The Creation Seventh Day (and) Adventist Church began as a small group that broke off from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1988, and organized its own church in 1991.Article: "Preparing for Disaster," Charlotte Graham, The Clarion-Ledger, Section D – Southern Style, p. 1-D, Jackson, MS, Monday, August 23, 1999 It has been involved in court cases with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists over trademarks and internet domain names.

History

The Creation Seventh Day Adventists broke away from the official Seventh-day Adventist church in 1988, because of doctrinal disagreements; specifically, as a response to the acquisition and enforcing of a trademark regarding the name "Seventh-day Adventist" on other believers outside of the denominational umbrella. In 2012, there was a United States congregation located in Guys, Tennessee, and a church house in the country of Uganda as a result of missionary efforts in Africa.

Litigation

WIPO ruling on disputed domain names On May 23, 2006, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center received notice from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists regarding several domain names operated by the Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church. The defendant claimed that such a confiscation of web domains would be a violation of religious freedom. In the decision rendered on July 21, 2006, WIPO concluded that although "Respondent alleges that he is involved in the free dissemination of the gospel of Jesus Christ and not in commercial activity..." and disclaimers were posted on the domains in question, "persons interested in finding religious information are Internet users and consumers within the meaning of the Policy." They further concluded several of the church's domain names to be infringing on the trademark held by the General Conference, and based on these conclusions, WIPO ordered "that the Domain Names be transferred to Complainant."

U.S. federal trademark lawsuit The General Conference filed a lawsuit against the Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church in 2006, with Walter McGill as the defendant. McGill's defense cited the Free Exercise Clause, the fact that the church's name had never been used in commerce, and the lack of any actual confusion over the course of the church's fifteen-year history. He later added the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in support of his Free Exercise claim, citing that the use of the name "Creation Seventh Day Adventist" was mandated by his religion. The jury trial was initially rescheduled from January 2008 to June, but was further delayed. In the interim, on June 11, the Tennessee district court judge issued a partial summary judgment on behalf of the plaintiff that the name "Seventh-day Adventist" could not be used in the promotion of the church's materials or services at any locality in the United States, despite the Judge's conclusion that the Church sincerely believed that it took the name as a result of divine revelation with no intent to confuse or deceive the public. As of May 27, 2009, a recommendation for permanent injunction was adopted by the Court against McGill and the Church enjoining them from using the names "Seventh-day Adventist," "Seventh-day," "Adventist," or the acronym "SDA" either alone or in conjunction with modifying terms, with an order to submit a sworn notice of compliance to the Court by June 17, 2009. No compliance report was filed. In August 2009, an appellant brief was filed by the Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church in the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. On November 21 attorneys representing the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists submitted a Proposed Order of Contempt and Sanctions to the Court, seeking among other things the arrest of Pastor McGill pending his compliance, the dispatch of U.S. Marshals to the CSDA Church property to destroy signs and materials containing the terms banned under the injunction, the cost of attorney's fees, the authority to conduct an inquisition into others aside from Pastor McGill involved in managing the Church's websites, and the removal of all such websites. On December 14, Magistrate Judge Bryant issued a report and recommendation to the Court adopting much of the Conference's wording, but advising against the use of U.S. Marshals for the destruction of the Church's signs and materials in favor of having it done by the Plaintiffs themselves or their agents. Judge Breen adopted the recommended order in full on January 6, 2010, further authorizing the confiscation of several websites and domains registered either by the Church or suspected associates, including several not in violation of the injunction. On February 16, the order was enforced by a sign crew and a constable at the Guys property,The Daily Corinthian, front page, February 17, 2010 . Dailycorinthian.com. Retrieved December 2, 2011.McNairy County News, February 18, 2010 . Mcnairycountynews.com (February 18, 2010). Retrieved December 2, 2011. amid protests from members and supporters. On March 8 the main signs were repainted by the Church,The Daily Corinthian, March 13, 2010 . Dailycorinthian.com. Retrieved December 2, 2011. which the General Conference responded to with a motion for a contempt hearing, scheduled to be held on May 25. Lucan Chartier, the assistant pastor of the Guys congregation, testified to his involvement in the repainting of the signs and maintenance of Church websites, further answering when questioned that he would continue to do so because he "has no option but to continue doing what my religion dictates." On June 26, the Judge filed his report and recommendation to find both Mr. Chartier and Pastor McGill in contempt of court for disobeying the Court order in repainting the Church signs, maintaining websites, and editing the Wikipedia entry describing the movement. On August 10, the Court of Appeals handed down their judgment affirming the ruling of the District Court, concluding that while the ruling substantially burdens Pastor McGill's religious convictions, religious liberty laws were inapplicable in property disputes, with trademark law under that category as intellectual property. They further defined the RFRA as applying only to cases in which the Federal Government is a direct party, not cases in which a private party seeks to enforce Federal laws against another. In so ruling, the Court sided against a prior Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling concluding the opposite, siding instead with the previous dissenting opinion of then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor. On November 8, a petition for certiorari was filed with the Supreme Court of the United States, focusing on a portion of the Sixth Circuit's decision rejecting the defendant's claim that the RFRA's protection against religious beliefs being burdened applies to this case. The petition referenced disagreements between various Courts of Appeal on this matter, pointing out that while the Fifth and Seventh Circuits are in agreement with the Sixth Circuit in this regard, others, such as the Eighth and DC Circuits have in fact applied the RFRA to similar cases involving only private parties. The Rutherford Institute filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court on February 11, 2011, arguing that the case should be heard and the RFRA's protections defined as applicable to civil suits such as employment discrimination claims, intellectual property disputes, and bankruptcy proceedings. On April 18, the Supreme Court denied the petition. A second Report and Recommendation was filed on December 16 advising that McGill and Chartier both be placed into custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and required to serve thirty-day sentences in addition to a $500.00 fine. Overruling objections by both Chartier and McGill, Judge Bryant adopted the R&R and modified it in part on April 5, authorizing warrants for the arrest of both McGill and Chartier by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Arrests and incarceration Pastor McGill was arrested in Loma Linda, California on July 13, 2012, two days before he intended to turn himself in at the location,Olson, David. (July 15, 2012) Press Enterprise, July 15 2012 . Pe.com. and was incarcerated in the San Bernardino County prison."Creation Seventh Day Adventist Pastor Imprisoned, Fasting," Spectrum Magazine, July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012 On July 31, 2012, Chartier surrendered himself to San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies, and was incarcerated in the same location as McGillREDLANDS: Tennessee man arrested in dispute with Adventists , The Press Enterprise, July 31, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012 following a 20-minute press conference held before a group of reporters.Assistant Pastor in Adventist Church Dispute Surrenders to Redlands Police , Redlands-Loma Linda Patch. Retrieved August 1, 2012 McGill was held for thirty days before being released on August 11, 2012, during which time he engaged in a liquid-only fast. Upon his release, he expressed the intention to continue this fast another 10 days "to emulate a 40-day fast by Jesus." Chartier was released after ten days, on August 9, having also engaged in a similar fast, subsisting only on "water, along with some milk and the juice squeezed from oranges he sometimes had for breakfast." Both have indicated their intention to continue to maintain the name Creation Seventh Day Adventist for their religion, even if this means returning to jail in the future.

Petitions and walk across America