If you’re not regularly posting your organization’s activities on its website, it’s usually for one of two reasons: you’re either doing nothing, or you’re so busy that you can’t get to it.

For us, it was the latter.

Although we have sent out press releases in key cases, ACLL’s last newsroom post came in January, when we beat the Biden administration in the U.S. Supreme Court over the OSHA vaccine mandate. It’s beyond time for a public update. Fortunately, we’ve hired additional personnel to help with the public relations side of the business, so we can afford to put out updates more frequently. But here’s a recap of what ACLL did in the first quarter of 2021.

First, we’ve launched a new flagship case: Riccio v. Harris. This case is about separation of powers. In 2020-21, Dr. Scott Harris and Governor Kay Ivey ran the state without any input from the people’s representatives, who alone have the constitutional authority to make the law. Dr. Harris’s and Governor Ivey’s rules permanently destroyed numerous small businesses, including the two whom we are representing. While we certainly acknowledge that COVID was dangerous, so are separation-of-powers violations. What we’ve taught the executive branch is that in an emergency, it can do whatever it wants without any meaningful checks. That sets a very dangerous precedent for the future, which is why we’re fighting back.

We also filed four new amicus briefs, three of which were at the U.S. Supreme Court. First, in Merrill v. Milligan, we supported Alabama’s emergency appeal in a voting rights case that would have redrawn Alabama’s congressional districts. That case resulted in a 5-4 decision in Alabama’s favor.

Second, we represented Gregory Watson, the “Stepfather of the 27th Amendment,” in a case that sought to revive the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA has been dead for about 30 years, and could have enshrined a right to abortion into the Constitution. The ERA’s proponents drew on Watson’s work to have the 27th Amendment ratified after 200 years and argued that they were doing the same. Watson was very eager to tell the court that the two cases were not identical, so ACLL filed a brief on his behalf explaining the difference.

Third, we supported Coach Joe Kennedy, a public high school football coach who was fired for taking a knee at the 50 yard line after games in prayer. When the Supreme Court agreed to hear his case, ACLL filed a brief arguing that the Establishment Clause should be interpreted according to history and tradition instead of outdated and erroneous precedent. If the Court agrees, then it should conclude that prayer by a public employee is fine as long as he does not coerce others to join him (and Coach Kennedy always let the players decide whether to join him or not).

Finally, we supported a Young Americans for Liberty chapter at the University of Alabama at Huntsville in an appeal challenging the constitutionality of the campus speech code. In a unique approach, ACLL filed an amicus brief arguing that the free speech clause of the Alabama Constitution provided the students with even more protection than the Federal Constitution did. In this case, the Alabama Constitution forbids the government from forcing the YAL chapter to get permission from the university before it speaks.

You may remember that at the close of last year, ACLL fought for United Launch Alliance employees who had religious or medical objections to getting the COVID-19 vaccine. While we were unable to stop ULA from firing them, we have continued representing them before the EEOC, which appears at this point to be taking their claims seriously.

Finally, Matt Clark’s efforts to fight for religious liberty have caught the attention of The Federalist Society, which has offered him a place on their Religious Liberty Committee.

So while we have not been posting much in terms of newsroom updates, hopefully now, you can see why. Far from being passive and idle, we have been busy smashing china.

If you like what you see from ACLL and desire to support us, please click here to learn how. All donations are tax-deductible and support a conservative organization that is aggressive in going after opportunities so that Alabama can remain an outpost of freedom in the United States.