Amended Complaint Allowed In Suit Over Transcendental Meditation In Schools

In Separation of Hinduism From Our Schools v. Chicago Public Schools, (ND IL, Aug. 17, 2021), an Illinois federal district court granted in part plaintiffs' motion to amend their complaint in a suit challenging Chicago Public Schools' "Quiet Time" program which was led by a Transcendental Meditation instructor. In a previous opinion, the court dismissed claims against a private foundation and the University of Chicago which helped implement the program. (See prior posting.) Now the court holds that plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that the private foundation and the University were joint participants with the state to be state actors who can violate constitutional rights. However the court accepts the University's defense that its participation was not part of an official policy or custom-- a necessary component of liability under 42 USC §1983. The court also held that the complaint adequately states claims against the University, the foundation and the public schools under the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Free Exercise Challenges To Illinois COVID Orders Dismissed As Moot

In Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church v. Pritzker, (ND IL, July 26, 2021), an Illinois federal district court dismissed as moot religious freedom challenges by two churches to Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker's now-expired emergency COVID-19 orders. The court said in part:

[I]t is absolutely clear that the alleged wrongful behavior— restrictions on religion due to the COVID-19 pandemic— are not reasonably expected to recur.

7th Circuit En Banc: Ministerial Exception Applies To Hostile Work Environment Claims

In Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Calumet City, (7th Cir., July 9, 2021), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, held by a vote of 7-3 that the ministerial exception doctrine applies to protect religious organizations from  hostile work environment claims alleging minister-on-minister harassment. A 3-judge panel had reach the opposite conclusion. At issue is derogatory and demeaning comments made to the church's gay music director by the church's pastor. The majority opinion, written by Judge Brennan, said in part:

This case concerns what one minister, Reverend Dada, said to another, Demkovich. Adjudicating Demkovich’s allegations of minister-on-minister harassment would not only undercut a religious organization’s constitutionally protected relationship with its ministers, but also cause civil intrusion into, and excessive entanglement with, the religious sphere.

Judge Hamilton filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Judges Rovner and Wood, saying in part: 

[P]laintiff is not asking the court to pass on the substance of the Catholic Church’s religious doctrines or practices. Civil courts have nothing to say about whether the Church should permit same-sex marriage, for example, or whether the Church should have a hierarchical supervisory structure. The Church was free to decide whether to retain plaintiff or fire him. But plaintiff’s hostile work environment claims allege conduct that constituted abuse under neutral, generally applicable standards that would be enforceable on behalf of a non-ministerial employee. That conduct is, by definition, not necessary to control or supervise any employee.

Bloomberg Law reports on the decision.

Suit Against Chicago Schools Over Transcendental Meditation Program Can Move Ahead In Part

In Separation of Hinduism from Our Schools v. Chicago Public Schools, (ND IL, May 21, 2021), plaintiffs challenged Chicago Public Schools' "Quiet Time" program which was led by a Transcendental Meditation instructor. They claim that the sessions contained elements of Hinduism in them. The court dismissed claims of some of the plaintiffs for lack of standing, and dismissed claims against the private foundation and the University of Chicago which helped implement the program. One of the plaintiffs, a former student who was required to participate in the program, was found to have standing to bring Establishment and Free Exercise clause claims as well as a claim under the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act against the Chicago public schools. His father also had standing on 1st Amendment claims arising before his son's 18th birthday. The court said in part:

[E]ven if the Williamses were seeking only nominal damages, they would have standing to sue. In a case decided after the parties' briefs were submitted, the Supreme Court held that "a request for nominal damages satisfies the redressability element of standing where a plaintiff's claim is based on a completed violation of a legal right." Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 141 S. Ct. 792, 802 (2021).

Certiorari Denied In Church's Challenge To Illinois COVID Restrictions

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied review in Elim Romanian Church v. Pritzker, (Docket No. 20-569, certiorari denied, 3/29/2021). (Order List).  In the case, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a church's challenge to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 orders which restrict-- or in their latest form urge restriction-- on the size of worship services. (See prior posting.)

7th Circuit Denies Preliminary Injunction Against Prior Illinois Limits On Worship Services

In Cassell v. Snyders, (7th Cir., March 8, 2021), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to issue a preliminary injunction against a now-superseded Illinois COVID-19 order that prohibited public gatherings of more than ten people, including religious services. The court said in part:

Intervening authority from the Supreme Court offers plaintiffs a greater prospect for success on the merits of their First Amendment claim than either the district court or we had expected. See Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, 141 S. Ct. 63 (2020). Yet recent Supreme Court authority has also indicated that equitable considerations weigh against granting a preliminary injunction at this time, when the prospect of irreparable injury to the plaintiffs is very low....

