Supreme Court Term Opens-- Red Mass And Cert. Denials

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2011-12 term opened yesterday with two traditions intact-- the Red Mass and denials of certiorari in hundreds of cases. Catholic Review reports that on Sunday, the 58th annual Red Mass to mark the opening of the Supreme Court's term was celebrated in Washington's Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. The mass is sponsored by the John Carroll Society. Supreme Court justices attending the Mass were Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito.

Among the cases of interest in which the Supreme Court denied certiorari yesterday (Order List) were:

• Jefferson County Board of School Commissioners v. Smith (No. 10-1402)-- the 6th Circuit en banc, in an 11-4 opinion, held that two plaintiff school teachers have standing as municipal taxpayers to bring an Establishment Clause challenge to the closing of the a Tennessee school district's alternative school and its outsourcing the services instead to a Christian private school. (See prior posting).
• Sherman v. Koch (No. 10-1191)-- In a 2-1 decision, the 7th Circuit upheld Illinois' Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act against Establishment Clause and vagueness challenges. The refusal to review was reported on by Education Week. (See prior posting.)
• Orange County, Calif., v. Khatib, (No. 10-1505)-- the 9th Circuit, en banc, concluded that a courthouse holding facility is a "pretrial detention facility" that is covered by RLUIPA. Huffington Post reports on the denial of cert, (See prior posting).
• DeWeese v. ACLU, (No. 10-1512)-- the 6th Circuit held that a Ten Commandments display posted in a courtroom by a state common pleas court judge violates the Establishment Clause. AP reports on the denial of cert. (See prior posting.)
• St. Elizabeth's Child Care v. Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, (No. 10-1391)-- a Pennsylvania state appellate court rejected free exercise challenges by a Catholic child day-care center to the requirement that it obtain a state certificate of compliance in order to operate. (See prior posting.)
• San Leandro, CA v. International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, (No. 11-106)-- the 9th Circuit reversed the district court and held that a city's zoning decision made under a neutral, generally applicable zoning law can impose a "substantial burden" on a church's exercise of religion under RLUIPA. The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the Supreme Court's action. (See prior posting.)

UPDATE: The Supreme Court on Monday also denied certiorari in Spencer v. World Vision, Inc., (No. 10-1316)-- The 9th Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, held that the Christian humanitarian organization, World Vision, comes within the exemption in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act  for religious organizations. The Court's action is reported in Christianity Today. (See prior posting.) [Thanks to Ted Olsen for the lead.]