Russian Court Sentences Jehovah's Witness To 6½ Years In Prison

Forum 18 reports that in the Russian city of Pskov, a trial court has sentenced a 61-year old Jehovah's Witness to 6½ years imprisonment on charges of financing extremist activity.  This is the longest sentence imposed on a Jehovah's Witness since the 2017 Russian Supreme Court decision banning Jehovah's Witness activity.  A 6-year sentence was imposed on another Jehovah's Witness by a court in the city of Oryol last year.

6th Circuit Upholds Company's Religious Accommodation For Jehovah's Witness

In Small v. Memphis Light, Gas & Water, (6th Cir., March 12, 2020), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an employment discrimination claim by a Jehovah's Witness. The court concluded that Memphis Light adequately accommodated their employee's religious beliefs when it allowed him to swap shifts with other employees. Judge Thapar filed a concurring opinion, criticizing the Supreme court's Hardison decision.

European Court Finds That Azerbaijan Violated Rights of Jehovah's Witnesses

On February 20, 2020, the European Court of Human Right issued two chamber judgments finding violation of religious freedom rights by Azerbaijan. In Nasirov and Others v. Azerbaijan (application no. 58717/10), the court held that the detention of several Jehovah’s Witnesses for door to-door preaching and distribution of literature violated their rights to freedom of religion (Art. 9) and liberty of person (Art. 5) under the European Convention on Human Rights.

In Religious Community of Jehovah’s Witnesses v. Azerbaijan (no. 52884/09), the Court concluded that Azerbaijan's ban on the importation of specified religious books violated Jehovah's Witnesses freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights (Art. 10) considered in connection with their right to freedom of religion (Art. 9), saying in part:

Cases which involve prior restraint call for special scrutiny by the Court.

Azerbaijan had argued that the three titles in question contained disparaging remarks about the Christian and Jewish communities, contending:

[T]he books in question implied religious superiority and incited religious discord and could therefore damage the peaceful coexistence of several religious communities in a multireligious society...

The court concluded however that Azerbaijani courts "did not carry out careful balancing exercise in conformity with the criteria laid down in its case-law and did not provide “relevant and sufficient” reasons for the interference."

Cert. Denied In Dispute Over Liability of National Church Body For Sex Abuse By Church Elder

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review in Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York v. J.W., (Docket No. 19-40, certiorari denied 10/7/2019). (Order List). In the case, a California state appellate court upheld an award against national church body of over $4 million to a girl who, when she was ten years old, was sexually abused by an elder of the Jehovah's Witness church.  (See prior posting.) The petition for certiorari (full text) raised 1st Amendment issues both as to liability for acts of congregants and production of internal documents. Friendly Atheist blog discusses the case.

EEOC Sues Over Firing of Jehovah's Witness Employee

The EEOC announced this week that it has filed suit in a New York federal district court against Pedidatrics 2000 for religious discrimination in firing a Jehovah's Witness employee.  When the employee requested not to attend a December holiday party because it would violate her religious practices, she was fired by the health care company's owner who texted her: "[W]e can't tolerate religious privileges from anyone." JD Supra reports on the lawsuit.

State Department Sanctions Two Russians For Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses

Last week the State Department publicly designated two investigative officials in Russia's western Siberian city of Surgut as ineligible to enter the United States because of their involvement in persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses.  The State Department's press release said in part:

The Department is publicly designating Vladimir Petrovich Yermolayev, the Head of the Investigative Committee in the city of Surgut, Russia, and Stepan Vladimirovich Tkach, Senior Investigator at the Investigative Committee of Surgut, Russia, under Section 7031(c) of the FY2019 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, due to their involvement in gross violations of human rights.  Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.

... On February 15, 2019, officers of the Surgut Investigative Committee, led by Yermolayev and Tkach, subjected at least seven Jehovah’s Witnesses to suffocation, electric shocks, and severe beatings during interrogation at the Committee’s headquarters.  This brutality stands in marked contrast to the peaceful practices of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who have been criminally prosecuted for their religious beliefs in Russia since a 2017 Supreme Court decision affirming their wrongful designation as an “extremist organization.”

Sex Abuse Lawsuit Against Jehovah's Witnesses To Be Filed Today

The provision in Sec. 3 of New York's Child Victims Act that creates a one-year window for filing previously time-barred child sex abuse lawsuits is triggered as of today.  New York Post reports that two former Jehovah's Witnesses will file suit in state court today:

Lawyers for Heather Steele, 48, and John Michael Ewing, 47, alleged at a press conference Monday that the Witnesses and its eight-member leadership council even maintain a database of church sex offenders that it’s kept secret....

