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Since our founding in 1994, God has given the Alliance Defense Fund victory in nearly three out of four cases litigated to a conclusion. These victories have helped secure protections for religious freedom, family values, and the sanctity of human life.

The Alliance Defense Fund has also had various roles of significance in 34 U.S. Supreme Court victories. We were involved in a record eight cases in the Court's 1999-2000 term - almost one out of every 10 cases it heard. Four of those cases resulted in important wins that set national precedents on which future victories can be and have been built.

Here is a summary of some High Court victories made possible in great part because of the prayers, support, and excellent efforts of ADF friends and allies:

2007

Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an atheist organization lacked taxpayer standing to challenge the funding of a White House conference that informed both faith-based and secular organizations about federal funding for programs that help the poor. ADF attorneys authored a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the Supreme Court in the case.

Gonzales v. Carhart
The United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, upheld the nationwide ban on partial-birth abortions, ruling that the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Act does not violate the Constitution. ADF attorneys, along with the Christian Legal Society filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case.

 

2006

National Organization for Women (NOW) v. Scheidler (Second trip to the Supreme Court)
This case was originally decided by the Supreme Court in 2003. In its return, the court once again issued a favorable decision, ruling 9-0 that peaceful pro-life activists were not in violation of the federal laws intended to stop organized crime. The abortionist attempted to apply the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute against the protestors and sought to triple their alleged damages under the statute.

Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights
The court ruled 9-0 that the Solomon Act is constitutional, and Congress may require law schools, even those who have a non-discrimination clause that is counter to the military's view on open homosexual behavior, to provide equal access to military recruiters without violating the school's freedoms of speech and association.

Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal
The Supreme Court unanimously decided, under RFRA, that when the practice of a sincerely held religious belief conflicts with federal regulations, the federal government must show the regulation is the least restrictive means to advance a compelling government interest before the religious practice can be limited.  The decision provides a legal framework that could pave the way for returning to the Constitution’s original intent with regard to religious liberties cases.

Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
In an unanimous decision, the court unanimously vacated a lower court ruling striking down New Hampshire’s “Parental Notification Prior to Abortion Act” and returned the case to lower courts for reconsideration.

Sanchex-Llamas v. Oregon and Bustillo v. Johnson
The court upheld the sovereignty of U.S. law over the decisions of foreign courts when it ruled that a treaty does not give foreign defendents special status in U.S. Courts. This was an important victory in the legal battle to curb the use of international law to supercede the U.S. Constitution.

 

2005

Van Orden v. Perry
The Supreme Court upheld a Ten Commandments display on the grounds of the Texas Capitol complex. The court ruled, in a decision by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, that the Texas display did not violate the Establishment Clause.

 

2004

City of Littleton (CO) v. Z.J. Gifts
In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that communities can defend themselves against the spread of sexually oriented businesses and the resulting social consequences.

 

2003

United States v. American Library Association
The court ruled that Congress’s mandate that publicly funded libraries provide internet filtering devices in order to protect children is constitutional.

Scheidler v. National Organization for Women (NOW)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that peaceful pro-life activists were not in violation of the federal laws intended to stop organized crime. The abortionist attempted to apply the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute against the protestors and sought to triple their alleged damages under the statute.

 

2002

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris
The court issued a 5–4 ruling upholding the Ohio school voucher program, allowing parents to remove their children from underperforming public schools and use government vouchers for private or religious schools.

City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books
The court upheld the right of communities to regulate pornographic businesses. It also clarified that cities have broad discretion in determining what evidence to rely on when regulating such businesses.

 

2001

Good News Club v. Milford Central Schools
ADF launched the nationwide “Equal Access Project” to build on the precedent set in the Rosenberger case. As a result of many allied efforts, the court held in Good News that student Bible clubs meeting after hours in middle schools does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Adler v. Duval County School Board
In December 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review an appeal by the Duval County School Board of an ADF victory that upheld the right of students to speak about their faith and to pray at graduation ceremonies. ADF had been funding this case for eight years. 

City News & Novelty v. Waukesha, WI
The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed pornographers’ petition for review in a case challenging Waukesha’s licensing ordinance which the city used to deny renewal of pornographers’ licenses. The court’s action let stand the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court upholding the denial of the license.

 

2000

Troxel v. Granville
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the rights of parents over the rights of the government in child rearing.

Mitchell v. Helms
The court held that government funding of educational materials and equipment for religious schools can be constitutional.

Dale v. Boy Scouts of America
Following the precedent established in the 1995 ADF-backed case of Hurley v. Irish–American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston, the court decided that the Boy Scouts is a private organization and can exclude advocates of homosexual behavior from its leadership.

City of Erie v. Pap's A.M. dba "Kandyland"
Six justices reversed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision, which had struck down the City of Erie's ordinance barring public nudity based on an erroneous view of the First Amendment.

 

1998

National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley
The court ruled 8–1 that the tax-funded NEA can refuse to give taxpayer dollars to pornographic and anti-Christian art.

 

1997

Washington v. Glucksberg & Vacco v. Quill
The court, 9-0, ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not provide a “right” to assisted suicide.

Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network
The U.S. Supreme Court, relying on precedent in the Madsen case, struck down the 15-foot "floating bubble zone" wherein religious speech is prohibited by the state.

Mazurek v. Armstrong
The U.S. Supreme Court determined that Montana's "physician only" statute is constitutional, blocking the flood of abortions that would have followed had the law been struck down.

Lambert v. Wicklund
The U.S. Supreme Court vacated the lower court decision, thereby upholding Montana's parental notification law that has proven to effectively reduce abortions.

Agostini v. Felton
The court ruled that it is constitutional for public school programs to provide remedial education to disadvantaged private school students who attend faith-based schools.

 

1996

United States v. Virginia Military Institute
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Clinton Justice Department's request to increase the test for "gender discrimination" to "strict scrutiny" - the highest level of review for discrimination as used in race cases.

Alliance for Community Media v. FCC
The court upheld the portion of the cable law that permits cable companies to refuse to televise pornographic shows.

 

1995

Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
The high court stopped discrimination and ordered equal access when a Christian university student newspaper was denied funding provided to other groups.

Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston
The court, 9–0, established a national precedent in upholding the right of private organizations to freely associate or not associate with other groups.

American Library Association v. Reno
The U.S. Supreme Court denied review of this case, letting stand the labeling and record-keeping provisions of the Child Protection Act. 

 

1994

Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld residential picketing and created a useful test for abortion clinic picketing.