Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
9th Circuit: LA County's Removal of Cross From Seal OK
The court held that plaintiff had standing to bring the challenge, holding that "spiritual harm resulting from unwelcome direct contact with an allegedly offensive religious (or anti-religious) symbol is a legally cognizable injury and suffices to confer Article III standing." However it rejected Vasquez's claim on the merits. The County removed the cross to avoid a potential Establishment Clause problem. The court held that this is a secular purpose. As to effect, the court said "a 'reasonable observer' familiar with the history and controversy surrounding the use of crosses on municipal seals would not perceive the primary effect of Defendants' action as one of hostility towards religion." Reuters and AP both reported on the decision.
EU Officials Meet With Religious Leaders
MD Governor Bars Discrimination In Executive Branch Employment Practices
Proposed Israeli Law May Signal Major Shift On Religion-State Framework
En Banc Rehearing Sought In 9th Circuit Approval of SF Noise Ordinance
Swiss Politicians Want To Ban Building of Minarets
Kuwaiti Education Minister Refuses To Wear Veil In Parliament
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Moral Majority Founder Jerry Falwell Dies
Mr. Falwell went from being a Baptist preacher in Lynchburg to carving out a powerful role in national electoral politics. He was at home in both the millennial world of fundamentalist Christianity and the earthly blood sport of the political arena. As much as anyone, he helped create the religious right as a political force, defined the issues that would energize it for decades and cemented its ties to the Republican Party.UPDATE: On Tuesday afternoon, the White House issued a statement saying that the President and Mrs. Bush are saddened by Falwell's death. It continues: "One of his lasting contributions was the establishment of Liberty University, where he taught young people to remain true to their convictions and rely upon God's word throughout each stage of their lives."
Discussion of God In the Presidential Election From Larry King Live
Forsyth County NC Adopts New Invocation Policy In Face Of Litigation
Fidelis Protests Clinton Campaign Video
NJ Supreme Court Dismisses RLUIPA Land Use Appeal
Official French Jewish Group Elects New Head
Anti-Abortion Protester's Claim Survives Dismissal Motion-- But Barely
New Appointees To USCIRF Named
Last month, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the appointment of Don Argue to USCIRF. He is President of Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington and was formerly President of the National Association of Evangelicals. (Melissa Rogers has more on this appointment.)
Under Sec. 201 of the International Religious Freedom Act, the President chooses three Commissioners; four are chosen by the Congressional leaders of the party not in the White House; and two by the leaders of the President's party in Congress. The Congressional picks are split between Senate and House leaders. (See USCIRF FAQ)
Chicago Church Loses Property Tax Challenge On Jurisdictional Grounds In 7th Circuit
Pittsburgh Diocese Separately Incorporates Its High Schools
Monday, May 14, 2007
New York Arabic Culture School Raises Concerns Among Neighbors
New British Rules Require Churches To Post No-Smoking Signs
Baccalaureate Services Declining In Popularity
Funding For Parochial Schools To Be An Issue In Ontario This Fall
New Law and Religion Articles-- Many to Choose From This Week
Rev. John J. Coughlin, O.F.M., Apostolic Signatura, (Notre Dame Legal Studies Paper No. 07-31, May 8, 2007).
Richard W. Garnett, Pluralism, Dialogue, and Freedom: Professor Robert Rodes and the Church-State Nexus, (Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 22, Forthcoming).
Paolo G. Carozza, The Universal Common Good and the Authority of International Law, (Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, Vol. 8, pp. 28-55, 2006).
Carl H. Esbeck, The 60th Anniversary of the Everson Decision and America's Church-State Proposition, (Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2007-08).
Mathis Rutledge, A Time to Mourn: Balancing the Right of Free Speech Against the Right of Privacy in Funeral Picketing, (Maryland Law Review, Volume 67, No. 2, 2008).
Laura M. Thomason, On the Steps of the Mosque: The Legal Rights of Non-Marital Children in Egypt, (Hastings Women's Law Journal, 2007).