Even if the plaintiffs now appear more likely to succeed on the merits of their free exercise claim, there simply is no compelling need for preliminary relief against these long-expired orders, and there is every reason to expect that even if Illinois in the future believes some binding restrictions on worship services are needed, it will act with a close eye on the Supreme Court’s latest pronouncements on the subject, including the need for measures closely tailored to meet public health needs.

[Thanks to Jeff Pasek for the lead.]

Ministerial Exception Applies To Whistleblower Act Claim

In Rehfield v. Diocese of Joliet, (IL Sup. Ct., Feb. 4, 2021), the Illinois Supreme Court held that the ministerial exception doctrine applies to require dismissal of a suit alleging retaliatory discharge in violation of the state's Whistleblower Act. In the suit, the principal of a Catholic elementary school alleged that her employment was terminated because she reported a parent's threatening conduct to police. After discussing prior Supreme Court and Circuit Court precedent, the court said:

In light of the consistent body of authority discussed above, we decline to hold that plaintiff’s whistleblower claim is exempt from application of the ministerial exception. We note, however, that our holding is confined to the claim at issue in this case. We express no opinion on whether the exception bars a suit filed in any case other than the one before us.

The court also concluded that the principal was a "minister" for purposes of the ministerial exception, saying in part: 

although her formal title (“lay principal”) does not necessarily indicate a religious role, it is apparent from the record that plaintiff’s job duties entailed numerous religious functions in furtherance of the school’s Catholic mission.

Rules For Possessing Coyotes Survive Free Exercise Challenge

In Tranchita v. Callahan, (ND IL, Jan. 5, 2021), an Illinois federal district court rejected an attempt by a wildlife educator who cares for orphan coyote pups to recover a coyote taken from her by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The Department insists that the breeder must hold a hound running area permit in order to legally possess the coyote. Plaintiff claims, among other assertions, that the permit requirement violates her free exercise of religion rights:

Tranchita contends that it is her religious belief that she must “‘do unto others as [she] would have them do unto [her],’” that this belief “extends to animals as well as humans,” and that running hounds after coyotes violates this belief.

All the parties agreed that the permit requirement is neutral and generally applicable. The court then concluded:

Because the Hound Running Permit requirement is neutral and generally applicable, the Court must next ask whether the requirement “is rationally related to a legitimate government interest.”... And it is here that Tranchita fails to show a likelihood of success on the merits. No matter how tame a coyote may seem, it is still a wild animal that could pose danger to other animals (such as pets) and people if it were to escape from its enclosure in a densely populated area. Illinois has a legitimate interest in trying to prevent such situations from occurring, and it may do so through regulating who can possess coyotes and where.

Cert. Filed In Church's Challenge To Illinois COVID-19 Orders

 A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed today with the U.S. Supreme Court in Romanian Pentecostal Church v. Pritzker, (cert. filed 10/14/2020).  In the case, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a church's challenge to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 orders which restrict-- or in their latest form urge --restriction on the size of worship services. (See prior posting.)  Liberty Counsel issued a press release announcing the filing of the petition for Supreme Court review.                

Pretextual Religious Reasons For Firing Not Protected By Religious Autonomy Doctrine

In Garrick v. Moody Bible Institute, (ND IL, Oct. 13, 2020), an Illinois federal district court allowed a former Instructor of Communications at Moody Bible Institute (MBI) to move ahead with her Title VII disparate treatment and retaliation claims, but not her hostile work environment claim. Plaintiff Janay Garrick says she encountered rampant gender discrimination and harassment, and that MBI used disagreement with her religious views as a pretext for her firing. Rejecting in part MBI's religious autonomy defense, the court said:

Garrick alleges that Moody expected female teachers of secular subjects to perform more demanding duties and submit to more onerous performance reviews than similarly situated male teachers.... Under those circumstances, a reasonable inference can be made from the allegations that Moody fired Garrick because it held female teachers to higher standards than their male counterparts, not because it disapproved of her egalitarian religious views.

The court had dismissed an earlier version of plaintiff's complaint on church autonomy grounds. (See prior posting.)

Court Denies Summary Judgment In Attempt To Permanently Enjoin Disclosure Requirements By Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers

 In National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Rauner, (ND IL, Sept. 3, 2020), an Illinois federal district court denied summary judgment to two pro-life crisis pregnancy centers that are seeking to permanently enjoin enforcement of an Illinois statutory provision conditioning immunity for health care providers on their disclosure of medical options, including those that conflict with their religious beliefs. They must also facilitate patients' obtaining such services from others. In 2017, a different federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the Act. (See prior posting.) In refusing at this stage of litigation to make the injunction permanent, the court said in part:

In this litigation, Plaintiffs allege that the CPCs’ ability to promote their religiously motivated pro-life messaging ... are threatened by changes to the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act adopted in 2016....The law will compel them, Plaintiffs assert, to discuss the benefits of treatments they deem objectionable: abortion, contraception, or sterilization. Likewise, under the law, Plaintiffs must facilitate those treatments by providing patients with lists of doctors who provide those services or by transferring or referring patients to them. Both requirements violate Plaintiffs’ First Amendment Speech and Free Exercise rights, they claim....

