Detroit Judge Finds Religious Freedom Violation By Faith-Based Drug Program

A Detroit (MI) federal district judge ruled on Friday that that the religious freedom rights of plaintiff Joseph Hanas were violated when a drug treatment program in which a state court placed him attempted to convert him from his Catholic Faith to the Pentecostal faith of those running the Inner City Christian Outreach Center. (See prior related posting.) Today's Detroit Free Press reports that until the judge issues a written decision, it is unclear whether the court also held against a court caseworker and a court volunteer who failed to take Hanas out of the program when they learned of its coercive tactics. Hanas eventually received treatment in a non-religious program, but the state court has not expunged from his record the jail time which he served when he refused to complete the Pentecostal program to which he was originally assigned. The federal lawsuit was filed only after litigation in state court, including an unsuccessful petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court (Docket No. 04-1461), failed to obtain relief for Hanas. (See prior related posting.)