Our prestigious Amicus Brief Program has played a vital role in legally advancing Hadassah’s policy priorities. Over the last forty years, Hadassah has joined over 150 amicus curiae (friend of the court) coalition briefs in a range of cases central to Hadassah policies in cases vital to women and the Jewish community, including a multitude of human and civil rights issues and combating antisemitism. Most briefs are in cases regarding women’s health and First Amendment-related religious issues.

The participation of Hadassah in a coalition amicus brief, in light of the size of its membership and its ability to provide the perspective of Jewish women nationwide, is particularly meaningful.

Members of the Hadassah Attorneys and Judges Council are central to the success of the nationwide Amicus Brief Program Committee and play an essential role in the process, reviewing amicus briefs and providing valuable input to determine whether Hadassah should join particular briefs. All Hadassah Council Members who are attorneys or judges are welcome to join the Committee.

Members of the Hadassah Attorneys and Judges Council are central to the success of the nationwide Amicus Brief Program Committee and play an essential role in the process, reviewing amicus briefs and providing valuable input to determine whether Hadassah should join particular briefs. All Hadassah Council Members who are attorneys or judges are welcome to join the Committee.

Hadassah joins coalition amicus briefs prepared by organizations that share its policy priorities for women and the Jewish community and are consistent with the positions adopted in policy statements by Hadassah’s National Board and delegates. By signing on to amicus briefs, Hadassah becomes a more visible voice for the views of American Jewish women, promotes its policy goals, and makes a major impact in cases involving significant issues.

Hadassah joins coalition amicus briefs prepared by organizations that share its policy priorities for women and the Jewish community and are consistent with the positions adopted in policy statements by Hadassah’s National Board and delegates. By signing on to amicus briefs, Hadassah becomes a more visible voice for the views of American Jewish women, promotes its policy goals, and makes a major impact in cases involving significant issues.

In 1980, Hadassah joined its first amicus brief in Fedorenko v. United States, in which the Supreme Court ruled that any person who participated in the Holocaust is permanently barred from obtaining US citizenship. The Supreme Court held that the concentration camp guard could be denaturalized for failure to disclose his participation in the Nazi genocide in violation of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.

Since 1980, Hadassah has joined over 150 amicus curiae coalition briefs in US Supreme Court, and federal and state appellate court cases, and a few federal district court cases. The national Amicus Brief Program was founded in 1998 to increase Hadassah’s advocacy efforts by establishing a formal process to join amicus briefs. The great majority of our briefs were signed on to after Hadassah’s AmicusBrief Program was formalized in 1998 (1980s: 11 cases; 1990s: 20 cases; 2000s: 29 cases; and since 2010: more than 75 cases).

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In 1980, Hadassah joined its first amicus brief in Fedorenko v. United States, in which the Supreme Court ruled that any person who participated in the Holocaust is permanently barred from obtaining US citizenship. The Supreme Court held that the concentration camp guard could be denaturalized for failure to disclose his participation in the Nazi genocide in violation of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.

Since 1980, Hadassah has joined over 150 amicus curiae coalition briefs in US Supreme Court, and federal and state appellate court cases, and a few federal district court cases. The national Amicus Brief Program was founded in 1998 to increase Hadassah’s advocacy efforts by establishing a formal process to join amicus briefs. The great majority of our briefs were signed on to after Hadassah’s AmicusBrief Program was formalized in 1998 (1980s: 11 cases; 1990s: 20 cases; 2000s: 29 cases; and since 2010: more than 75 cases).

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Over the past forty years, Hadassah has signed on to a range of coalition amicus briefs in furtherance of its policy positions. Our amicus brief coalition partners include the National Women’s Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the American Association of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists.

Recent briefs we have joined include:

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (U.S. 21-418) The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the coach and against the position of Hadassah's amicus brief. The Court found that the high school football coach was entitled to sue the school board after losing his job because of his post-game prayers at the 50-yard line. By a vote of 6-3, the justices ruled that the coach's conduct was protected by the First Amendment.

Weiss v. National Westminster Bank, PLC (U.S. 21-381), The cert. petition concerning the proper interpretation of the Antiterrorism Act regarding funding for terrorist entities (in which Hadassah filed an amicus brief) has been denied.  

