WHO: CLS-CLRF Litigation Counsel Timothy J. Tracey
WHAT: Available for media interviews after hearing in
Doe v. Calif. Lutheran High School
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 7, immediately following hearing, which begins at 8:30 a.m. PST
WHERE: California Court of Appeal, 4th District, Division 2, 3389 Twelfth St., Riverside
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — An attorney with the Christian Legal Society will be available for media interviews outside the California Court of Appeal building in Riverside immediately following Wednesday’s hearing in
Doe v. California Lutheran High School, a lawsuit threatening the religious freedom of Christian schools.
"Christian schools have the right to make admission and discipline decisions according to their own religious beliefs without government interference," said Timothy J. Tracey, litigation counsel for CLS’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom. "We are optimistic that the court will not allow state anti-discrimination laws to be applied against officials at California Lutheran High School in violation of their constitutional rights."
Attorneys with the CLS and the Alliance Defense Fund filed a motion in August 2007 asking the California Superior Court to allow the Association of Faith-Based Organizations to intervene in support of California Lutheran High School (
www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4263). AFBO’s membership represents over 830 private Christian schools in California that desire to maintain their right to use religious criteria in making admission and discipline decisions.
The parents of two students attending California Lutheran High School filed a lawsuit after school officials expelled the two girls for violating the school’s Christian code of conduct by engaging in homosexual behavior. AFBO appealed to the California Court of Appeal when the Superior Court denied its motion to intervene in the case.
In November 2008, the Court of Appeal issued a tentative opinion denying the parents’ alleged discrimination claims. On Wednesday, Tracey will argue that the appeals court should permit AFBO to intervene and issue a final ruling consistent with the tentative opinion.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. The CLS Center for Law & Religious Freedom is a team of Christian attorneys allied with ADF to defend religious liberty and human life.
www.telladf.org www.clsnet.org