Posted on 06/01/2005 10:05:04 AM PDT by Jay777
INDIANAPOLIS, May 31, 2005 - The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization lauded the introduction of HR 2679, the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA), by Rep. John Hostettler last week and urged all Americans to strongly support this long overdue legislation.
“The 1976 Civil Rights Attorney’s Fee Awards Act was much needed legislation, but in recent years, certain groups have abused the congressional intent of this public law in ‘Establishment Clause’ lawsuits against the Boy Scouts of America, the Ten Commandments, and now veterans’ memorials, ” said Thomas P. Cadmus, National Commander of The American Legion. “And it is time to fix it!”
“Exorbitant attorney fees awarded by Courts to be paid by American taxpayers has become the newest ‘Sword of Damocles’ strategically employed by organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to coerce settlements by cities, counties, states, and large organizations like the Boy Scouts of America and the Department of Defense by suits and threats of lawsuits against any public expression of America’s religious history, heritage, and values,” Cadmus said. “When out-of-court settlements are more cost effective than the judicial process, then the system is clearly broken.”
“Each time the threat of outrageous attorney fee awards by courts drives an out-of-court decision, Lady Justice receives another ‘black-eye’ and justice is defiled,” added Americanism Chairman Joseph E. Caouette.
“The American Legion is a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts of America and the Department of Defense.
“When the mere threat of attorney’s fee is so severe that large organizations fear the consequences, then imagine the power and chilling effect it has on local elected officials faced with the threat of court-ordered, taxpayer-paid attorney fees if they do not surrender to ACLU demands to cease sponsorship of Boy Scouts, or to destroy religious symbols like..
(Excerpt) Read more at legion.org ...
Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) - http://www.alliancedefensefund.org
Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) - http://www.thomasmore.org
American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) - http://www.aclj.org
The Rutherford Institute - http://www.rutherford.org/
Stop the ACLU Coalition - http://www.stoptheaclu.org
Here are a few examples of how two of those organizations are fighting back:
ADF Contacts Over 3,600 School Districts Over Attempts To Censor Christmas
ADF: 700 lawyers ready to fight ACLU lawsuits
ADF: Pentagons' Warning About Boyscouts Is Absurd
Thomas More Law Center: Town of Palm Beach Pays $50,000 In Attorney Fees Apologizes To Women In Nativity Lawsuit
Additional information:
The ACLU must be destroyed: Joseph Farah supports Boy Scouts, urges Americans to fight back
Citizens mobilized to stop ACLU (seeks to consign group to 'ash heap of history')
ACLU fulfilling communist agenda
Revealing FACTS on the ACLU from its own writings
See how YOUR Senator or Representative ranks with the ACLU
This group just started on December 3, 2004 and are looking for new members to their yahoo group
My Personal Anti-ACLU Blog (Check it out and leave a comment!)
ACLU needs to become aclu on life support. Then have the plug pulled.
It's a reform that's badly needed, and the "civil rights attorney's fees" has become its own little cottage industry.
Ludicrous example:
A Fed circuit (not binding on all the USA, by the way) ruled that municipalities could not impose calendar restrictions on political yard signs. (30 days before the election was a common ordinance provision). My Town, Fishers Indiana, had such an ordinance. Within 10 days of the ruling in some other Fed Circuit, even before we had a Town Council meeting, some law firm out of Cincinnati ran to US District Court in Indianapolis and obtained injunctions against us. And asked for attorney's fees. Never approached us and asked us to repeal the ordinance, which is how the legislative process is supposed to work. At our next Town Council session, we repealed our ordinance. But since the plaintiff got his injunction, we had to pay about $5000 in attorney's fees. I'm sure they skinned every municipality in Indiana for that and more.
This is the kind of abuse of judicial process that is undermining our country. Courthouses are nothing more than a feed trough for lawyers. Anything happening there you might consider justice is merely an unintended by-product of lawyers guzzling at the money trough.
Bump!
Ping!
Thanks for the ping Jay777.
All, see this post for more info on the Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1413875/posts
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