In the Courts
People For the American Way Foundation
People For the American Way Foundation has traditionally used litigation to focus public attention and educate the public on issues, counter the efforts of right-wing groups, and assist individuals in the field.
The Foundation's Legal Department helps defend Americans' constitutional and civil liberties and fight the Religious Right around the country. We help members, activists, concerned citizens, local school boards, and organizations with problems involving:
- freedom of religion
- separation of church and state (e.g., school prayer, creationism, vouchers)
- school censorship and other education issues
- civil rights (e.g., discrimination against gay men and lesbians, affirmative action)
- art censorship
- Internet censorship
- other freedom of speech and expression and related issues.
We represent individuals and organizations (including the Foundation) as parties in some cases; in others, we write or join in friend-of-the-court (amicus curiae) briefs, particularly in the Supreme Court. We often work with private law firms in our Lawyers Network who provide their services on a pro bono basis; this allows us to participate in a larger number of cases and to leverage our resources tremendously. We also produce reports or articles related to litigation, such as law review articles concerning the Supreme Court's First Amendment decisions.
For More:
|
