Woman’s Handwritten Appeal Ends with a Supreme Court Decision
After Mary Ann Sause’s handwritten complaint was rejected, First Liberty Institute took her case and battled it out at the United States Supreme Court. Learn more at Firstliberty.org/Briefing.
Thank you for joining us for the First Liberty Briefing, an exclusive podcast where host Jeremy Dys—also First Liberty Senior Counsel—provides an insider’s look at the stories, cases, people and laws that have made America the world’s leader in protecting religious liberty.
The facts of Mary Anne Sause’s case are almost unbelievable. When the police visited her federally subsidized home one night investigating a noise complaint, they were clearly irritated. Their harassment and threats were so harsh that she feared she would be taken to jail.
That’s why she asked if she could pray silently while they finished their paperwork.
When an officer returning to the apartment noticed her on her knees, he ordered her to stop—which would’ve probably been fine if the officer continued asking questions necessary to a police investigation.
But, he didn’t.
Instead, he continued to mock her and suggest not too subtly that she should move away from their small Kansas town.
Mary Anne felt abused. So abused that she went to the library to research how to file a federal lawsuit.
With a paper and pen, she handwrote a complaint that a federal judge later dismissed. First Liberty took on her appeal and, what started as a hand written complaint, ended at the Supreme Court of the United States.
In a per curiam decision, the court granted Mary Anne’s appeal, vacated the decisions below, and remanded the case to the lower courts.
As the justices explained in their opinion, “There can be no doubt that the First Amendment protects the right to pray . . . Prayer unquestionably constitutes the ‘exercise’ of religion.”
To learn how First Liberty is protecting Religious Liberty for all Americans, visit FirstLiberty.org.
First Liberty Institute is the largest organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to protecting religious freedom for all Americans. Find out more here.
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