First Liberty



U.S. Senate Gives the Perfect Religious Liberty Gift
by Confirming a 50th Circuit Court Judge

Dear John,

Who doesn't love opening a Christmas gift a little bit early?

That's why we're happy announce that earlier this week,
the U.S. Senate confirmed former First Liberty volunteer network
attorney, Lawrence VanDyke, for a lifetime federal judgeship on the
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

VanDyke is the 50th appeals court judge confirmed since the beginning
of the current administration, a groundbreaking milestone in the
appointment of judges to America's federal courts.

In fact, to date the Senate has confirmed close to 90% of the current
president's circuit court nominees, and that historic rate is
the engine that's driving a dramatic transformation across the
federal circuits.

Currently, 7 of 13 circuit courts are comprised of a majority of
conservative-appointed judges. That's a big change from when the
current president initially took office, when only 4 circuits had
conservative-appointed majorities.

And why is this so important in reclaiming our First Freedom?

Because now those judicial seats are staffed with excellent judges
whose records reflect a strong commitment to religious freedom and the
original text of the Constitution.

VanDyke is certainly among them. He's one of our county's
most brilliant legal minds and brings a background showing a passion
to defend religious liberty. In fact, his first oral argument as a
young attorney was when he volunteered his time with First Liberty.

Of course, his appointment is of critical significance because it
means the addition of another pro-religious freedom judge to the Ninth
Circuit, a court infamously known to hand down opinions detrimental to
religious liberty.

In addition to VanDyke's confirmation, First Liberty is also
thrilled to celebrate with you the vast record-breaking judicial
appointments we've seen in 2019. The confirmations over the last
year alone have helped America's judiciary take a monumental
leap to get "Back to the Constitution."

To achieve this, our legal team has been working tirelessly behind the
scenes all year long to evaluate the religious freedom track record of
nominees and offering our findings to President Trump and the Senate.

With God's grace, First Liberty has become the go-to source on
the religious freedom qualifications of judicial nominees. But this
has demanded an investment of thousands of staff hours and nearly $2.3
MILLION in out-of-pocket expenses...at a time when we've also
been called to fight multiple high-stakes Supreme Court cases, such as
our defense of the Bladensburg Memorial case, Sweet Cakes by Melissa
and Coach Joe Kennedy.

This investment, however, is having a major and lasting
impact-as we now have over 170 judges who will help safeguard
religious freedom for me, you and your family for the next 30 or even
40 years.

Yet it would be a grave mistake to let down our guard. The enemies of
religious freedom aren't backing down. In fact, some of our
biggest battles ever will be fought in the coming year.

As we prepare for 2020, this may be our last chance for us to offer
our expertise and analysis on pro-religious freedom nominees.

There's a limited, short window of opportunity
for us to reclaim our federal judiciary and to staff it with judges
who will elevate the Constitution and cast aside radical political
agendas.

That's why I'm counting on YOU, John, to go ALL IN with First Liberty to help reclaim our
federal courts...RIGHT NOW!

With your ongoing support and trust, First Liberty can continue doing
the critical work of providing expert legal analysis to the Senate and
the administration, ensuring that the best, most qualified and most
importantly-pro-religious-freedom-nominees are vetted for
a seat in America's federal courts.

Will you consider donating to First Liberty and help us achieve our
$2.8M year-end goal?

Your financial gift is critical in helping our federal courts get
"Back to the Constitution."

Yes, I will make a financial contribution today.
[link removed]

Gratefully, 

Kelly

Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq.
President, CEO & Chief Counsel
First Liberty Institute

 



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