Citing the Pope, Catholic Bishops Bash Travel Ban With Help From Gibson Dunn
Gibson lawyers filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
September 12, 2017 at 06:17 PM
3 minute read
President Donald Trump's travel ban is “un-American” and “un-Catholic,” a team of partners at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher told the U.S. Supreme Court in an amicus brief filed on behalf of a group of bishops Tuesday.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed its brief with the high court as it considers whether to continue a stay on the Ninth Circuit's ruling last week that exempted roughly 24,000 refugees from the travel ban executive order. The bishops argued the order's language shows an animus toward Muslims that's reminiscent of the long history of discrimination against Catholics in the United States, and violates the core tenets of the Catholic faith.
“Such blatant religious discrimination is repugnant to the Catholic faith, core American values and the United States Constitution,” the brief said.
Representing the bishops pro bono are Gibson partners Ted Boutrous, Joshua Lipshutz and Ethan Dettmer. They are joined by in-house lawyers for the Conference, including Anthony Picarello Jr., Jeffrey Moon and Carlos Miranda.
The Supreme Court temporarily stayed the Ninth Circuit's decision Monday in response to an emergency request from the U.S. Department of Justice. The court said it will issue another order after it heard from the plaintiff, the state of Hawaii, which filed its response today. The court will also hear oral arguments on the merits of the travel ban case Oct. 10, and amicus briefs have been piling up in the prelude to those arguments.
The brief argued the court should “relegate” the executive order to the “dustbin of history.” It said the bishops are concerned about the “threat it poses to religious liberty in general and Muslims in particular.” It also cites several quotes from Pope Francis: “The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us,” the Pope told Congress in 2015.
The bishops note that the Catholic Church is committed to helping migrants and refugees around the world, and acts as a resettlement agency for refugees in the United States. Through these efforts, the Conference has witnessed the devastation families face when their loved ones cannot enter the country, according to the brief.
“Such cruel and inhumane treatment, denying refugee children life-saving entry to the United States based on an executive order clearly motivated by anti-religious bias, is both un-Catholic and un-American,” the brief said. “It is incumbent upon this court to say so.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllWhy ACLU's New Legal Director Says It's a 'Good Time to Take the Reins'
8th Circuit Appeal Could Weaken Key Defense in Disability Bias Cases, Employment Lawyers Say
Michael Cohen Loses Bid for Supreme Court Review of Civil Rights Lawsuit
ACLU's Strangio Will Become First Openly Trans Attorney to Argue at Supreme Court
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250