CHRISTIAN HEALTHCARE CENTERS, INC. (23-1769); SACRED HEART OF JESUS PARISH, GRAND RAPIDS, JERRY HATLEY, ROBIN HATLEY, JOSEPH BOUTELL, RENEE BOUTELL, PETER UGOLINI, and KATIE UGOLINI (23-1781); ST. JOSEPH PARISH ST. JOHNS v. DANA NESSEL, et al. - Articles

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CHRISTIAN HEALTHCARE CENTERS, INC. (23-1769); SACRED HEART OF JESUS PARISH, GRAND RAPIDS, JERRY HATLEY, ROBIN HATLEY, JOSEPH BOUTELL, RENEE BOUTELL, PETER UGOLINI, and KATIE UGOLINI (23-1781); ST. JOSEPH PARISH ST. JOHNS v. DANA NESSEL, et al.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Sep 20, 2024

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Bryan D. Neihart, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Scottsdale, Arizona, for Appellant. Kimberly K. Pendrick, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellees.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Bryan D. Neihart, Jonathan A. Scruggs, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Scottsdale, Arizona, John J. Bursch, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Kimberly K. Pendrick, Heather S. Meingast, Tonya C. Jeter, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellees. Steven W. Fitschen, NATIONAL LEGAL FOUNDATION, Chesapeake, Virginia, Frederick W. Claybrook, Jr., CLAYBROOK LLC, Washington, D.C., Randall L. Wenger, INDEPENDENCE LAW CENTER, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Miles E. Coleman, Adam B. McCoy, NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH LLP, Greenville, South Carolina, Erin N. Kniffin, ETHICS & PUBLIC POLICY CENTER, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae.

Attorneys 3: ARGUED: Cody S. Barnett, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Lansdowne, Virginia, for Appellants. Kimberly K. Pendrick, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellees.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Cody S. Barnett, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Lansdowne, Virginia, John J. Bursch, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Washington, D.C., Ryan J. Tucker, Katherine L. Anderson, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Scottsdale, Arizona, for Appellants. Kimberly K. Pendrick, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Detroit, Michigan, Cassandra A. Drysdale-Crown, Heather S. Meingast, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellees. Steven W. Fitschen, NATIONAL LEGAL FOUNDATION, Chesapeake, Virginia, Randall L. Wenger, INDEPENDENCE LAW CENTER, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Miles E. Coleman, Adam B. McCoy, NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH LLP, Greenville, South Carolina, for Amici Curiae.

Attorneys 5: ARGUED: William J. Haun, THE BECKET FUND FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Kimberly K. Pendrick, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellees.

Attorneys 6: ON BRIEF: William J. Haun, Lori H. Windham, Nicholas R. Reaves, Richard C. Osborne, THE BECKET FUND FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Kimberly K. Pendrick, Tonya C. Jeter, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Detroit, Michigan, Heather S. Meingast, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellees. Stephen J. van Stempvoort, MILLER JOHNSON, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Amicus Curiae.

Judge(s): WHITE, STRANCH, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan at Grand Rapids

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. In these three related cases, Plaintiffs—Christian Healthcare Centers, a medical service ministry; Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Catholic school joined by several of the school’s parents; and St. Joseph Parish St. Johns, a Catholic parish operating a school—challenge aspects of Michigan’s antidiscrimination laws. They allege that Michigan’s laws chill their speech and conduct in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court dismissed each case for want of standing, reasoning that no Plaintiff had shown that Michigan’s laws arguably proscribed its speech or conduct and that, in the alternative, there was no credible threat that Michigan would enforce its laws against any Plaintiff.

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