White House Christmas Decorations Unveiled

On Monday the White House issued a press release and accompanying video on the this year's White House Christmas decorations which reflect the theme "American Treasures".  The press release reads in part:

“This is a joyous time of year when we decorate the White House for the Christmas Season,” said First Lady Melania Trump. “Our theme honors the heart and spirit of the American people.  Thank you to the many volunteers and staff who worked hard to decorate the halls of the People’s House in Christmas cheer.  On behalf of my family, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Suit Against Scranton Diocese Over Priest Sexual Abuse

In another lawsuit growing out of the Pennsylvania grand jury report released in August, a teenage sexual abuse victim-- now 29 years old-- filed suit on Tuesday against the Diocese of Scranton, three bishops, and former priest Jeffrey Paulish.  Paulish, who served several months in jail for abusing another 15-year old boy, was named in the grand jury report. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Lawyers say they plan to subpoena the diocese for information about Paulish’s history in the diocese.

The grand jury report found that Paulish was transferred 11 times in his 18 years as a priest and was given leaves of absence both before and after their client says he was abused. They think that could mean that current Bishop Joseph Bambera was aware of Paulish’s abusive behavior before he was arrested in 2013.

Parents Sue Archdiocese and Pre-School Over Sexual Abuse

A suit was filed yesterday in a Pennsylvania state trial court against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and a pre-school, St. Francis Learning Center, by parents of three toddlers who were sexually abused by a lay teacher.  The suit charges that the defendants did not properly screen the teacher and did not notify parents when other children made accusations against the teacher.  The Archdiocese said it promptly reported accusations to authorities. The teacher is serving a 4 to 8 year sentence after pleading guilty. AP reports on the lawsuit.

European Court Finds Russia's Ban On Public LGBT Events A Convention Violation

In Alekseyev v. Russia, (ECHR, Nov. 27, 2018), the European Court of Human Rights in a chamber judgment by a panel of 7 judges held that Russia violated the protections on freedom of assembly (Art. 11) and the prohibition against discrimination (Art. 14) in the European Convention on Human Rights when it banned the holding of public LGBT events. It also found a violation of Art. 13's guarantee of a remedy in national courts for Convention violations. The Court emphasized that it had rendered a similar opinion in a 2010 case against Russia.  Judge Keller dissenting in part argued that damages should have been awarded in the case, rather than just entering a finding of violations of the Convention.  AP reports on the decision.

Witnesses May Take Oath on Eagle Feathers In Two More Canadian Provinces

In two more Canadian provinces, Indigenous Peoples will now have the option of taking the oath as a witness using Eagle feathers instead of a Bible.  Earlier this month, the Nova Scotia court system adopted the practice (CBC News). Yesterday it was reported that a similar step was taken at the Lethbridge, Alberta Courthouse. (CBC News).  These follow introdction of the option almost three years ago at the Ottawa, Ontario Courthouse. (CBC News).

Claim Filed Against Airbnb For Its Delisting of West Bank Rentals

As reported by the New York Times, last week Airbnb under pressure from Palestinian officials, anti-settlement advocates and human rights groups announced that it is removing listings for rentals in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.  In response, yesterday an arbitration claim (pursuant to the arbitration clause in Airbnb's terms of service) was filed against Airbnb by an Israeli company owned by a resident of New York.  The Statement of Claim (full text) in Bibliotechnical Blue & White Ltd. v. AIRBNB, Inc., (Amer. Arbitration Assoc., filed 11/26/2018) alleges in part:

Claimant recently registered as a user of Respondent's services. This was done in the City of New York. Claimant would like to purchase or purchase or lease property in Judea & Samaria and list it with Respondent's services using computer services in the City of New York. Thus, Respondent's policy is discriminatorily preventing Claimant from using Respondent's services in the City of New York....

Respondent has violated the New York City and New York State human rights laws by discriminating on the basis of religion, national origin and/or citizenship and also by engaging in a discriminatory boycott.

Legal Insurrection blog reports in more detail on the case.

Jury Awards $75,000 To Couple Whose Christmas Program Was Opposed By Homeowners Association

The Spokane Spokesman-Review reports that a federal court jury in Idaho last month awarded $60,000 in compensatory damages and $15,000 in punitive damages against a Homeowners Association that attempted to block a resident from setting up an elaborate Christmas display. The jury, in the case which attracted national media attention when filed, found that the Homeowners Association engaged in religious discrimination in violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act when it sent a letter to Jeremy and Kristy Morris telling them that if they wanted to move into the neighborhood they would need to cancel plans for their annual 5-day Christmas celebration.  The celebration features elaborate decorations, live music, and live animals, draws thousands of people, and raises money for charities benefiting children suffering from cancer and abused children. The HOA letter, in addition to claiming that the celebration would violate lighting and noise rules, added: "And finally, I am somewhat hesitant in bringing up the fact that some of our residents are non-Christians or of another faith, and I don’t even want to think of the problems that could bring up."  This was portrayed by some media as part of the so-called "war on Christmas." More details on the lawsuit and photos of the celebration are at The Daily Mail and the Coeur d'Alene Press.