Jennifer Dumin, Superstition-Based Injustice in Africa and the United States: The Use of Provocation as a Defense for Killing Witches and Homosexuals, (Wisconsin Women's Law Journal, Vol. 21, 2006 ).
From Bepress:
Stephen M. Siptroth, Prophetic Politics: The Struggle for Civil Rights and the Ecclesial Experiences of Blacks and Latinos, (2007).
From SmartCILP:
Lubna A. Alam, Keeping the State Out: The Separation of Law and State in Classical Islamic Law. (Reviewing Rudolph Peters, Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century), 105 Michigan Law Review 1255-1264 (2007).
Colloquy: Religious Liberty. Douglas Laycock, A Syllabus of Errors; Marci A. Hamilton, A Response to Professor Laycock, 105 Michigan Law Review 1169-1192 (2007). Douglas Laycock, God v. The Gavel: A Brief Rejoinder, 105 Michigan Law Review 1545-1549 (2007).
Symposium, God's Law in the People's Law: A Discussion of Contemporary Issues Arising from Religion and The Law, 6 University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class, Issue 1, 2006, (Articles by T. Jeremy Gunn, Andrew J. King, Gary S. Gildin, George H. Taylor, Lucia A. Silecchia, Robert K. Vischer, Jay D. Wexler, Maxwell O. Chibundu).
Timothy W. Floyd, Lawyers and Prophetic Justice, 58 Mercer Law Review 513-530 (2007).
Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. XXII, No. 1 (2006-07) (Contents) has recently been published.
FLDS Member Moves To Texas Town With Mixed Reception
Slovakia Formally Recognizes Baha'i Faith
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Columnist Writes On Evolution Responses In Republican TV Debate
The truth is, each man took a calculated risk — or a courageous stand, depending on one's view. To say "yes" would have been to betray evangelical Christian voters, 73 percent of whom believe that human beings were created in their present form in the last 10,000 years or so.
To these folks, "no" didn't mean anti-science; it meant pro-God and conveyed a transcendent, non-materialistic view of the world. To secular Darwinists, "no" meant either ignorance or pandering to the ignorant — most likely both....
The debate question was fundamentally a setup for ridicule. No one was served, and no one, alas, is the wiser.
Federal Earmarks Benefitting Religious Groups Show Sharp Increase
Long Island School Board Race Splits Along Religious Lines
In the election, 3 "public school candidates" are facing three candidates sympathetic to parents of private school students. Ads placed in the local newspaper with headlines like "Should the Lawrence Public School District Be Run By An Orthodox Majority?" have been strongly criticized, and have led the editors of the Herald newspapers to run an explanation of why they accepted the ads. Public-school candidate Pamela Greenbaum says that ads have run in Jewish publications seeking to hire people to help drum up absentee votes from school district residents with dual-citizenship now living in Israel.
Prisoner Free Exercise Cases Are Plentiful This Week
In Rahman v. Goord, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32680 (WD NY, May 3, 2007), a New York federal district court refused to require the New York Department of Corrections to end its practice of holding joint Friday Jumah services for Shiite and Sunni Muslims. The court rejected plaintiff’s claim that the refusal to hold separate Shia services violated his free exercise rights and his rights under RLUIPA. The court however did grant an injunction requiring the prison system to recognize the Shiite holy days of Eid-Ghadir, Muharram, and Ashura, and provide the plaintiff with Halal food on those holidays.
In Perez v. Westchester County Department of Corrections, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32638 (SD NY, April 30, 2007), a New York federal district court refused to grant defendants’ motion to dismiss a claim against them by a Muslim prisoners who claimed that Muslim inmates are denied meals that meet Halal standards, and that Halal standards could be met by merely serving Muslim prisoners the same kosher meals that are served to Jewish prisoners. The court said that plaintiffs' equal protection claim may ultimately succeed because they may be able to show disparate treatment among Muslim and Jewish inmates.
In Henderson v. Kennell, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34440 (CD IL, May 10, 2007), and Illinois federal district judge dismissed a claim by a prisoner who alleged that his free exercise rights were violated when prison officials refused to permit him to have an Islamic medallion in prison. The court said it is doubtful that the denial imposed a substantial burden on plaintiff’s central religious beliefs and, even if it did, plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies.
