Mission of the AHLC

Appignani Humanist Legal Center Launches with a Strong Start

Despite the Humanist movement's long history of utilizing the courts to stand-up for our rights, no group has ever had more than a handful of lawyers assisting with the process. To address this, and to ensure that our constitutional rights are represented in court, the American Humanist Association (AHA) launched the Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC) in mid-May 2006. Through amicus activity and litigation, our team of pro-bono lawyers, including Humanist luminaries such as Jim McCollum, Wendy Kaminer, and Michael Newdow, provides legal assistance to defend the constitutional rights of religious and secular minorities by directly challenging clear violations of the law where it relates to First Amendment/Establishment Clause concerns.

Latest News

"Humanists File Legal Brief in Summum Case: No Permanent Religion in Public Parks"

The American Humanist Association filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Pleasant Grove City, UT, et al. v. Summum on June 23, 2008.  The brief argued against allowing the Summum religious group to display its aphorisms in the same public park where a Ten Commandments monument appears, stating: “Two wrongs make a right … would be the principle” that the Supreme Court would establish if it affirmed the decision below permitting Summum to put its monument in the park.  Instead, the American Humanist Association urged the Court to hold that permanent religious monuments in city parks constitute government endorsement of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause. Should the Court adopt this position, a lawsuit to remove the Ten Commandments monument from Pleasant Grove’s Pioneer Park would be anticipated. View the Brief [PDF]

Additionally, the AHLC has provided legal assistance to other atheist organizations nationwide in helping them to draft their own amicus letters. See our Legal Activity pages for more information.