Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
When a high school football coach was fired for praying with his football players he took his case to court. His freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly were on the line.
Cases
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru & St. James School v. Biel
Our Lady of Guadalupe School and St. James School are both under attack for firing teachers who were deemed unqualified for their positions. The mission of these schools is to provide faith-based education for their students, along with a strong academic curriculum. Yet, in one case, the teacher was unwilling to follow the guidelines of a newly implemented program and in the other, her performance was low.
Archdiocese of Washington v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The First Amendment right to freedom of speech is being narrowly viewed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority by not allowing advertisements for Christmas events to be posted. Yet, advertisements for a video game with a warning that it involved extreme violence and sexual themes, is permissible.
American Legion v. American Humanist Association & Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission v. American Humanist Association
Atheists brought suit challenging a monument to those who died in World War I, the Bladensburg Cross; claiming that since it is a religious symbol, it should not stand on public display and that its upkeep should not be funded by the government.
Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
Many believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. So when the bakers at “Sweet Cakes by Melissa” in Gresham, Oregon were asked to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding, the bakers felt, because of their religious convictions, they could not do so.
Indiana State Department of Health v. Planned Parenthood
The rights of the unborn are at stake, once again, as abortion is used as a tool for getting rid of babies based on sex, race, or disability.
Aloha Bed & Breakfast v. Cervelli
The owner of a bed and breakfast was standing on her belief that renting a room to a same-sex couple would go against her religious convictions. Yet, Hawai`i’s Intermediate Court of Appeals has penalized her for not allowing the couple to stay at her B & B.
Telescope Media Corp. v. Kevin Lindsey and Lori Swanson
A Minnesota videographer challenged state statute that arguably prohibited them from refusing to provide video service for same-sex marriages when they provided such services for opposite-sex marriages.
Kenosha Unified School District v. Whitaker
A transgender high school girl wanted to use the boys’ facilities at her high school, despite the availability of single-stall bathrooms that offered greater safety. She sued the school district whose policy prevented her from using the boys’ facilities.
City of Bloomfield v. Jane Felix & B.N. Conne
In this case, citizens of Bloomfield, New Mexico, sued their city, claiming that a display of a Ten Commandments monument violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Despite the facts that the display was located in an area in which the city had invited citizens to display other monuments and that a plague stated that the display was private speech, not government speech, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the monument was, in fact, government speech, and that it did violate the Establishment Clause. The city filed a petition asking the Supreme Court of the United States to review the case.