take Back America, 2007
  4. ^ Hacker, Hans J. The Culture of Conservative Christian Litigation. 2005. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
  5. ^ 545 U.S. 844 (2005).
  6. ^ Liberty Counsel Files Brief With The United States Supreme Court In Kentucky Ten Commandments Case.. Liberty Counsel. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
  7. ^ 382 F.3d 807 (8th Cir. 2004).
  8. ^ Federal Appeals Court Rules That Public School Teacher May Participate In A Christian After-School Good News Club For Elementary Students. Liberty Counsel. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
  9. ^ 512 U.S. 753 (1994).
  10. ^ Mathew D. Staver, Injunctive Relief and the Madsen Test, 14 ST. LOUIS U. PUB. L. REV. 465, 478 (1995).

[edit] External links