A & R Engineering and Testing, Inc., v. Paxton (5th Cir. 22-20047) Texas passed an anti-Boycott, Divestiture, and Sanctions (BDS) law that prevents Texas agencies and institutions from contracting with organizations that participate in BDS activities. In January 2022, the federal district court ruled that the Texas law violates First Amendment rights and blocked implementation with a preliminary injunction, even though the law does not impact speech criticizing Israel. The amicus brief argues that Texas's law does not violate the First Amendment because the statute regulates conduct not speech, and because Texas has a legitimate interest in preventing discrimination against Jews.

Virginia v. Ferriero, (D.C. Cir. 21-5096) This case concerns whether the Equal Rights Amendment should be declared as currently in effect. After Hadassah signed on to the district court amicus brief, the district court dismissed the complaint for lack of standing. The appellate amicus brief argues both the merits and Article III issues.

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Combating Antisemitism

Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, 141 S. Ct. 703 (2021) and Republic of Hungary v. Simon, 140 S. Ct. 931 (2021)
‍The US Supreme Court had ruled in favor of Germany's and Hungary's holding of Medieval art stolen by the Nazi regime, citing the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which states that foreign nations are immune from the jurisdiction of US courts. Hadassah joined a brief arguing that taking the property was an act of genocide and that the German and Hungarian governments were not protected under this Act. Read the amicus briefs here>

Fedorenko v. United States, 449 U.S. 490 (1981)
This case was the first amicus brief Hadassah ever joined, in which the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that any person who participated in the Nazi genocide is permanently barred from obtaining US citizenship. Fyodor Fedorenko, who had been a guard at the Treblinka concentration camp, had applied for US citizenship and had not disclosed his participation in the Holocaust. Hadassah signed on to an amicus brief calling for Fedorenko’s denaturalization. The Supreme Court held that he could be denaturalized for having made a material misrepresentation in his citizenship application.

Supporting Israel ‍

Zivotofsky v. Kerry, 576 U.S. 1 (2015)
In 2002, Congress enacted a law allowing US citizens born in Jerusalem to list Israel as their country of birth. However, this was then challenged by the Secretary of State, with whom the Supreme Court ultimately sided, arguing the law unlawfully encroached on the President’s power over foreign affairs. Hadassah joined a brief arguing that the statute only authorized a limited ministerial act and is a proper exercise of congressional authority. In 2020, the State Department changed its policy to comply with the 2002 statute. Read the amicus brief here>

Women’s Health 

June Medical Center Services, LLC v. Russo,  140 S. Ct. 2103 (2020)
As urged by an amicus brief that included Hadassah, the Supreme Court found that Louisiana's Unsafe Abortion Protection Act, which required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, was unconstitutional. However, this case suggests a possible weakening of the standards used to review laws restricting abortion due to arguments in Chief Justice John Roberts’s opinion which would seem to allow a devastating range of restrictions to be upheld. Read the amicus brief here>

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, 573 U.S. 682 (2014)
The Supreme Court held that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement for employers to provide contraceptive coverage to its employees violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Hadassah joined a brief arguing that the application of the RFRA in this case would undermine rather than promote religious liberty. Read the amicus brief here>

California v. Azar, 911 F.3d 558 (9th Cir. 2018)
In 2017, the Trump Administration issued two Interim Final Rules (IFRs) exempting all persons and entities with sincerely held religious or moral beliefs from providing contraceptive and sterilization coverage to women under the Affordable Care Act. Following a brief that Hadassah had joined, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ultimately affirmed an injunction blocking this ruling (although limited to the scope of the Ninth Circuit). Read the amicus brief here>

Civil and Human Rights

‍American Legion v. American Humanist Ass’n, 138 S. Ct. 2067 (2019)
The Supreme Court ruled that Maryland did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in maintaining the 40-foot Bladensberg Peace Cross at a World War I Memorial to fallen soldiers. Hadassah had joined an amicus brief arguing that a governmental display of a cross as a memorial to veterans is deeply hurtful and exclusionary to the countless non-Christians who have died in service to our Nation.. Read the amicus brief here>

Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado, 138 S. Ct. 1719 (2018)
After the owner of the owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled against the bakery; theSupreme Court then overruled the decision. Hadassah joined a brief that argued it is critical to prohibit discrimination in public places. It further argued that public accommodation laws are fundamental to guaranteeing equal access to the marketplace to women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community and to other protected groups. Read the amicus brief here>

Ledbetter v Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007)
The Supreme Court found, contrary to Hadassah’s amicus brief, that the later effects of past discrimination do not restart the clock for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in her dissent, noted that pay disparities often occur in small increments, and that an employee’s cause to suspect discrimination at work develops only over time. Two years later, Congress passed a law overturning Ledbetter. Read the amicus brief here>

Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2002)
Contrary to Hadassah’s amicus brief, the Supreme Court found that a Virginia law banning cross burning was overly broad where the statute included all types of cross burning — including cross burning with the intent to intimidate (which could be banned under the First Amendment) and cross burning for other purposes. Hadassah joined a brief arguing that the government may constitutionally forbid acts of intimidation, even when accomplished in the form of speech or expressive conduct. Read the amicus brief here>

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 991 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2021)
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a football coach at a public high school, who prayed on the fifty-yard line with his students at the end of football games, violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Hadassah joined a brief arguing that because a public-school teacher is a government official, the coach’s prayer was government speech and violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The football coach ultimately filed a cert. petition with the Supreme Court (Docket No. 21-418) in fall 2021, which is currently pending. Read the amicus brief here>

Virginia v. Ferriero, No. 21-5096 (D.C. Cir.) (amicus brief filed Jan. 10, 2022)
This case concerns an attempt to revive the Equal Rights Amendment after several states challenged the refusal of the Archivist of the United States to publish and certify that amendment as part of the Constitution. After the District Court found that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue, the plaintiff states appealed, and Hadassah signed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs. Read the amicus brief here>

Over the past forty years, Hadassah has signed on to a range of coalition amicus briefs in furtherance of its policy positions. Our amicus brief coalition partners include the National Women’s Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the American Association of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists.

Recent briefs we have joined include:

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (U.S. 21-418) The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the coach and against the position of Hadassah's amicus brief. The Court found that the high school football coach was entitled to sue the school board after losing his job because of his post-game prayers at the 50-yard line. By a vote of 6-3, the justices ruled that the coach's conduct was protected by the First Amendment.

Weiss v. National Westminster Bank, PLC (U.S. 21-381), The cert. petition concerning the proper interpretation of the Antiterrorism Act regarding funding for terrorist entities (in which Hadassah filed an amicus brief) has been denied.  

A & R Engineering and Testing, Inc., v. Paxton (5th Cir. 22-20047) Texas passed an anti-Boycott, Divestiture, and Sanctions (BDS) law that prevents Texas agencies and institutions from contracting with organizations that participate in BDS activities. In January 2022, the federal district court ruled that the Texas law violates First Amendment rights and blocked implementation with a preliminary injunction, even though the law does not impact speech criticizing Israel. The amicus brief argues that Texas's law does not violate the First Amendment because the statute regulates conduct not speech, and because Texas has a legitimate interest in preventing discrimination against Jews.

Virginia v. Ferriero, (D.C. Cir. 21-5096) This case concerns whether the Equal Rights Amendment should be declared as currently in effect. After Hadassah signed on to the district court amicus brief, the district court dismissed the complaint for lack of standing. The appellate amicus brief argues both the merits and Article III issues.

‍
Combating Antisemitism

Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, 141 S. Ct. 703 (2021) and Republic of Hungary v. Simon, 140 S. Ct. 931 (2021)
‍The US Supreme Court had ruled in favor of Germany's and Hungary's holding of Medieval art stolen by the Nazi regime, citing the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which states that foreign nations are immune from the jurisdiction of US courts. Hadassah joined a brief arguing that taking the property was an act of genocide and that the German and Hungarian governments were not protected under this Act. Read the amicus briefs here>

Fedorenko v. United States, 449 U.S. 490 (1981)
This case was the first amicus brief Hadassah ever joined, in which the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that any person who participated in the Nazi genocide is permanently barred from obtaining US citizenship. Fyodor Fedorenko, who had been a guard at the Treblinka concentration camp, had applied for US citizenship and had not disclosed his participation in the Holocaust. Hadassah signed on to an amicus brief calling for Fedorenko’s denaturalization. The Supreme Court held that he could be denaturalized for having made a material misrepresentation in his citizenship application.

