The Individual Rights Foundation ("IRF") is the legal arm of the Center for
the Study of Popular Culture. The IRF has become a nationally-recognized public
interest organization that litigates high-profile conservative and
libertarian public interest cases with a proven track record. The IRF has developed an
impressive resume of past cases and reported opinions in which it has
participated. The IRF is involved in significant litigation, yet performs with a modest
operating budget.
The IRF operates primarily through the efforts of General Counsel Manny
Klausner and IRF affiliated attorneys. The IRF also operates as the Center’s
counsel and provides it with a shield against attacks from hostile sources such as
Islamic radical Hussein Ibish’s libel threat against David Horowitz and
FrontPage Magazine. Among other notable cases, the IRF successfully represented
Matt Drudge in defending him against the libel suit brought by Sidney Blumenthal,
President Clinton's senior adviser.
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A listing of IRF litigation matters includes:
HOROWITZ v. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES – LA COUNTY SEAL LITIGATION. After
receiving a threat of litigation from the ACLU Foundation of Southern California,
the Board of Supervisors of the County of Los Angeles voted, 3-2, in
September 2004 to remove the cross from the County Seal and adopt a new seal to avoid
the claim that the design conveyed a constitutional establishment of religion.
On September 29, 2004, the IRF, on behalf of ten plaintiffs, with David
Horowitz as lead plaintiff, filed a Complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court
to challenge the County of Los Angeles’ decision to remove the cross from the
County seal, on the grounds that the County’s decision (a) reflected a
hostility to religion and violated the federal and California Constitutions, and (b)
involved a waste of taxpayer funds. Manny Klausner, IRF’s general counsel is
working on this case together with John Eastman of Claremont Institute’s
Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence and IRF affiliated attorneys, William J.
Becker and Don Wagner.
BOY SCOUTS LITIGATION. To support our long-term relationship with the
Boy Scouts, the IRF has established a Boy Scouts Defense Fund to assist the
Scouts in defending against ongoing legal assaults by the ACLU and other groups.
The IRF will file an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in
support of the Boy Scouts' appeal of a recent case invalidating the Scouts’
long term arrangement with the City of San Diego to use parkland areas.
Last February, the IRF filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in
support of the Boy Scouts' petition for certiorari in Boy Scouts of America v
Wyman, to review a recent case holding that Connecticut's state employee
charitable campaign may exclude the Boy Scouts from the charity drive, as a group
which discriminates against homosexuals in its leadership positions. No other of
the more than 900 charities that received funds from the charity drive,
including various gay and lesbian organizations, were excluded. The IRF's brief
raised significant issues concerning Connecticut's denial of the Boy Scouts'
First Amendment expressive association rights and viewpoint discrimination. The
brief was co-authored by IRF affiliated attorney Paul Hoffman and Manny
Klausner. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court denied the Boy Scouts' petition for review.
The Center recently published a pamphlet describing the ACLU’s campaign
against the Scouts, a copy of which is available upon request.
ISLER v BEVERLY HILL UNIFIED HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT - Cal. Superior Court
(Los Angeles). We are representing Mark Isler, who was released as a
probationary school teacher by the Beverly Hills Unified School District ("District")
because of his conservative political ideology, in violation of fundamental
constitutional and statutory rights. The case against the District is pending in
Los Angeles Superior Court and is now in the pretrial discovery phase. It is
set for trial next year.
FIREFIGHTERS' CASES - U.S. Dist. Ct. (C.D. Cal.) and Ninth Circuit.Our
case in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Smollen v. City of Los Angeles,
on behalf of a white applicant who was discriminated against, based on race,
in seeking employment for a position as firefighter in the Los Angeles Fire
Department, is pending before Judge Byrne. Two related cases are pending in the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A settlement conference in the Smollen case
is scheduled for January. If the cases don't settle, we expect the Smollen
case to be set for trial later in 2005.
These cases were brought in connection with the IRF's constitutional
challenge to a 1974 Consent Decree which required at least 50% of all new firefighter
hires to be minorities. After protracted litigation, the Consent Decree was
vacated. The District Court recognized that the IRF was instrumental in
getting the City of Los Angeles and the U.S. Department of Justice to stipulate to
an order to vacate the Consent Decree.
LYLE v WARNER BROS. TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS - Cal. Supreme Ct. The IRF
filed an amicus letter with the California Supreme Court in support of Warner
Brothers' petition for review of a recent decision of the Court of Appeal
which needlessly and erroneously interpreted sexual harassment law in an overly
broad way that menaces free speech and artistic freedom. The Supreme Court
granted Warner Brothers’ petition for review, and the IRF plans to file an amicus
brief in support of Warner Brothers’ position.
The case arises out of a claim of sexual harassment by a former secretary who
had been employed by the producers of the TV show, “Friends.” The case
involved the use of sexually vulgar language on the set of the show, in connection
with creating new programs. The Court of Appeal held that sexual
harrassment claims can be based on speech that is a necessary part of the job, such as
the comments made in producing and airing a situation comedy like "Friends."
FIRST AMENDMENT VIEWPOINT DISCRIMINATION CASE - Fourth Circuit. The IRF
filed an amicus brief in Newsom v. Albermarle County School Board in support of
a student's appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals from a case in U.S.
District Court for the Western District of Virginia. The district court
affirmed the school board's suspension of the student for wearing a t-shirt with a
pro-gun rights message at school. In a significant victory for the IRF's
position, the Fourth Circuit entered its judgment last December vacating the
decision of the district court.
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PUBLICATIONS. Manny Klausner contributed to a chapter on "equality under law"
for Lee Edwards' informative new book for Heritage Foundation, "Bringing
Justice to the People," on the freedom-based public interest law movement. The
book discusses the contributions made by the IRF and other
conservative/libertarian public interest law organizations. Klausner also authored a brief updated
introduction to his 1975 interview with Ronald Reagan for Reason, and can email
a copy upon request (send request to mklaus@aol.com).
To support the activities of IRF, send $25 for a one year membership to:
Individual Rights Foundation
P.O. 361269
Los Angeles, CA 90036-9828
Yearly members are entitled to the Center's newsletter, which includes IRF
updates. All contributions are tax deductible and go towards funding of the
IRF's litigation activities in defense of Constitutional Rights.
If you are a lawyer who would like to learn about pro bono
opportunities with the Individual Rights Foundation, please contact Manny Klausner at MKlaus@aol.com.
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