Starting with the requirement to discuss the benefits of abortion, the court agrees with Defendant that as in Casey, this is a regulation of professional conduct that only incidentally burdens speech....

The court is mindful that from Plaintiffs’ perspective, the law compels speech on a message antithetical to their beliefs and thereby contradicts this Free Speech principle. But the court too recognizes that Plaintiffs’ patients are no less deserving of this right to decide for themselves what ideas are worth considering and adhering to, and the state may be well within its powers to protect this principle in a context involving “matters of the highest privacy and the most personal nature.”...

If the law does no more than bring the regulations of conscience objectors into conformity with that of other medical professionals (again, still a disputed issue), then the amended HCRCA may not be characterized as discriminating against religious medical professionals. The law’s text and history ... suggest instead that the legislature adopted the changes due to legitimate concerns about patient access to healthcare and not out of a desire to stifle religiously-motivated conduct.

7th Circuit: COVID-19 Order Exempting Religious Services Is Valid

 In Illinois Republican Party v. Pritzker, (7th Cir., Sept. 3, 2020), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by the Illinois Republican Party that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's COVD-19 Order limiting gatherings (including political gatherings) to 50 people is unconstitutional because there is an exemption from the limit for religious services. The court, denying a preliminary injunction, said in part:

A careful look at the Supreme Court’s Religion Clause cases, coupled with the fact that EO43 is designed to give greater leeway to the exercise of religion, convinces us that the speech that accompanies religious exercise has a privileged position under the First Amendment, and that EO43 permissibly accommodates religious activities....

Because the exercise of religion involves more than simple speech, the equivalency urged on us by the Republicans between political speech and religious exercise is a false one.... Free exercise of religion enjoys express constitutional protection, and the Governor was entitled to carve out some room for religion, even while he declined to do so for other activities.

Jurist reports on the decision.  [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Suit Says Chicago Schools Program Promoted Hindu Beliefs

Organizations comprised of parents, students and churches this week filed suit in an Illinois federal district court challenging on Establishment Clause and free exercise grounds the "Quiet Time" program that has been implemented in a number of Chicago public schools. the complaint (full text) in Separation of Hinduism From Our Schools v/ Chicago Public Schools, (ND IL, filed 8/3/2020), alleges in part:

3. Although all named Defendants have made statements to the contrary, the “Quiet Time” program is based in Hindu beliefs and the practice of “Transcendental Meditation” is fundamentally religious in nature.

4. Plaintiffs’ rights under the First Amendment were violated when Defendants created environments within public schools where Hindu beliefs and the practice of “Transcendental Meditation” were being endorsed and students were coerced to engage in religious practices against their wills.

Christian News reports on the lawsuit.

Problem Meeting Parking Requirements Can Be RLUIPA "Substantial Burden"

In Immanuel Baptist Church v. City of Chicago, (ED IL, July 20, 2020), an Illinois federal district court held that plaintiff Church adequately pleaded that the city's parking regulations imposed a "substantial burden" under RLUIPA on its religious exercise. The court said in part:

Church was burdened by substantial expense, time and resources trying to comply with the City’s parking requirements. Under the original deal it had with the owner of the Property, the Church intended to purchase two buildings. Because of the City’s determination that the Church did not comply with its parking requirements, the Church was not able to close on the deal in 2016. Then when it was able to close on the deal two years later, the Church was only able to purchase one building. And during that delay, the Church spent money paying rent and used significant resources trying to negotiate with the City and identify potential parking solutions. Although the City finally exempted the Church from the parking requirement in 2019, that did not change the fact that the Church had spent significant time, money, and resources over those years, and lost the opportunity for ownership of one of the buildings. All of this was particularly difficult for the Church which has great needs and very limited resources....

Justice Kavanaugh Refuses To Enjoin Illinois District Court's Upholding of COVID-19 Limits On Political Gatherings

As previously reported, on July 2 an Illinois federal district court rejected arguments by state and local Republican organizations that the governor's COVID Order placing more restrictions on political party gatherings than religious gatherings violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. On July 3, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals denied plaintiffs' application for a injunction pending appeal. Plaintiffs immediately filed an Emergency Application for an Injunction (full text) with the U.S. Supreme Court, through a filing with Justice Kavanaugh who is Circuit Justice for the 7th Circuit.  The petition requested relief by 5:00 pm on July 4. On July 4, Justice Kavanaugh denied the request. Washington Examiner reports on the Supreme Court's action.

