Kramer Levin Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief on Behalf of Mainstream Religious Groups Opposing Foster Care Agency That Refuses to Work with Same-Sex Couples

Kramer Levin has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of mainstream religious organizations and hundreds of individual faith leaders in an important LGBT rights case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The case addresses the claimed right of a foster care agency to refuse, on religious liberty grounds, to certify otherwise-qualified same-sex couples as foster parents, notwithstanding antidiscrimination provisions in the agency’s contract with the City of Philadelphia. Our clients included the President of the House of Deputies of The Episcopal Church; the Rabbinical Assembly; the Central Conference of American Rabbis; and the Central Atlantic, Penn Northeast, Pennsylvania Southeast and Penn West Conferences of the United Church of Christ, among others.

The Kramer Levin brief in Fulton documents the growing support among mainstream U.S. religions for fair and equal treatment under the law for LGBT individuals and their families. The brief opposes arguments by the foster care agency that enforcing the antidiscrimination obligations to which it agreed impinges upon its religious liberty. The brief also responds to arguments made by certain amicus briefs supporting the agency that enforcing antidiscrimination obligations will discourage faith-based organizations from providing social services or otherwise limit the diversity of the services offered. Contrary to the suggestion that civil rights protections for LGBT persons conflict with religious belief and practice, a growing number of mainstream faiths affirm same-sex couples’ relationships, including by supporting if not solemnizing their marriages. Diverse faith groups and religious observers also affirm LGBT persons’ place in civic life and agree that faith-based organizations should not discriminate against LGBT individuals when those organizations perform public social services under taxpayer funded government contracts.

The brief echoes themes in similar briefs filed by Kramer Levin in a string of marriage equality and LGBT rights cases, including United States v. Windsor (2013), in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act, Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which recognized same-sex couples’ constitutional right to marry, and Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Rights Commission (2018), which was decided on narrow grounds but affirmed that business owners cannot deny LGBT persons equal access to goods and services under neutral and generally applicable public accommodations laws.

The Kramer Levin team that drafted the brief includes Litigation partners Jeffrey S. Trachtman and Norman C. Simon and special counsel Tobias B. Jacoby and Jason M. Moff, with assistance from associate Benjamin Neuhaus.

Kramer Levin has played a leading role in pro bono LGBT rights litigation for nearly two decades. The firm previously submitted amicus briefs in Boy Scouts v. Dale and Lawrence v. Texas, two landmark LGBT rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court; the 2013 and 2015 marriage cases; and several intervening and subsequent cases in state and federal courts addressing marriage equality and LGBT rights. The firm also served as co-counsel in Hernandez v. Robles, a landmark case that sought equal marriage rights under the New York Constitution and helped raise awareness of the issue, culminating in the legislature updating New York law to provide marriage equality.

Read the full brief here.