Magistrate Rejects Preliminary Injunction Request for Jehovah's Witness Congregation Zoning

In Merrimack Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses v. Town of Merrimack, (D NH, Jan. 24, 2011), a New Hampshire federal magistrate judge recommended denying a preliminary injunction to a Jehovah's Witness congregation that unsuccessfully sought a zoning exception to build a Kingdom Hall in an area zoned residential. The court rejected plaintiff's free exercise claim, finding that plaintiff "was unable to identify anything religiously significant" about the property on which it sought to build. Today's Nashua Telegraph reports on the decision.