In Smith v. Bruce, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34166 (D KA, May 8, 2007), a Kansas federal district court refused to dismiss a prisoner’s his free exercise claim against the warden of the Hutchinson, KA state correctional facility. Plaintiff, who maintained a vegetarian diet for religious reasons, claimed that the warden violated his free exercise rights when the warden deliberately and recklessly ignored the fact that the prison’s food service was serving plaintiff gelatin containing animal by-product.
In Cejas v. Blanas, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33963 (ED CA, May 9, 2007), a California federal Magistrate Judge found that a prisoner’s claim that he should have a single cell so he would not be housed with someone who violated the edicts of his religion did not state a viable claim. Plaintiff did not allege that that the housing about which he complained would burden his own practice of his faith.
In Gill v. Hoadley, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33122 (ND NY, May 4, 2007), a New York federal district court adopted the recommendations of a Magistrate Judge and dismissed a prisoner’s free exercise claim. The court held that there were valid penalogical concerns that led authorities to deny a number of requests by a Jehovah’s Witness prisoner to attend religious services. The court also accepted the Magistrate’s recommendation that plaintiff’s First Amendment retaliation claims against certain of the defendants should be reinstated.
In Keesh v. Smith, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33120 (ND NY, May 3, 2007), prisoners Tyheem Keesh and Jesus Michael Jova were attempting to obtain accommodation to practice "Tulukeesh" "the religion of the creator”, a religion started by Keesh. In an earlier decision, the court held that “plaintiffs are principally motivated not by religious impulses but rather by the desire to achieve a more congenial lifestyle during their incarceration.” The court denied plaintiffs’ renewed motion for a preliminary injunction, saying that it had already considered everything now raised by plaintiffs when it denied their motion. UPDATE: The court denied plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration at 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38368 (ND NY, May 25, 2007).
Jury Awards Damages To Congregant Injured During Prayer
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Terrorist Suspect Asks Judge For Quran
Student-Led High School Graduation Prayers Challenged
Parishioners Sue Over Consolidation of Mississippi Catholic Parishes
Bishop Rodi published a statement on Friday in response to the lawsuit, saying that the lawsuit "is an attempt to have the courts order the Catholic Church to have a church building at a specific place. If this lawsuit would be successful, it would mean, in effect, that the courts would tell the Catholic Church where God must be worshipped, where Mass and the other sacraments must be celebrated, and how the Catholic Church must use the financial resources of Holy Family Parish. This lawsuit attacks both the unity and liberty of the Church."
Kenya Judge Rejects Push By Christian Sect To Wear Headscarfs In School
New Head of Army Chaplain Corps Designated
NH Supreme Court: No Tax Exemption For Church Used As Warehouse
Friday, May 11, 2007
Romney's Religious Beliefs Attract Increasing Attention
This week, Time Magazine has Romney on the cover, and carries two articles about his religious views and their likely impact in the election: What Romney Believes and Romney's Mormon Question. Then the New York Times today ran an article titled: Romney Elaborates on Evolution, following up on the candidate's position staked out in last week's Republican debates. It quotes Romney's interesting formulation: "I'm not exactly sure what is meant by intelligent design. But I believe God is intelligent and I believe he designed the creation. And I believe he used the process of evolution to create the human body." [Thanks to Melissa Rogers and Blog from the Capital for leads.]
NJ School Board Settles Complaint About Teacher's In-Class Proselytizing
Native Americans Say TN Bill Protecting Team Names Infringes Religious Rights
The Kingsport Times-News yesterday reported that Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs opposed the bill. Last January the TCIA told the state's Human Rights Commission that: "The use of (eagle) feathers, sacred pipes (miscalled peace pipes), sacred drums, the dances, the Indian songs, even painted faces are all part of sacred ceremonies used by Native American Indians and misused by non-Indians as 'rituals' at sports games where they also misuse our tribal names with the addition of horrendous caricatures." TCIA Chair Evangeline W. Lynch made the same point in testimony before the Tennessee Senate State and Local Government Committee last month saying that the misuse of these symbols are an attack upon Native American religions.
