ADF to Supreme Court: No religious tests for civic duty

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch regarding a friend-of-the-court brief ADF attorneys filed with the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday in Missouri Department of Corrections v. Finney, in which three prospective jurors were dismissed because of their religious beliefs:

“American society has no place for religious tests for civic duty. What happened in Missouri is egregiously wrong and extremely troubling. Even though the prospective jurors made it clear that they would adhere to the law and judge impartially, the trial court ruled that they should be disqualified simply because they subscribe to the Bible’s plain teachings about sex and human sexuality. As we explain in our brief, no one would be allowed to reject prospective jurors based on racial stereotypes just to ‘err on the side of caution’—and rightly so—yet the court rejected these jurors based on religious stereotypes. That violates the U.S. Constitution, and we urge the Supreme Court to put a decisive end to this practice.”

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

# # #