Today, a criminal conviction regarding the fire code violations against Pastor Chris Avell of Dad’s Place in Bryan, Ohio was vacated by Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals. The court concluded that the trial court failed to rule on Pastor Avell’s constitutional defenses that the city was violating his rights under both the U.S. and Ohio Constitutions and remanded the case to the trial court to consider the constitutional defenses in the first instance. Earlier this year the Court of Common Pleas of Williams County issued a final order dismissing with prejudice a lawsuit brought by city officials in Bryan, Ohio, seeking to shut down the religious activities of Dad’s Place and Pastor Chris Avell based on the same fire code violations.
First Liberty Institute announced a favorable settlement for former Arrow Electronics employee, Maria Govea, who was fired for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine due to her religious beliefs despite that she was a remote worker.
Today, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma granted a preliminary injunction preventing the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board from enforcing a state law that mandates the Board reject religious charter school applicants.
First Liberty Institute and the law firm McGuireWoods sent a letter demanding the City of Troy, North Carolina withdraw its cease-and-desist letter and warning citation that prohibit True Worship Ministries, a local church, from renting temporary event space the same as any other organization or group simply because the church’s gatherings are religious.
First Liberty Institute and the National Center for Law & Policy agreed to end their lawsuit against the Encinitas (CA) Union School District after it agreed to change its policies to provide notification and opt-outs to parents and students when promoting gender ideology or any material that substantially interferes with families’ religious beliefs and pay Plaintiffs an undisclosed amount.
First Liberty Institute today congratulates former counsel Christine Pratt on her appointment by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal.
