Weekly News Alert
7.29.2004

National Guard Captain returns home from Iraq and receives additional victory...

On Friday, July 23, Captain Scott Southworth returned home after a year of dedicated service in Iraq. The safe return of Captain Southworth, a unit commander in the Wisconsin National Guard 32nd Military Police Company, was wonderful news for his friends and family, but there was more good news for Captain Southworth. It took years of perseverance by Captain Southworth and litigation by the Alliance Defense Fund, but good things come to those who wait for the Lord to accomplish His goals!

ADF is thrilled to share with you that on July 23, the same day Captain Southworth returned to the beloved soil of home and after eight years of persistence - including a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court - he learned that the 7th Circuit ruled in his favor.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit handed down the latest opinion in Southworth v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System announcing a victory for Captain Southworth.

It will seem amazing to ADF friends and supporters, but eight years ago, when Captain Southworth was a student at the University of Wisconsin, he became the plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the unfair nature of mandatory student fees used to support controversial campus groups.

Captain Southworth believed, amazingly enough, that students should not be forced to give monetary support through funding in a discriminatory manner to radical groups. Imagine that! Well, we agreed with the captain, and after a long fought battle, the court agreed as well. On Friday, the court awarded attorneys’ fees to those who represented Southworth.

“Everyone pronounced this case dead, but Scott Southworth persevered through the toughest times, including a disappointing ruling by the Supreme Court that returned the case to the lower courts,” said Jordan Lorence, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. “Fortunately Scott Southworth was willing to persevere and stick with the case until the university changed its unconstitutional policies. But it took eight years of litigation and legal representation through the Alliance Defense Fund.”

“The university tried to perpetuate a fee system that allowed student funds to be directed toward certain student groups, based on the views expressed by those groups,” Lorence said. “The administrators of the student fund applied whatever criteria suited them in order to fund radical groups with outrageous agendas while denying funding to politically unpopular groups. In this latest decision, the appeals court confirmed that the students clearly prevailed in this litigation. They forced the university to conform to the United States Constitution.”

It's staggering to think that Captain Southworth had to endure eight years in a legal battle for freedom here at home, but without your perseverance, and without your prayers and support, such success stories would be fairy tales. Thanks to you, they are an increasing reality!

Thank you, Captain Southworth, for your faithful service to God and country!

Learn more about other ADF university victories here:
Alliance Defense Fund champions free speech at three university campuses (http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/story/?id=435)

Prayer Requests
"Without Christ, we can do nothing." - John 15:5

1. Please pray for the 2004 Blackstone interns as conclude their internships with ADF allies and friends.
   
2. Please pray for continued wisdom in the legal battle to preserve marriage.