Illinois Can Favor Religious Gatherings Over Political Ones

In Illinois Republican Party v. Pritzker, (ND IL, July 2, 2020) an Illinois federal district court rejected arguments by state and local Republican organizations that the governor's COVID Order placing more restrictions on political party gatherings than religious gatherings violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The court said in part:

Because the exemption is a content-based restriction, this provision can only stand if it survives strict scrutiny....

Plaintiffs contend that the Governor cannot satisfy the least restrictive means test because a political party caucus is no more likely to spread COVID-19 than a church service.... However, the Constitution does not accord a political party the same express protections as it provides to religion.... Additionally, the Order’s limited exemptions reinforce that it is narrowly tailored. The Order only exempts two other functions from the gathering limit: emergency and governmental functions. These narrow exemptions demonstrate that the Order eliminates the increased risk of transmission of COVID-19 when people gather while only exempting necessary functions to protect health, safety, and welfare and free exercise of religion. Therefore, the Governor has carried his burden at this stage in demonstrating that the Order is narrowly tailored to further a compelling interest, and the Order survives strict scrutiny.

Injunction and $1M Damages For False Use Of Kosher Certification Symbol

In Chicago Rabbinical Council v. Abdul Rehman Group, Inc., (ND IL, June 9, 2020), an Illinois federal district court awarded statutory damages of $1 million under the Lanham Trademark Act to the Chicago Rabbinical Council ("cRc") in its suit against a company that was without authority applying a cRc logo to its food products, falsely indicating that they had been approved as kosher.  The court also issued a broad injunction barring defendant from using the cRc logo in any way to mislead others into believing that its products were certified by cRc. Kosher Today reports on the decision.

7th Circuit Upholds Illinois COVID-19 Restrictions On Worship Services

In Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church v. Pritzker, (7th Cir., June 16, 2020), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a church's challenge to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 orders which restrict-- or in their latest form urge restriction-- on the size of worship services. The court said in part:

Plaintiffs maintain ... that the ten-person cap disfavors religious services compared with, say, grocery shopping (more than ten people at a time may be in a store) or warehouses (where a substantial staff may congregate to prepare and deliver the goods that retail shops sell)....

So what is the right comparison group: grocery shopping, warehouses, and soup kitchens, as plaintiffs contend, or concerts and lectures, as Illinois maintains? Judges of other appellate courts have supported both comparisons....

It would be foolish to pretend that worship services are exactly like any of the possible comparisons, but they seem most like other congregate functions that occur in auditoriums, such as concerts and movies.... Functions that include speaking and singing by the audience increase the chance that persons with COVID-19 may transmit the virus through the droplets that speech or song inevitably produce....

Courthouse News Service reports on the decision.

Suit Challenges Illinois Abortion Coverage Mandate

Suit was filed this week in an Illinois state trial court by a religious organization and two employers challenging the Illinois Reproductive Health Act of 2019.  The Act requires every health insurance plan which provides pregnancy-related benefits to also provide coverage for abortion. The complaint (full text) in Illinois Baptist State Association v. Illinois Department of Insurance, (IL Cir. Ct., filed 6/10/2020), contends that the statute violates the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act. Thomas More Society issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Churches Fail In Challenge To Illinois COVID-19 Limits

In Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church v. Pritzker, (ND IL, May 13, 2020), an Illinois federal district court refused to grant a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to two churches challenging the governor's COVID-19 limitation on worship services. The governor's order requires social distancing and limits worship services to ten people.  The court said in part:

[B]ecause Jacobson [v. Massachusetts] is implicated by the current health crisis, and because the Order advances the State’s interest in protecting its citizens from the pandemic, the court concludes that plaintiffs have a less than negligible chance of success on their constitutional claims.  Moreover, even if Jacobson’s emergency crisis standard does not apply, plaintiffs have failed to show any likelihood of success under traditional First Amendment analysis. ...

[P]laintiffs have provided no evidence that the Order targets religion. They point to the Order’s exemptions for essential businesses that may host more than ten people and argue “if large gatherings at liquor stores, warehouse supercenters, and cannabis stores are not prohibited – and distancing and hygiene practices are only required to the greatest extent possible – even though endangering citizens (or not) to an equal degree, then it is obvious religious gatherings have been targeted for discriminatory treatment.” The court disagrees.

Gatherings at places of worship pose higher risks of infection than gatherings at businesses.

WLS TV reports on the decision.