"Where the Spirit of the Lord
is, there is Liberty."
(2 Corinthians 3:17)
July 2003: Vol.14, No. 6
Housing
Authority Which Tried To Evict Tenant Over A Religious Sign Pays Substantial
Damages After Being Hit With Lawsuit
by Mathew D. Staver
Johnie Heard has lived in a public housing facility in Taylor, Michigan, for more than eleven years. That almost changed after the government housing authority filed a civil lawsuit against Ms. Heard seeking to evict her from her residence after she displayed an 8-inch stop sign-shaped message in her window that stated “24-Hr. Prayer Station.” Frightened by the experience, Ms. Heard contacted attorneys in her community, but nobody was willing to take her case because she had no money to pay the legal fees. Johnie then contacted Liberty Counsel, and we immediately came to her defense.
Our first impression was that this would be an easy case to resolve. Once we called the attorney for the housing authority, surely the case would be dismissed. To our surprise, we were wrong. On the eve of the eviction hearing, we prepared a detailed memorandum of law raising a constitutional defense, and upon receiving the document, the authorities temporarily agreed to back off the eviction proceedings. However, we could not obtain any assurance from the authorities that Johnie would be able to display her religious sign. That’s when we filed a federal lawsuit.
During the course of litigation, we were even more surprised to learn of the depth of religious hostility the housing authorities had directed towards Johnie. Although the authorities argued that they were merely enforcing a rule that banned any sign from being placed in the windows on the property of the housing units, we learned that in practice, the authorities acted just the opposite of their rule. The rule was only enforced against Johnie’s religious sign. While a neighbor was allowed to display a sign that read “Santa Stops Here”, the authorities banned Johnie’s religious sign. Johnie took photographs over a period of several months of numerous secular signs displayed in the yards and windows of her neighbors.
A few months before the authorities filed an eviction action against Johnie for the display of her religious sign, we learned that the same authorities sent out a letter to all the tenants asking them to display signs in their units and informing them that the best decorated unit would receive an award. To our amazement, the housing authorities actually gave an award to the best decorated unit displaying the best looking sign. Of course, all the messages were secular.
Since Johnie displayed a religious sign and refused to
remove it, the authorities not only filed the eviction action against her,
but they also contacted the local government authorities in an attempt to
have all of her government subsidies revoked. Had they been successful, Johnie
would not only have been evicted and therefore been homeless, she would not
have had any means of income whatsoever.
The evidence we compiled was overwhelming. There was no other conclusion except
that the housing authorities had targeted Johnie solely because of her religious
sign. Hours before we were scheduled to take the deposition of the authority’s
top CEO, the housing authorities agreed to settle the case. The settlement
has been presented to the court, which has now approved the terms of the agreement.
The settlement requires the housing authority to repeal its unconstitutional
rule banning signs and to pay Johnie substantial financial damages as a result
of their unconstitutional actions. Immediately after the settlement, the director
of the housing authority was terminated.
Now that the case has been settled, Johnie can live at home in peace. She and several of her neighborhood friends continue to gather for prayer and fellowship as they have done over the past many years. Johnie will continue to be a light to her community – a light which darkness sought to quench. Because Johnie was faithful to our Lord, that which was intended for evil was redirected for good.
Teacher Wins Victory Against School District After Being Reprimanded For Comment During Church Prayer Meeting
Bill Sloup has taught school for many years within the Seward, Nebraska, School District. At the end of each school year, the District typically sends out letters to individual teachers renewing an offer to teach for the next school year. However, in the spring of 2002, instead of following this procedure, District officials decided to impose a reduction in force in a most unusual way.
Instead of sending out offer letters to those teachers for whom contracts would be renewed and decline letters to those who would not be re-employed, the District sent out decline letters to every teacher in the District! This unusual approach terminated every teacher district wide. Of course, you can imagine that the action by the District caused great consternation among the school employees and among the community. Gradually, the District then sent out offer letters to teachers for the upcoming academic year.
The unusual approach to the reduction of force by the District
resulted in many qualified teachers moving out of the District to teach elsewhere.
Concerned about the impact the District’s action had on the morale of
the teachers and community, Bill privately approached the president of the
school board and expressed his concern. Shortly thereafter, Bill received
a letter of reprimand from District officials stating that any concerns should
be addressed to the school board.
A few weeks later while Bill was attending a prayer meeting in his church,
he asked the members of his prayer group to pray for the school officials,
because the actions of the District had caused a great amount of insecurity
among the teachers and the community. Somehow, word of the prayer request
got back to school officials, and to his surprise, Bill received another letter
of reprimand stating that it had come to their attention that he had asked
people in his church to pray for the School District. Bill was warned that
he could never talk about any issue relating to the District’s reduction
in force, even with his own church prayer group. If he did, Bill would immediately
be terminated.
