Jeffrey Thaler to be honored with Scolnik Award
MCLU applauds commitment to religious liberty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        
Wednesday, April 4, 2007  

Jeffrey Thaler

PORTLAND, ME – The Maine Civil Liberties Union will present its 2007 Justice Louis Scolnik Award to Portland attorney Jeffrey A. Thaler, a Shareholder in the law firm Bernstein Shur, on Thursday, April 26, 2007, at 7:00pm at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport.  A reception for event sponsors will take place immediately preceding the dinner at 6:00pm.

“Jeff Thaler is being recognized because his work has been crucial to preserving church and state separation in Maine,” said Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union.  “Without Jeff’s efforts, the people of Maine could have been required to fund religious education.”
 
In 1997, Thaler agreed to represent the MCLU at no charge in the Bagley v. Strout school voucher lawsuit.  The case evolved into a series of two State and two Federal lawsuits and appeals, including two requests for U.S. Supreme Court review, all of which considered whether the state of Maine should be compelled to fund religious education for its citizens.   Thaler remained the lead attorney on each of these additional cases.  His efforts finally reached fruition on November 29, 2006 when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a lower Court decision in the remaining lawsuit, Anderson v. Town of Durham, thereby upholding Maine’s decision not to fund religious education. 

Thaler has been in law practice in Maine for over 30 years and is recognized nationally by Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA for his civil litigation and environmental legal efforts.  He is a frequent speaker to lawyer, business and citizen groups on such topics as toxic torts, civil justice, environmental permitting and compliance, and legal ethics.

In addition to serving on the Land for Maine's Future Board, and the Boards of the World Affairs Council of Maine, Maine Trial Lawyers Association, and Environmental and Energy Technology Council, Thaler is a volunteer group facilitator at the Center for Grieving Children and a Big Brother to an 11 year-old-boy in Portland. As part of the Trial Lawyers Care program, he provided two years of free legal services to a family who lost their father in the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Thaler resides in Yarmouth.  He is married to Karen Massey; they have two children, Greg and Kai. 

The Scolnik Award, established in 1989, honors members of Maine’s legal community who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the protection of civil liberties.  The award is named for former Maine Supreme Court Justice Louis Scolnik.  Justice Scolnik, who lives in Lewiston, was a founder and the first president of the Maine Civil Liberties Union.
 
The dinner will be hosted by David Currier, Rabbi Alice Dubinsky, John Paterson and Howard Reben.  The featured speaker will be Dr. Jeremy Gunn, Director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.  Dr. Gunn is globally recognized for his work on religious freedom, his expertise on the Establishment Clause and his deep commitment to civil liberties.
 “The ACLU works to ensure that freedom of religion and belief is protected by keeping the government out of religion.  As ACLU founder Roger Baldwin famously said, ‘no fight for liberty ever stays won,’” said Bellows. “We are fortunate to have Jeff Thaler and Jeremy Gunn on our side to respond to these challenges.  It is an honor to recognize them for their dedication to religious liberty.”