Cert. Denied In Case Interpreting RLUIPA "Equal Terms" Provision

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied certiorari in Lighthouse Institute for Evangelism v. Long Branch, NJ, (Case No. 07-1111). (Order List.) In the case, the 3rd Circuit below held, in a 2-1 decision, that the "equal terms" provision of Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act (Sec. 2(b)(1)) does not require a church to show that a "substantial burden" has been been placed on its religious exercise, but merely to show that it was treated worse than a secular organization that has a similar negative impact on the aims of the land-use regulation at issue. (See prior posting.)