Ewing claims in his lawsuit that a Jehovah’s Witness elder molested him “approximately four to six times per week” for four years, starting when he was 14 — including while his abuser was on vacation with his family.

Steele, who grew up in New York and is now living in Orlando, Florida, claims she was still in diapers when Jehovah’s Elder Donald Nicholson, a family friend, started molesting her in the mid-1970s.

EEOC Wins Settlement For Jehovah's Witness Employee

In a July 31 press release, the EEOC announced that American Medical Response of Tennessee, Inc., a medical transportation service company, has settled a religious discrimination lawsuit filed against it by the EEOC. The company will pay $40,000 in damages for refusing to continue accommodating a Jehovah's Witness employee's request for Sundays off for worship.  The company also entered a 2-year consent decree requiring it to develop a religious accommodation policy and train its employees regarding Title VII.

Russian Appeals Court Upholds Sentence of Jehovah's Witness

Moscow Times reports today that a 3-judge panel of a Russian appellate court has upheld the 6-year sentence of a Danish Jehovah's Witness adherent who was convicted of organizing a banned "extremist group".  According to the Times:

Armed police detained Dennis Christensen, a builder, in May 2017 at a prayer meeting in Oryol, some 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Moscow after a court in the region outlawed the local Jehovah's Witnesses a year earlier.

Court Dismisses Suit Challenging Church's Internal Investigation

In Williams v. Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, (UT App, March 21, 2019), a Utah state appellate court upheld the dismissal of an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim brought by a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses against church bodies and individuals.  At issue was the manner in which a judicial committee of the Church conducted an investigation into plaintiff Ria Williams sexual conduct.  The court said in part:

In the summer of 2007, Williams met another Jehovah’s Witnesses congregant (“Church Member”). Williams and Church Member began seeing each other socially, but the relationship quickly changed and throughout the rest of the year Church Member physically and sexually assaulted Williams, who was a minor....

After questioning Williams about her sexual conduct, the Elders played an audio recording of Church Member raping Williams. Church Member recorded this incident and gave it to the Elders during their investigation of Williams. The recording was “several hours” in length. Williams cried and protested as the Elders replayed the recording. The Elders played the recording for “four to five hours” stopping and starting it to ask Williams whether she consented to the sexual acts. During the meeting Williams was “crying and physically quivering.” Williams conceded she was able to leave but risked being disfellowshipped if she did....

Allowing Williams’s claims in this case to be litigated would require the district court to unconstitutionally inject itself into substantive ecclesiastical matters. Williams argues she is not challenging the Church’s ability to determine what constitutes “sinful behavior”.... But Williams asks the factfinder to assess the manner in which the Church conducted a religious judicial committee, which requires it to assess religiously prescribed conduct....

We conclude Williams’s claim for IIED requires an inquiry into the appropriateness of the Church’s conduct in applying a religious practice and therefore violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Canadian Court Certifies Class In Sex Abuse Suit Against Jehovah's Witnesses

In Canada in a class action lawsuit against two Jehovah's Witness entities, a Quebec Superior Court has approved the certification of a class consisting of current or former Jehovah's Witnesses who allege they were sexually assaulted as minors in Quebec by either an elder of the religious group or a fellow member. As reported by CTV News, plaintiffs allege failure to protect and efforts to dissuade reporting to police authorities. A Jehovah's Witnesses spokesman said that the organization reports abuse allegations to authorities as required by the Youth Protection Act.

Russian Court Sentences Jehovah's Witness To 6 Years In Prison

Forum 18 reports that after 74 hearings over the past year, a Russian trial court in the city of Oryol yesterday sentenced Jehovah's Witness adherent Dennis Christensen to six years in prison under Russia's law banning extremist organizations. The court convicted Christensen of "organizing the activities of a banned extremist organisation" (Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1).  An appeal is planned. Christensen becomes the first Jehovah's Witness sentenced to prison in post-Soviet Russia.  Over 100 other criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses are pending.  In 2017, Russia's Supreme Court banned all Jehovah's Witness activity and ordered their property seized by the state. (See prior posting.)  Christensen will be entitled to credit for time already served in jail, and so will likely serve no more than 3 years and 5 months in prison. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

$4M Award Against Jehovah's Witnesses Upheld

In J.W. v, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., (CA App,, Dec. 10, 2018), a California state appellate court upheld an award of over $4 million to a girl who, when she was ten years old, was sexually abused by an elder of the Jehovah's Witness church.  The church was charged, among other things, with negligent supervision and failure to warn. The award came after a court struck defendant's answer as a sanction for failing to comply with discovery orders.

