New York, NY, May 29, 1998…The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has joined an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the appeal of Bauchman v. West High School, a notorious case in which Rachel Bauchman, a Jewish student, was required to engage in Mormon religious activities as a part of a choir class at a Utah public high school.

The brief asks the Supreme Court to consider overturning a controversial circuit court decision which radically departed from prior Supreme Court rulings. Although Ms. Bauchman had presented ample evidence that her choir teacher’s purpose in designing the class’s curriculum was to promote the Mormon religion, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the teacher’s conduct did not violate the First Amendment.

The brief asserts that if the Tenth Circuit decision is allowed to stand, it "will have the insidious effect of permitting the advancement of religion in public schools in all but the most narrow of cases." The decision, the brief states, "provides a road map for public school teachers to convert their lectern into a pulpit."

"The Supreme Court ought not let the Tenth Circuit’s outrageous decision stand," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "The religious freedom of all Americans is jeopardized when courts allow public school authorities to promote their own narrow religious agendas in clear violation of the Constitution."

The brief was prepared on ADL’s behalf by the New York law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton. More than a dozen other organizations joined it, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the American Jewish Committee, the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists and the National Organization for Women Foundation.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.