SUBJECT: Virginia Church and School Sue County Over Religious Liberty Violations

When is a church school not a church school? That might be the question at the root of a Religious Liberty
struggle in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where the county is being sued by a Baptist church and the school it
operates on its property. See the release below for details.

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Church Charges Spotsylvania County Violates Religious Freedom and First Amendment Rights
Federal Complaint Filed by Zoan Baptist Church, Represented by National Public Interest Law Firm

Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312.422.1333, tc@tcpr.net

(June 29, 2017 Fredericksburg, VA) On June 28, Zoan Baptist Church of Fredericksburg filed for a
preliminary injunction against Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The church argues the county is violating the
churchs federal rights in how it is applying a zoning ordinance to the churchs school, The Summit Academy.
The churchs filing states that it is unable to operate the Academy, a ministry of the church that is a religious
not-for-profit school of only 20 students, unless the county grants a special permit for it to do so. The church
is represented by the public interest law firm, the Thomas More Society, by Mauck & Baker, LLC, a Chicago
law firm as Special Counsel to the Society, and by James Davids of the Singer Legal Group in Virginia Beach.
The complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern Division of Virginia.

The court filing asserts the countys requirement of permission is illegal because the county is exceeding its
constitutional authority by declaring what is and what is not a church.

Zoan Baptist Churchs executive pastor, Jesse Booth, stated he informed Spotsylvania County that the church
was doing what was required by the zoning code, since The Summit Academy is part of the churchs ministry
and is operated by the church. However, the churchs court filing states that the county ignored the churchs
justification for not needing a special use permit. The church also claims such a process would not allow the
school to open on time for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year.

The county is not accepting the fact that this school is a legitimate accessory use, not requiring a special use
permit. Regrettably, that view of the ordinance ties the hands of the zoning administrators because they must
put the church through a lengthy process of two or more public hearings over a period of at least three months,
says Tom Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Society. Parents, students, and faculty
need to know in Julynot in September or Octoberif they can return to school in the fall. Excessive
bureaucratic procedures have created an uncertainty that isas we file this suitdamaging and potentially
devastating.

According to the federal complaint, the church believes it will succeed because:

The academy is a religious accessory use of the church and permitted at the property as of right.
The academy is an accessory use, complying with the countys ordinance.
 The countys ordinance and action have imposed a substantial burden on the church, in violation of the
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
Denying the church a valid accessory use and requiring it to go through an expensive, lengthy, and
unnecessary special use application imposes a substantial burden on the church.
The countys ordinance and actions violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The countys ordinance and actions violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution,
challenging the churchs religious legitimacy.
There is legal precedent that the church will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is denied because
of the loss of First Amendment freedoms.

The Zoan Baptist Church has an educational wing that is clearly accessory use for a school, which has also
been approved by the fire marshal and building department for educational use, says Patrick Looby, Academic
Dean for The Summit Academy. "For the county to say that we can have a school building, but can't actually
use the school building for education, doesn't make sense."

Thomas More Society Special Counsel, John Mauck, says, Giving the church the freedom that is guaranteed in
the U.S. Constitution also serves the public interest. Why would residents of Spotsylvania County want to see
their leadership apply ordinances in an unconstitutional manner to burden the church and deny its constitutional
rights to students? If the county wants to avoid immediate court action, we ask that the county agree
immediately to a one-year recognition of the schools continued right to educate their students at the church
property. During the upcoming year the parties can negotiate their interests, and if not, perhaps mediation or
court action down the road will resolve the dispute. The taxpayers will save potentially $200,000 because 20
students will be educated at private rather than public expense. However, if the county does not make that
reasonable accommodation, the church will have the right to obtain damages.

View the Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Declaratory Judgment
filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia here
[https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/brief-in-support-of-motion-for-pi/].

View the Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief filed in the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia here [https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/complaint-2/].

For inquiries contact:

John W. Mauck, Special Counsel to the Thomas More Society, 312.853.8709

Patrick Looby, Academic Dean for The Summit Academy, 315.528.5346
Jesse Booth, Executive Pastor for Zoan Baptist Church, 540.850.2533
Karl R. Holsten, Spotsylvania County Attorney, 540.507.7020

About the Thomas More Society

The Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life,
family, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago and Omaha, the Thomas More Society fosters support
for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the
United States Supreme Court. For more information, visit www.thomasmoresociety.org.