News & Media

ADF-allied attorney available to media after hearing on Illinois ‘period of silence’ law

WHO: ADF-allied attorney Andy Norman

WHAT:  Available for media interviews after oral argument in Sherman v. Koch

WHEN:  Wednesday, Feb. 10, immediately after hearing, which begins at 9:30 a.m. CST

WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, Everett McKinley Dirksen Building, Room 2721, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago

 

CHICAGO — Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney Andy Norman will be available for media interviews following a hearing Wednesday in Sherman v. Koch. In October, ADF and allied attorneys with the Chicago firm of Mauck & Baker filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit on behalf of the Illinois Family Institute in support of the state’s “period of silence” law.

“Just because a person is ‘offended’ that someone else might use a period of silence to pray doesn’t mean that the Constitution has been violated,” said Norman. “Voluntary periods of silence cannot be interpreted as an establishment of religion. Such an accusation not only demonstrates hostility to our nation’s history and heritage, but also a profound misunderstanding of the First Amendment.”

“The legal attack upon this law is another attempt by secularists to eliminate any form of perceived religious expression from the public square,” explained ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman. “The ‘period of silence’ statute does not favor one religion over another, nor does it endorse religion. Other federal circuit courts have upheld similar laws as constitutional.”

Since 1969, the Illinois “period of silence” law has allowed public schools students to engage in voluntary prayer and reflection. In October 2007, an atheist sued the Township High School District in federal district court over the law. After the court struck down the law in January 2009 as “unconstitutionally vague,” the decision was appealed to the 7th Circuit. 

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.

 

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