In Wales, Hindus Protest Plans To Slaughter Diseased Bull
Hopi Religious Accommodation Claim Held to Be Moot
Archbishop of Cantebury Praises Tony Blair
Tony Blair has understood as well as any Prime Minister in recent times why religion matters, how faith communities contribute to the common good and why religious extremism should have no place in a progressive society. As a man of genuine personal faith, he has not shied away from the risk associated with confronting extremism, while respecting difference.... There have naturally been differences of vision and judgement between the Prime Minister and the Church of England, not least over the Iraq war, but he has been consistently willing to allow these disagreements to be voiced and discussed openly.
Sheriff Defends Faith-Based Post-Release Program
Sheriff Hodgson released a letter saying: "the argument that somehow we should not allow a recovery program to operate in a transition home purchased by the Sheriff's Department would mean that we must suspend all religious activity and spiritual access within our prison walls." He went on: "You may be further upset to know that we also have conducted over 20 religious retreats at our Dartmouth facility, increased our work activities on churches, and encouraged Bible study among our population. These activities are based on voluntary participation and will continue in spite of your objections."
Minister Sues To Prevent Mosque Construction: Claims National Security
Thursday, May 10, 2007
English Ecclesiastical Court Debating Ethics Of Internet-Ready Mobile Phones
Pope Criticizes Mexican Legislators Over Abortion Vote
Activist Charges Iowa VA Hospital Proselytized Jewish Patient
Court Agrees With Executed Man's Religious Objection To Autopsy
NY Corrections Department Settles Suit, Agreeing That Officer Can Wear Kufi
Church Sanctuary Movement Is Beginning To Protect Immigrants
Town Will Change Limits On Church Signs; Agrees To Injunction
Paraguayan Bishop May Be Kept Off Ballot Under Country's Constitution
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Decision For NYSE Former Chairman Has Implications For Religious Non-Profits
RI Bill Would Ban Altering Holiday Concepts and Symbols
Gonzales Speaks On DOJ's Enforcement of Religious Liberty Protections
The Department of Justice has aggressively enforced the laws against religious discrimination in everything from education, to employment, to fair housing. For example, after years without any investigations involving religious discrimination in education, the Department has opened 40 investigations....
In one case we stood in defense of Nashala Hearn, a Muslim girl in the sixth grade in Muskogee, Oklahoma, whose school told her that she could not wear a headscarf required by her faith.... I'm especially proud of these cases, because no child should have to choose between the right to practice her religion and the right to an education.
As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen and preserve religious liberty..., in February I unveiled ... the First Freedom Project.... We also have worked actively to protect those who have been endangered because of their religion or ethnicity.... In one case a man... built two incendiary devices... and attacked the Islamic Center of El Paso, Texas....
And we saw subtler forms of bigotry, imposed not through fire, but through law, as communities used zoning rules to restrict religious freedom. When the Muslim Community Center in Morton Grove, Illinois, wanted to expand its facilities... they encountered exactly this type of backlash. The Department mediated a resolution.... We aggressively pursue hate crimes and discrimination cases like these because they strike not just at individuals but at whole communities.
Hearing Held In Challenge To NC Ban On Use Of Quran To Swear In Witnesses
Islamic Militants Confiscate Music Tapes In Pakistan Tribal Province
Preacher Challenges Permit Requirement and Noise Limits Imposed By Alabama City
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Wall Street Journal Profiles Alliance of Russian Rabbi and Putin
Christian Group Supports Comprehensive Immigration Reform
9th Circuit Rejects Religious Challenge To Social Security
Jonathan Hansen, a Mormon, said he interpreted the teachings of his church as being opposed to participation in the Social Security system. The court held that the Anti-Injunction Act precludes it from deciding Hansen's claim that he is eligible for the exemption or else that the portion of the statute that renders him ineligible is unconstitutional. It ordered these claims dismissed. The court went on to dismiss Hansen's claims challenging the requirement to have a social security number and his claim that various Treasury regulations unconstitutionally discriminate against him. The court said that Hansen's complaint failed to specify which regulations and statutes are being challenged. Reuters yesterday reported on the decision and Hansen's reaction to it. [Thanks to How Appealing for the lead.]