$35 Million Verdict Against Jehovah's Witness Organization In Sex Abuse Case

NBC News reported yesterday that a Montana federal court jury has awarded $35 million to a woman who contended that the national organization of the Jehovah's Witness church ordered Montana clergy not to report her sexual abuse as a child by a Jehovah's Witness congregation member.  According to NBC:

A judge must review the penalty, and the Jehovah's Witnesses' national organization — Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York — plans to appeal.

Russian Law Enforcement Targets Jehovah's Witnesses

According to a Forum 18 report yesterday, in Russia since January of this year law enforcement agencies have been raiding the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses, charging many with violating the country's ban on extremist organizations. So far some 69 individuals are under investigation or on trial. Most of the cases follow on the 2017 ban on all activities of the Jehovah's Witness Administrative Center and its local affiliates.

11th Circuit: Jehovah's Witness Truck Driver Was Offered Reasonable Accommodation

In Walker v. Indian River Transport Co., (11th Cir., July 27, 2018), the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of Title VII claims brought by a Jehovah's Witness truck driver who resigned his job alleging a failure to accommodate his need to regularly attend Sunday church services. The milk route to which Bobby Walker, Jr. was assigned required flexibility that included Sunday availability.  The court concluded that Walker's employer, Indian River Transport, offered Walker a reasonable accommodation by offering him other local routes, even though they paid less than the milk route.  The court also rejected Walker's retaliation claim.  Land Line reports on the decision.

European Court: Data Protection Directive Applies To Jehovah's Witnesses Information Collected In Preaching

In Tietosuojavaltuutettu v Jehovan todistajat — uskonnollinen yhdyskunta,  (CJEU, July 10, 2018), the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the European Parliament's Directive 95/46 on protection of individuals' personal data applies to collection and manual processing of personal data by Jehovah's Witnesses in the course of their door-to-door preaching. The question arose in a request for a ruling made by Finland's Data Protection Supervisor.  The court also issued a press release summarizing the court's decision. Law & Religion UK blog reports on the decision.

Canada's Supreme Court: No Right To Fairness Review of Church Tribunal Decision

In Judicial Committee of the Highwood Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses v. Wall, (Can. Sup. Ct., May 31, 2018), Canada's Supreme Court rejected a challenge by a Jehovah's Witness that the church's Judicial Committee breached principles of natural justice and its duty of fairness in disfellowshipping him for sinful behavior.  He argued that the disfellowshipping caused other Jehovah's Witnesses to refuse to become clients of his real estate business. The court held:

[T]here is no free standing right to procedural fairness with respect to decisions taken by voluntary associations. Jurisdiction cannot be established on the sole basis that there is an alleged breach of natural justice or that the complainant has exhausted the organization’s internal processes. Jurisdiction depends on the presence of a legal right which a party seeks to have vindicated. Only where this is so can the courts consider an association’s adherence to its own procedures and (in certain circumstances) the fairness of those procedures.

The court also held that the issue is not justiciable, saying that "courts will not consider the merits of a religious tenet".  A press release by the court summarizes the decision. [Thanks to Nima Nematollahi for the lead.]

Russian Court Allows Seizure of Jehovah's Witness Property

Newsweek reports that a city court in St. Petersburg, Russia yesterday upheld a Sestroretskiy District Court's ruling allowing the Russian government to seize a $31.8 million Jehovah's Witness real estate complex.  The seizure comes a year after Jehovah's Witnesses were declared an extremist organization by Russia's Supreme Court. (See prior posting.)  In yesterday's ruling, the St. Petersburg court rejected the argument that the group's administrative buildings are owned by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society based in the United States.

Arizona Appeals Court Invalidates Hotline Procedure For Overruling Parental Objections To Medical Treatment

In Glenn H. v. Hoskins, (AZ App., April 3, 2018), an Arizona state appeals court invalidated the "hot line" procedure that hospitals in Maricopa County use to obtain emergency orders to treat minors over the religious or other objections of their parents.  In the case, Jehovah's Witness parents objected to the use of blood transfusions in the treatment of their 14-year old son for bone cancer.  Apparently the boy agreed with his parents' decision.  Vacating the trial court's order authorizing medical treatment for the boy, the appeals court concluded that there are no provisions in Arizona statutes permitting courts to rule before a complaint has been filed, adding:

However well-intended the emergency hotline may be, the superior court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to entertain ex parte oral requests in the absence of specific statutory authorization.  See Redewill v. Superior Court, 43 Ariz. 68, 81 (1934) (“A court cannot do something not authorized by law, because it may think it is ‘just as good,’ or even better than the thing which the law does sanction.”)

AP reports on the decision.