Impact of O Centro On RLUIPA Land Use Claims

The Becket Fund's RLUIPA website has posted a detailed legal memo on the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's O Centro decision on religious land use cases under RLUIPA. The memo concludes that: "The opinion should finally lay to rest any argument that RLUIPA violates the Establishment Clause..." The memo says, most importantly, the decision establishes what must be shown for a state or local government to show a compelling interest in enforcing land use laws that restrict religious exercise. A general interest in enforcing a zoning code is not enough. A government must show a compelling interest in a specific context. And a compelling interest is less likely to be found if the statutory scheme already makes exemptions available for some reasons. [Thanks to Rick Duncan via Religionlaw listerv for the lead.]