In St. Louis: Voter Education or Church-State Breach?
Florida Episcopal Diocese Prevails Against Breakaway Church
Baltimore May Require Religious Accommodation By Condo Boards
ACLU Says Government Funded Abstinence Program Is Religiously Based
Monday, May 07, 2007
NYC Resolution Would Mark 350th Anniversary of Flushing Remonstrance
Mexico City Archbishop Sued Over Opposition To Abortion Law
Recent Articles of Interest
Richard W. Garnett, Church, State, and the Practice of Love, (Villanova Law Review, Vol. 52, p. 281).
The Winter 2007 issue of the Journal of Church and State (Vol. 49, No. 1) has recently been published.
Scott C. Idleman, Religion and Government-- An Ongoing Experiment, Marquette Lawyer, Spring/Summer 2007, pg. 12.
From SmartCILP:
Nusrat Choudhury, From the Stasi Commission to the European Court of Human Rights: L'affaire du Foulard and the Challenge of Protecting the Rights of Muslim Girls, 16 Columbia Journal of Gender & Law 199-396 (2007).
Bruce J. Dierenfield, The Most Hated Woman in America: Madalyn Murray and the Crusade Against School Prayer, 32 Journal of Supreme Court History 62-84 (2007).
Kenneth L. Marcus, The Most Important Right We Think We Have But Don't: Freedom From Religious Discrimination in Education, 7 Nevada Law Journal 171-181 (2006).
Prakash Shah, Thinking Beyond Religion: Legal Pluralism in Britain's South Asian Diaspora, 8 Australian Journal of Asian Law 237-260 (2006).
Israel's AG Moves To Revoke Contested Appointments of Religious Court Judges
Rabbinic Court judges are supposed to be experts in religious law, but also have "a general or legal education" and "knowledge of languages." Also preference is to be given to candidates "who are involved in Israeli society and who have served in the army or been involved in public affairs." The modern Orthodox rabbis' group, Tzohar, is concerned that these criteria are being ignored.
Suit On Church Rental of State Building Space Settled
Britain's Lord Chancellor Says Veil Can Be Banned By Schools
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Recent and Upcoming Books on Law and Religion
Malcolm B. Yarnell III, First Freedom: The Baptist Perspective on Religious Liberty, (B&H Publishing, May 2007) (Press release).
Bruce J. Dierenfield, The Battle Over School Prayer: How Engel v. Vitale Changed America, (Univ. Press of Kansas, April 2007).
Stephen Mansfield, Ten Tortured Words: How the Founding Fathers Tried to Protect Religion in America . . . and What's Happened Since, (Thomas Nelson, June 2007).
Matthew Chapman, 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania, (HarperCollins, April 2007).
NC Supreme Court Dismisses Challenge To Use of Church Funds
Determining whether actions, including expenditures, by a church's pastor, secretary, and chairman of the Board of Trustees were proper requires an examination of the church's view of the role of the pastor, staff, and church leaders, their authority and compensation, and church management. Because a church's religious doctrine and practice affect its understanding of each of these concepts, seeking a court's review of the matters presented here is no different than asking a court to determine whether a particular church's grounds for membership are spiritually or doctrinally correct or whether a church's charitable pursuits accord with the congregation's beliefs. None of these issues can be addressed using neutral principles of law.Justice Brady wrote a concurring opinion, taking a restrictive view of the reach of the Establishment Clause. He wrote:
The "wall of separation" metaphor should only be used, if at all, in cases such as the one sub judice. In other words, the gate to the "wall of separation" only swings one way, locking the government out of ecclesiastical matters.Justices Hudson and Timmons-Goodson dissented arguing that it was improper to grant an interlocutory appeal in the case and that the case merely presents a property dispute that can be resolved by civil courts using neutral principles of law.
