Plaintiff is an organization comprised of individuals who believe that the "consumption of distilled spirits is both [a] moral obligation and sacred right." ... It further alleges that, using Idaho's local-option law, the City of Preston enacted a prohibition on the sale of liquor by the drink, and that this prohibition violates the rights of Plaintiff's members to freely exercise their religion and discriminates against them because of their religious beliefs.... Apparently, Plaintiff holds its services on the premises of the Owl Club, a local beer and wine saloon operating in Preston, which does not sell distilled spirits pursuant to the city's prohibition.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Free Exercise Challenge To Local Option Law Dismissed Under 11th Amendment
In Ethereal Enigmatic Euphoric Movement Towards Civilized Hedonism, Ltd. v. State of Idaho, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123041 (D ID, Oct. 24, 2011), an Idaho federal district court dismissed on 11th Amendment immunity grounds a suit claiming that a city's use of a state local option law to ban the sale of alcoholic beverages violates plaintiff's free exercise rights, among others. The complaint alleged that:
