FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ADF-allied attorney available to media after 7th Circuit hearing involving Illinois church
Full panel of 7th Circuit to hear case of congregation denied permission to meet on its own propertyTuesday, February 23, 2010
WHO: ADF-allied attorney David Langdon
WHAT: Available for media interviews after en banc hearing in River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 24, following hearing which begins at 9:30 a.m. CST
WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, 2722 Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn St., Courtroom 2721, Chicago
CHICAGO — Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney David Langdon will be available for media interviews Wednesday after a hearing before the full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest. The panel will hear an appeal of an earlier decision by a three-judge panel of the court denying an injunction that would have allowed a Hazel Crest church to meet at property that it had legally purchased.
“Churches should not be singled out for discrimination by a city’s zoning restrictions,” said Langdon, one of more than 1,600 attorneys in the ADF alliance. “In this case, zoning officials are forcing churches and religious schools to obtain special permission to occupy their own legally purchased land--conditions that are placed on no other entity. Federal law prevents these officials from targeting churches for discriminatory treatment.”
On Sept. 9, 2007, the pastor of River of Life Kingdom Ministries applied to the village for a special use permit to meet as a church in property that it had recently purchased. Three months later, the village’s board of trustees denied the application. The village requires churches and religious schools to obtain special permission to operate--a requirement it does not place on art galleries, gymnasiums, and hotels.
On Oct. 22, 2009, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit heard oral arguments in the case and subsequently denied the church’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed it to meet at the property. Langdon then filed a petition requesting that the entire panel review the decision, which the court granted.
ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeff Shafer is serving as co-counsel on the case.
WHAT: Available for media interviews after en banc hearing in River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 24, following hearing which begins at 9:30 a.m. CST
WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, 2722 Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn St., Courtroom 2721, Chicago
CHICAGO — Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney David Langdon will be available for media interviews Wednesday after a hearing before the full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest. The panel will hear an appeal of an earlier decision by a three-judge panel of the court denying an injunction that would have allowed a Hazel Crest church to meet at property that it had legally purchased.
“Churches should not be singled out for discrimination by a city’s zoning restrictions,” said Langdon, one of more than 1,600 attorneys in the ADF alliance. “In this case, zoning officials are forcing churches and religious schools to obtain special permission to occupy their own legally purchased land--conditions that are placed on no other entity. Federal law prevents these officials from targeting churches for discriminatory treatment.”
On Sept. 9, 2007, the pastor of River of Life Kingdom Ministries applied to the village for a special use permit to meet as a church in property that it had recently purchased. Three months later, the village’s board of trustees denied the application. The village requires churches and religious schools to obtain special permission to operate--a requirement it does not place on art galleries, gymnasiums, and hotels.
On Oct. 22, 2009, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit heard oral arguments in the case and subsequently denied the church’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed it to meet at the property. Langdon then filed a petition requesting that the entire panel review the decision, which the court granted.
ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeff Shafer is serving as co-counsel on the case.
- Fact sheet on the lawsuit
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
LEGAL DOCS
7th Circuit panel decision: River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest
RELATED RESOURCES
Fact Sheet: River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest
ABOUT Jeffrey Shafer
Jeffrey A. Shafer (SHAY’-fur) serves as senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund at its Washington D.C. Regional Service Center. He has litigated religious liberty and free speech cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the United States. Shafer has been practicing law since 1997 and is admitted to the bar in the states of Ohio and Illinois. He graduated with honors from the Regent University School of Law. Shafer joined ADF in 2005.