Supporting Israel ‍

Zivotofsky v. Kerry, 576 U.S. 1 (2015)
In 2002, Congress enacted a law allowing US citizens born in Jerusalem to list Israel as their country of birth. However, this was then challenged by the Secretary of State, with whom the Supreme Court ultimately sided, arguing the law unlawfully encroached on the President’s power over foreign affairs. Hadassah joined a brief arguing that the statute only authorized a limited ministerial act and is a proper exercise of congressional authority. In 2020, the State Department changed its policy to comply with the 2002 statute. Read the amicus brief here>

Women’s Health 

June Medical Center Services, LLC v. Russo,  140 S. Ct. 2103 (2020)
As urged by an amicus brief that included Hadassah, the Supreme Court found that Louisiana's Unsafe Abortion Protection Act, which required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, was unconstitutional. However, this case suggests a possible weakening of the standards used to review laws restricting abortion due to arguments in Chief Justice John Roberts’s opinion which would seem to allow a devastating range of restrictions to be upheld. Read the amicus brief here>

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, 573 U.S. 682 (2014)
The Supreme Court held that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement for employers to provide contraceptive coverage to its employees violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Hadassah joined a brief arguing that the application of the RFRA in this case would undermine rather than promote religious liberty. Read the amicus brief here>

California v. Azar, 911 F.3d 558 (9th Cir. 2018)
In 2017, the Trump Administration issued two Interim Final Rules (IFRs) exempting all persons and entities with sincerely held religious or moral beliefs from providing contraceptive and sterilization coverage to women under the Affordable Care Act. Following a brief that Hadassah had joined, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ultimately affirmed an injunction blocking this ruling (although limited to the scope of the Ninth Circuit). Read the amicus brief here>

Civil and Human Rights

‍American Legion v. American Humanist Ass’n, 138 S. Ct. 2067 (2019)
The Supreme Court ruled that Maryland did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in maintaining the 40-foot Bladensberg Peace Cross at a World War I Memorial to fallen soldiers. Hadassah had joined an amicus brief arguing that a governmental display of a cross as a memorial to veterans is deeply hurtful and exclusionary to the countless non-Christians who have died in service to our Nation.. Read the amicus brief here>

Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado, 138 S. Ct. 1719 (2018)
After the owner of the owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled against the bakery; theSupreme Court then overruled the decision. Hadassah joined a brief that argued it is critical to prohibit discrimination in public places. It further argued that public accommodation laws are fundamental to guaranteeing equal access to the marketplace to women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community and to other protected groups. Read the amicus brief here>

Ledbetter v Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007)
The Supreme Court found, contrary to Hadassah’s amicus brief, that the later effects of past discrimination do not restart the clock for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in her dissent, noted that pay disparities often occur in small increments, and that an employee’s cause to suspect discrimination at work develops only over time. Two years later, Congress passed a law overturning Ledbetter. Read the amicus brief here>

Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2002)
Contrary to Hadassah’s amicus brief, the Supreme Court found that a Virginia law banning cross burning was overly broad where the statute included all types of cross burning — including cross burning with the intent to intimidate (which could be banned under the First Amendment) and cross burning for other purposes. Hadassah joined a brief arguing that the government may constitutionally forbid acts of intimidation, even when accomplished in the form of speech or expressive conduct. Read the amicus brief here>

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 991 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2021)
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a football coach at a public high school, who prayed on the fifty-yard line with his students at the end of football games, violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Hadassah joined a brief arguing that because a public-school teacher is a government official, the coach’s prayer was government speech and violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The football coach ultimately filed a cert. petition with the Supreme Court (Docket No. 21-418) in fall 2021, which is currently pending. Read the amicus brief here>

Virginia v. Ferriero, No. 21-5096 (D.C. Cir.) (amicus brief filed Jan. 10, 2022)
This case concerns an attempt to revive the Equal Rights Amendment after several states challenged the refusal of the Archivist of the United States to publish and certify that amendment as part of the Constitution. After the District Court found that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue, the plaintiff states appealed, and Hadassah signed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs. Read the amicus brief here>