WHO: ADF Litigation Counsel Jeremy Tedesco
WHAT: Press conference following hearing on ADF motion for summary judgment in Byrne v. Terrill
WHEN: Wednesday, March 14, immediately following the hearing, which begins at 10 a.m. EDT
WHERE: Vermont Federal District Court, 11 Elmwood Avenue, Room 440, Burlington, Vt.
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Alliance Defense Fund Litigation Counsel Jeremy Tedesco will be available to answer questions from the media at the Vermont Federal District Court building following a hearing Wednesday to determine whether a judge will grant ADF’s motion for summary judgment in Byrne v. Terrill. The lawsuit involves a man prohibited by state Department of Motor Vehicles officials from having a personalized license plate that referred to a Bible verse, John 3:16.
“Government officials cannot discriminate against a citizen with a Christian viewpoint while allowing others to express their viewpoints,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Specifically, DMV officials can’t single out a Christian message for exclusion from a personalized license plate program while at the same time allowing other religious messages and non-religious messages. That’s unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. The actions of the department in not allowing an applicant to exercise his First Amendment rights are illegal.”
On April 20, 2004, Shawn Byrne submitted an application for a personalized plate. The following month, he received a letter from the DMV stating that his request for a plate referring to John 3:16 was “deemed to be a combination that refers to deity and has been denied for that reason.” Byrne appealed the decision, but an administrative law judge upheld the decision based on a statute prohibiting combinations which refer to a “deity,” among other things. The DMV has approved applications for other plates that use names and numbers referring to a particular religion.
ADF-allied attorney Anthony Duprey filed a lawsuit on Shawn Byrne’s behalf in Jan. 2005 in Byrne v. McDonald in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont. The name of the case is now Byrne v. Terrill.
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 litigationto protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
