Bernstein v. Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association resource page
News releases: 10/23/2012 | 1/12/2012
In NJ, abiding by your faith is “wrongdoing”
Attorney sound bite: Jim Campbell
“The government should not be able to force a Christian organization to use its property in a way that would violate its own religious beliefs. Both the U.S. and New Jersey constitutions protect the freedom of faith-based groups to use their property in a manner consistent with those beliefs. That freedom trumps any state law that conflicts with it. Our client, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, will review the director’s decision and consider its options.”
The director’s determination adopts an administrative law judge’s recommendation issued in January in the case, Bernstein v. Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.
Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly Alliance Defense Fund) is an alliance-building legal ministry that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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ABOUT Jim Campbell
Jim Campbell serves as chief legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he leads the U.S. Legal Advocacy team. In that role, Campbell oversees all U.S. litigation teams, Allied Legal Affairs, the Church and Ministry Alliance, and advocacy strategy. Prior to joining ADF in March 2023, Campbell was the solicitor general in the office of Nebraska Attorney General Douglas J. Peterson and Michael T. Hilgers. In that role, he represented the state of Nebraska in cases before state and federal courts and oversaw all civil appeals for the state. In February 2023, Campbell argued Biden v. Nebraska before the U.S. Supreme Court, a case in which Nebraska and five other states challenged the Biden administration’s attempt to forgive over $400 billion in federal student loans for over 40 million individuals. Before joining the Nebraska attorney general’s office in January 2020, Campbell worked as senior counsel with ADF. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Akron School of Law, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2006. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Alice M. Batchelder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Campbell is admitted to the state bars of Ohio, Arizona, and Nebraska. He is also admitted to multiple federal district and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.