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American Center for Law & Justice

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American Center for Law & Justice
Formation1990
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., United States
Founder
Pat Robertson
Key people
Jay Sekulow, Jordan Sekulow
Websiteaclj.org

The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) is a politically conservative, Christian-based legal organization in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and associated with Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The ACLJ was founded in 1990 by law school graduate and evangelical minister Pat Robertson with the stated "mandate to protect religious and constitutional freedoms". ACLJ generally pursues constitutional issues and conservative Christian ideals in courts of law.[1][2][3][4][5] The leaders of the ACLJ also occasionally engage in public debates to present their perspective on legal and constitutional issues.

The ACLJ is described as being "committed to ensuring the ongoing viability of freedom and liberty in the United States and around the world" by "focusing on U.S. constitutional law, European Union law and human rights law" to protect "universal, God-given and inalienable rights," according to Charity Navigator, which also issued a "Low Concern" advisory for the District of Columbia branch[6] and a "Moderate Concern" for the Virginia Beach branch[7] about the group after The Washington Post reported that ACLJ has paid Donald Trump's personal attorney Jay Sekulow and his family millions of dollars.[8][9]

History

The ACLJ arose in part as a right-leaning political answer to the American Civil Liberties Union, which has a different interpretation of First Amendment protection of religious rights.[10] The name and acronym, ACLJ, were chosen to contrast with the ACLU.[10] It has attracted much media attention for its lawsuits, such as its campaign to oppose changes to the constitution of Kenya that, according to the group, would permit abortion and Islamic law,[11][12] and its attempts to block the construction of an Islamic cultural center near the former site of the World Trade Center.[13] The ACLJ supported blocking the construction of the center through New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.

In November 2010, the ACLJ asked that the U.S. Justice Department investigate the Congressional Muslim Staffer Association's weekly prayer session on Capitol Hill, alleging that the organization demonstrated "a pattern of inviting Islamic extremists with ties to terrorism to participate in these events".[14]

In 2018, ACLJ attorney Jay Sekulow was serving on President Donald Trump's personal legal team.[15] Another Sekulow client at the time was the American Christian pastor Andrew Brunson, in detention and facing charges in Turkey.[16]

The ACLJ is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025,[17] a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power should the Republican nominee win the 2024 presidential election.[18]

Donations

Since 2011, donations to ACLJ are routed through Sekulow's family-run Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism (CASE),[19][20] and many "transactions that benefit members of the Sekulow family are disclosed on the CASE returns, but not the ACLJ's."[21][20] ACLJ's and CASE's tax returns show that between 1998 and 2011 they paid more than $33 million to Sekulow, members of his family, and businesses owned or co-owned by them.[21] from 2011 to 2015, the two charities paid $5.5 million to Sekulow and members of his family, and $23 million to their businesses.[19]

Sekulow is half-owner of the for-profit corporation Constitutional Litigation and Advocacy Group[19] whose governor and executive officer is Stuart Roth,[22] one of his partners in the law firm and real estate business that declared bankruptcy in 1986.[23] From 2011 to 2016, the ACLJ paid the group $23 million, "its largest outside expense."[19]

Europe

In 1997 Jay Sekulow and Thomas Patrick Monaghan, Chief Counsel and Senior Counsel of the ACLJ, respectively, set up the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ) in Strasbourg as part of the ACLJ's international strategy. Sekulow serves as Chief Counsel for the ECLJ. The following year the ACLJ set up the Slavic Center for Law and Justice (SCLJ) in Moscow. Both organizations on the European mainland have a full-time staff of religious rights attorneys.[24] The ECLJ is active in the United Nations Organization and in the Council of Europe, and represents the interests of some Christians in the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Africa

The ACLJ is one of several American Christian groups that are promoting conservative Christian laws in Africa, supporting controversial movements regarding LGBT rights, including support in Uganda for criminalizing homosexuality.[25]

Criticism

The ACLJ has been criticized by the ACLU for its stance on putting prayer in public school, and by Americans United for conflating support of separation of church and state with being anti-religious.[26] The Human Rights Campaign is critical of the ACLJ's finances citing that the organization does not meet "10 out of 20 of the Better Business Bureau’s standards for charity accountability" and that ACLJ obfuscates how much Sekulow earns from the organization.[27][28][29]

See also

References

  1. ^ "US Groups Scrutinize Abortion Details in Kenya's Draft Constitution | East Africa | English". .voanews.com. May 24, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  2. ^ "No public school graduation ceremony at megachurch: Judge". USA Today. June 1, 2010.
  3. ^ "Bill O'Reilly: The FBI and the IRS". Fox News. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  4. ^ "Kenya: The 'Yes' Camp Has It Right". allAfrica.com. June 3, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  5. ^ "About the American Center for Law and Justice". ACLJ. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  6. ^ "Charity Navigator - Rating for American Center for Law and Justice - District of Columbia". Charity Navigator. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  7. ^ "Charity Navigator - Rating for American Center for Law and Justice". Charity Navigator. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "Trump attorney Jay Sekulow's family has been paid millions from charities they control". The Washington Post. June 27, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "Charities steered $65M to Trump lawyer Sekulow and family". Associated Press. January 31, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "ACLJ VS. ACLU: BATTLING ACRONYMS". The Christian Science Monitor. February 7, 1994. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  11. ^ "Kenya's draft constitution under attack from religious NGO". BBC. May 4, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  12. ^ Wadhams, Nick (June 29, 2010). "The Battle Over Kenya's New Constitution". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  13. ^ "New York Mosque plans face lawsuit". The Daily Telegraph. August 5, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  14. ^ AP (April 7, 2010). "Conservative Group Calls on Justice Dept. to Investigate Muslim Prayers on Capitol Hill". Fox News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  15. ^ Swaine, Jon (2018-07-24). "Trump lawyer uses government action on abortion to raise cash for own group". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  16. ^ Toobin, Jeffrey, "How Rudy Giuliani turned into Trump's clown", The New Yorker, September 10, 2018 ed. Retrieved 18-09-03.
  17. ^ "Advisory Board". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  18. ^ Mascaro, Lisa (August 29, 2023). "Conservative Groups Draw Up Plan to Dismantle the US Government and Replace It with Trump's Vision". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  19. ^ a b c d Davis, Aaron C.; Boburg, Shawn (June 27, 2017). "Trump attorney Jay Sekulow's family has been paid millions from charities they control". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Donor Alert: 'ACLJ' Is Two Charities Dominated by One Family". CharityWatch. July 19, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  21. ^ a b Smietana, Bob (September 5, 2012). "Tenn. lawyer's family, firm collect millions from charities". The Tennessean via. USA Today. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  22. ^ "Constitutional Litigation and Advocacy Group P.C." OpenCorporates. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  23. ^ Williamson, Elizabeth (December 1, 2019). "Trump's Other Personal Lawyer: Close to the Right, but Far From Giuliani". The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  24. ^ European Center for Law and Justice, About ECLJ Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Kaoma, Kapya (5 November 2012). "Major Christian Right Actors Seek to Criminalize Homosexuality in Africa". Political Research Associates. Archived from the original on 2019-09-18. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  26. ^ Andrews, James H. (7 February 1994). "How Other Rights Groups View the ACLJ". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  27. ^ "10 Things You Should Know About the American Center For Law And Justice". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  28. ^ "American Center for Law and Justice". give.org. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  29. ^ Smietana, Bob (5 September 2011). "Tenn. lawyer's family, firm collect millions from charities". USA Today. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
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