Fighting the good fight... and winning

As American society has become secularized, the right of Christians to represent their faith publicly is increasingly at risk. Whether it be advocacy for the rights of the unborn, openly expressing their beliefs, declining to participate in activities they deem morally objectionable, or even gathering for Sunday worship, Christians are expected to tolerate unjust discrimination or face legal sanction. Legates Charles “Chuck” LiMandri and Paul Jonna, partners in the Southern California law firm LiMandri & Jonna LLP, are unwilling to accept violations of the rights of Christians by civil authorities, and have put their immense legal talent to work to preserve the religious liberties of their beleaguered clients, often prevailing in their efforts.

St. Thomas More, mentor

LiMandri lives and works in the San Diego suburb Rancho Santa Fe, and had been a successful litigator since 1983. A committed Catholic, he has grown increasingly concerned about the direction of society, saying “… I want to help preserve as much of our Judeo- Christian culture as I can.” He takes as his inspiration St. Thomas More, the 16th-century lord chancellor of England who was ultimately beheaded at the command of king Henry VIII, because he would not accept the King as self-proclaimed head of the Church.

In the early 2000s LiMandri joined Legatus and became involved in a number of civil rights legal battles, among the most notable being the effort to preserve a 43-foot cross erected atop San Diego’s Mount Soledad in 1954. The cross was built as a war memorial on public land, and its presence was challenged in the courts for being a religious symbol on government property. Between 2004 and 2012, LiMandri provided $2 million worth of pro-bono legal work to save the cross; supporters prevailed when a non-profit group bought the half-acre site on which the cross was built for $1.4 million.

At the urging of fellow Legates, LiMandri established the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund to support his work on behalf of religious rights. His organization has recently partnered with the Thomas More Society, a Chicago law firm led by Catholic attorneys engaged in similar work. LiMandri explained, “While it has not yet been finalized, we’ve effectively merged our two firms.”

Can fight city hall

In 2007, LiMandri was called on to defend the rights of four San Diego Christian firemen who objected to being ordered to participate in a city Gay Pride parade by a lesbian fire chief. The foursome participated the first year despite opposing the parade agenda, but found “they were subjected to obscene gestures and vulgar catcalls by the homosexual throng. When they would not respond to the sexual overtures of the crowd, it turned hostile, and they were further assaulted with insulting words and gestures.”

When they refused to participate the following year, the case went to court, with the city arguing the parade participation was a public relations function, like visiting a local school. LiMandri, arguing on behalf of the firemen, countered that it was in reality a political event “designed to advocate for the civil rights of homosexuals, and in recent years to promote the controversial concept of gay marriage.”

LiMandri again prevailed, and the city agreed that in the future city employees could no longer be mandated to participate in Gay Pride or other political events.

He is currently involved in another key case challenging those who promote the gay rights agenda, this time on behalf of California cake artist Cathy Miller of Tastries Bakery. Miller was asked to create a cake for a same-sex wedding reception, but she refused, citing her Christian beliefs. The couple filed a complaint with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which sought an order to force Miller to create cakes that celebrate same-sex ceremonies.

A state court judge ruled in Miller’s favor, but additional litigation is still pending. LiMandri believes Miller will ultimately win the case, as forcing her to make a same-sex wedding cake “would constitute compelled expressive speech; such compelled speech is absolutely prohibited by the First Amendment.”

Litigation for life

LiMandri is also involved in pro-life cases, representing David Daleiden and his Center for Medical Progress in litigation triggered by his 2015 release of undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby parts.

While in his early legal crusades LiMandri operated as a one-man operation, in 2016 he took on a like-minded young lawyer, Paul Jonna, whom he said, “has really been a big help to me.”

Jonna, a Latin Mass-attending Catholic with seven children, had previously worked at large law firms and was on track to become a partner. During that time, he noted, many partners held a secular liberal worldview, and “assumed you shared that.”

When Jonna complained to his pastor, the priest introduced Jonna to LiMandri, who eventually hired him. Jonna is now a partner in the firm and assists with LiMandri’s civil rights work, and a total of 10 lawyers are now employed by the firm.

Among the cases Jonna has been involved with include defending the rights of California churches to be treated on an equal basis as large retail outlets in regards to COVID-19 lockdowns. Jonna successfully advocated on behalf of Society of St. Pius X priest Fr. Trevor Burfitt, who serves at multiple California churches including Our Lady of the Angels Church in Arcadia. He also advocated for South Bay Pentecostal Church and its pastor, Bishop Art Hodges III, against the State of California and its governor, Gavin Newsom. The superior court judge on the case, Gregory Pulskamp, noted he was not convinced that churches should be treated differently than big-box retail stores as “… It appears that shoppers at Costco, Walmart, Home Depot., etc., may — and frequently do — congregate in numbers, proximity and duration that is very comparable to worshippers in houses of worship.”

Judge Pulskamp signed a permanent injunction barring the state from ever imposing discriminatory restrictions on houses of worship in an effort to combat COVID-19; the State of California also agreed to pay $2.15 million in “prevailing party” attorney fees. Jonna called the decision “vitally important,” and believes the California government has shown “a complete disregard for religion. They view it as unimportant.”

Jonna has also worked on other civil rights cases, including advocating on behalf of Children of the Immaculate Heart (CIH), a San Diego-area religious charity that helps women escape from sex trafficking. State licensing offices denied a license to CIH because they find CIH’s Catholic identity offensive, Jonna said, and they disagree with the charity’s religious beliefs about sexual orientation and reproduction.

Jonna won, and a license was granted. He observed, “What this case has exposed is that officials of the State of California, despite the San Diego area having a major sex trafficking problem, would rather leave CIH closed and unable to help victims, rather than having the home run by Catholics.”

Both LiMandri and Jonna are grateful for the support and encouragement their Legatus Chapter has provided them in their legal advocacy work; Jonna is the Chapter’s current president and LiMandri past president.

Many more important civil rights cases are pending; for additional information, visit the Thomas More Society website ( www.thomasmoresociety.org).

LiMandri concluded, “It has been a struggle, but we’re winning some important battles.”

JIM GRAVES is a Legatus magazine contributing writer.