After writing letters to District officials and attempting to bring the matter to the school board to no avail, we filed suit in federal court claiming that the actions of District officials were unconstitutional. The community supported Bill so much that last November, most of the school board that opposed Bill and sought to censor his ability to pray in church were voted out of office. A few weeks ago, we settled the lawsuit against the District during a court-ordered mediation. The settlement requires the District to remove any disciplinary actions against Bill and to pay damages as a result of the unconstitutional actions.
It is inconceivable that public officials would think they had a right to control what a person says in a private church prayer meeting. Yet, that’s exactly what District officials did in this case. Those that tried to censor Bill’s religious expression took on the wrong guy. Bill stood up for Christ, and as a result of his stance, anti-religious school officials were voted out of office. The District was then required to settle the case, pay damages and remove the reprimands from Bill’s file. Bill chose to obey God rather than man, and God honored his faithfulness.
A Personal Message from Bill Sloup
After being a public school teacher in Nebraska for 25 years, I received two
reprimands from my school administrator in the spring of 2002. One was for
a comment I made about reducing our staff to a school board member, and the
other was for a statement I made at a private prayer meeting with fellow teachers.
I felt strongly that my First Amendment rights and my freedom of religious
expression had been denied. Following this action, I was able to obtain the
services of Liberty Counsel, and with their assistance, we were able to get
both reprimands removed from my file. Obviously there was much more to it
that this brief summary, but it is with deep heartfelt thanks and appreciation
for the wonderful efforts of the team at Liberty Counsel that this result
was accomplished.
As an undeserving recipient of grace and love from our Savior Jesus Christ,
it occurred to me that what Liberty Counsel had done for me was to also extend
grace. It came at no cost to me, and yet their same love for Christ and their
cause of religious liberty allowed them to defend this precious freedom. I
believe that a motto of Liberty Counsel should be the following: At Liberty
Counsel-we dispense Grace.
I would like to share these thoughts with all of the members at Liberty Counsel.
Paul, the Apostle of Grace, in 2 Corinthians 9:8 says the following: “And
God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency
in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” I believe
that your efforts make His word so relevant and alive. My prayer for your
organization and every member of your team is that this grace, which you give
in abundance, will always be sufficient for each of you.
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Dear Friend,
It’s hard to imagine the emotions that welled up in Johnie Heard that day last year when she was served with a lawsuit seeking to evict her from her home in a public housing facility over the fact that she had displayed a religious message in the window of her own unit. After getting over the initial shock and realizing she had no money to secure an attorney, a feeling of helplessness and fear would naturally arise. However, Johnie being a lady of prayer, she practiced the message that she preached. She began praying that God would intervene, and indeed, He did.
God used Liberty Counsel as an instrument to answer Johnie’s prayer. Her prayer could only have been answered because of people like you, who have partnered with Liberty Counsel to support this ministry. Each one of you, through this ministry, has been used as an instrument of God to answer Johnie’s prayer.
Like Johnie, Bill Sloup also prayed for God’s intervention in his situation after he was told he could not pray about his School District in his own church. Again, God used the ministry of Liberty Counsel to answer Bill’s prayer. While you may not have been in the courtroom defending Johnie or Bill, each one of you were just as much an instrument to carry out God’s will as any one of us arguing in court. On behalf of Johnie and Bill and the many others that God allows us to help throughout the country, we sincerely say thank you.
Liberty Counsel’s mission is to ensure that the
door of the gospel remains open for all of God’s children, to defend
the sanctity of human life, and to defend traditional marriage. God has given
us the vision to renew the culture, and He has placed in each one of your
hands the provision to make this ministry possible. In blessing this ministry
with your prayers and financial support, you bless literally hundreds, and
indeed thousands, of people all over America.
During the summer months, contributions are typically sluggish. Since the
contributions have been lower than expected this year, I am concerned about
the upcoming summer months. Please consider during the months of July and
August giving a generous gift to Liberty Counsel. Consider doubling your usual
gift, or commit to give your regular gift plus an additional amount in order
to get us through the summer months.
Sincerely,
Mathew D. Staver
P.S. For anyone who contributes $25 or more, I want to send you a free book I’ve written entitled, Religion and the Future of America. Just mention that you saw this offer in the Liberator when you call and I will send you this informative book.
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Restoring the culture one case at a time by advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family.
Copyright © 2003. Liberty Counsel grants permission to copy any of its materials with attribution. Please submit a copy of the publication in which it appears.
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