9th & 11th Circuit prayer wins support case heading to Supreme Court
“Since this nation’s founding, public meetings have been opened with prayers offered according to the conscience of the speaker. Now two more federal appellate courts have reaffirmed the constitutionality of this historic practice. Both decisions conflict with the 2nd Circuit’s poor ruling in Town of Greece v. Galloway, a case that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to hear in the next few weeks. We trust the high court will want to clear up this conflict once and for all.”
- Alliance Defending Freedom friend-of-the-court brief filed with the 9th Circuit in Rubin v. City of Lancaster
- Alliance Defending Freedom friend-of-the-court brief filed with the 11th Circuit in Atheists of Florida v. City of Lakeland
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ABOUT Brett Harvey
Brett Harvey serves as senior counsel and vice president of allied legal affairs with Alliance Defending Freedom. He has assisted state and local governments on issues involving public invocations and religious expression, and he has successfully represented clients in defense of their First Amendment freedoms and the right to life. Harvey and the Allied Legal Affairs team he leads focus on recruitment, professional engagement, and integration of allies into ADF’s advocacy efforts, including coordinating amicus efforts at state supreme courts, circuit courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Harvey earned his J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in Georgia in 1995. He is admitted to the bar in the states of Georgia, Florida, Colorado, and Arizona. Harvey has also been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the 6th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Circuits; and the U.S. District Court in Colorado. He joined Alliance Defending Freedom in 2000 and has been practicing law since 1995.