Turkey's Gul Pulls Out of Race As Country Debates Secularist Tradition
Meanwhile this morning two papers in Britain have interesting analyses of the tensions in Turkey. The Guardian says:
The conflict has been as much about political power and class as it has been about Islam. The simple version paints out inconvenient facts: Erdogan's avowed support for secularism, an AKP whose leadership rejects the label of Islamist, and a programme dedicated to gaining EU membership and attracting foreign investment.Today's London Times reports that the complex dispute has become symbolized by controversy over whether Turkish women should wear the the Islamic headscarf. Gul's wife does.
But underpinning this confrontation is something more mundane. It is the fear of the wealthy, highly educated and westernised elite that has traditionally run Turkey - and who are secular - of being pushed aside by a newly-powerful group made up of the urban poor and the lower-middle classes, a group that is conservative and religiously observant.
Impacting all of this is a vote in Parliament last Thursday giving initial support to an AKP proposal for direct popular election of the President, instead of the President being elected by Parliament. (Sunday's Zaman). (See prior related posting.)
UPDATE: Monday's Turkish Daily News also has an analysis of the situation, saying that it is more a political battle than a religious one. And a Newsweek columnist reports on his interview with Abdullah Gul who denies that the AKP has an Islamist agenda.
California County Wants To Issue Permits For Religious Use of Roadkill
Author Says LDS Church Historically Suports Church-State Separation
Court Official Says Bailiff Wrong In Asking Witness To Remove Kippah
Azeri Journalists Sentenced to Prison For Exciting Religious Hostility
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Yemini Official Threatens To Replace Mosque Leaders Who Push Extremism
Is National Day of Prayer Underinclusive?
Texas House Approves Adding "Under God" To State Pledge
Discrimination Found In School's Differential Holiday Leave
Friday, May 04, 2007
7th Circuit: Pharmacist Demanded Too Much Accommodation For Religious Belief
The court also held that, insofar as Noesen had a claim against the state of Wisconsin, Title VII does not override the state's Eleventh Amendment immunity in federal court. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]
UPDATE: The 7th Circuit's link to the opinion in this case has been unstable. It has been updated, but if it breaks again, search by case name or number here.
April-May Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Williams v. Arpaio, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31988 (D AZ, April 30, 2007), an Arizona federal district court denied a free exercise claim by a prisoner who complained that he was denied access to religious programming on television and that he is denied Pagan religious counseling.
In Linares v. Mahunik, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31488 (ND NY, April 30, 2007), a New York federal district court accepted the recommendations of a magistrate judge to dismiss a prisoner's free exercise claim, agreeing that a one-time cancellation of a callout to attend choir practice did not substantially burden plaintiff's free exercise rights.
In Harwood v. Tyler, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31908 (ED WA, May 1, 2007), a federal magistrate judge held that a prisoner's free exercise rights were not substantially burdened by the removal and destruction of his religious materials that deprived him of the ability to study for 30 days.
In Kuperman v. New Hampshire Department of Corrections, 2007 WL 120092 (D NH, April 18, 2007), a New Hampshire federal Magistrate Judge recommended that an injunction issue to require an Orthodox Jewish prisoner to receive a Kosher diet. He held that, as applied here, a prison regulation that suspended the inmate's right to a religious diet for 6 months for a single violation of the diet by him is unconstitutional. The Boston Globe reported on the decision last week. UPDATE: Here is the Lexis link: 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32859.
Israeli Lawyer Sues To Open Rabbinical Court Staff Employment To Women
Catholic Group's Suit Against University of Wisconsin Settled
In yesterday's settlement (full text of court order), reported by the Badger Herald, and by the Chippewa, the Foundation agreed to reorganize to separate St. Paul’s University Catholic Parish from the University's Catholic student group. The University will recognize the separate student group, RCF-UWM, as a student organization. RCF-UWM agreed, however, that it would not seek funding from student fees for Masses, weddings, funerals or other events "requiring the direct control of ordained clergy." In exchange, University Chancellor John Wiley agreed to include $253,274 in student fee funding for the group in his recommended budget for next year. As part of the settlement, the court vacated its preliminary injunction orders issued in March and dismissed plaintiff's complaint.