New York Village Is Considering New Permit Requirement For Eruvs

According to yesterday's Times Herald-Record, the Village Board of Woodbury, New York is considering a new law (full text) that for the first time will require residents to obtain a permit in order erect an eruv that extends into any right of way. Currently the village's growing Hasidic Jewish population has erected a number of eruvs, and the new law is directed at creating some uniformity among them. A permit application (including photos) will be required to describe the location and dimensions of any eruv, and provide written consent from all homeowners whose property it would cross. The eruv (usually made of fishing line, or of markers on utility poles) would need to be between 8 and 20 feet high, and translucent or the same color as the pole to which it is attached. Non-complying eruvs could not cross any public road, and existing non-complying eruvs that do cross public roads will need to be removed within 90 days of enactment of the new law. The proposed law would also regulate cell towers being placed on utility poles.

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Bob Rush & Steve Sanders, Brief Amici Curiae of Scholars of Law, History, Bioethics, Gender, and Sexuality in Good v. Iowa Dept of Human Resources, (November 4, 2018).
• Marc Greendorfer, Discrimination as a Business Policy: The Misuse and Abuse of Corporate Social Responsibility Programs, (November 6, 2018).
• Etienne Toussaint, The New Gospel of Wealth: On Social Impact Bonds and the Privatization of Public Good, (56 Hous. L. Rev. 153 (2018)).

From SmartCILP:

• Yehezkel Margalit, Towards Establishing Parenthood by Agreement in Jewish Law, 26 American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law 647-689 (2018).
• Yolanda Rondon, Treatment of Domestic Terrorism Court Cases: Class and Mental Health in the Criminal System, 26 American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law 741-792 (2018).
• Symposium on Families and Religion. Articles by Larry O.C. Chukwu, Patrick F. Fagan, William L. Saunders, Lynn D. Wardle. 32 Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law 191-255 (2018).

Recent and Forthcoming Books:

• Ronald Hutton, The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present, (Yale Univ. Press, Oct. 2018).
• Donald A. Westbrook, Among the Scientologists: History, Theology, and Praxis, (Oxford Univ. Press, Dec. 2018).
• Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: A Fresh Interpretation, (Oxford Univ. Press, Jan. 2019).
• Giuliana Chamedes, A Twentieth-Century Crusade: The Vatican’s Battle to Remake Christian Europe, (Harvard Univ. Press, June 2019).
• Adriano Prosperi, Crime and Forgiveness: Christianizing Execution in Medieval Europe, (Harvard Univ. Press, July 2019).

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Johnson v. Lassiter, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 193660 (WD NC, Nov. 13, 2018), a North Carolina federal district court dismissed an inmate's complaint that he was deprived of his religious literature and, when he said he needed his religious literature, he was told that Rastafarian or Moorish Science is not a real religion.

In Scott v. Lewis, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 193870 (ED MO, Nov. 14, 2018), a Missouri federal district court allowed a Hindu inmate to move ahead with his RLUIPA action for an injunction for failure to accommodate his vegetarian religious diet.

In Collins v. Williams, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 194187 (D SC, Nov. 13, 2018), a North Carolina federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation (2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 194229, Oct. 18, 2018) and dismissed an inmate's complaint that he was denied publications, right to attend gatherings and observe holy days of Nation of Gods and Earths because the group was improperly identified as a security threat group.

In Monroe v. Tyo, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 195078 (ND NY, Nov. 14, 2018), a New York federal magistrate judge recommended that a former inmate who is Muslim be allowed to move ahead with his complaint that he was required to drink water to provide a urine sample for a drug test during Ramadan.

In Carpenter v. Itawamba County Jail, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 195849 (ND MS, Nov. 16, 2018), a Mississippi federal magistrate judge concluded that restricting an inmate's access to a Christian pastor when the inmate was not a Christian did not interfere with his free exercise rights.

In Richard v. Strom, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196327 (D CT, Nov. 19, 2018), a Connecticut federal district court allowed a Moorish-American inmate to move ahead with claims that he was not permitted to purchase a fez or receive a book, "Nationality, Birthrights and Jurisprudence." However it dismissed his complaint that the Grand Mufti's return address was torn from correspondence he received.

In Heritage Family Church, Inc. v. Kansas Department of Corrections, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 197543 (D KA, Nov. 20, 2018), a Kansas federal district court denied a preliminary injunction to an inmate who claims that his religious exercise is burdened in various ways (including services, texts and clothing) by the refusal to recognize the Apostolic Faith.

In Hopper v. County of Riverside, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 198877 (CD CA, Nov. 20, 2018), a California federal magistrate judge held that a former detainee's complaint that he was unable to attend group religious services is subject to dismissal.

DOJ Seeks Early Supreme Court Review of Transgender Military Policy

As reported by SCOTUblog, the Justice Department has filed petitions for certioriari in three cases in which district courts have enjoined implementation of the Trump Administration's new policy on transgender individuals serving in the military.  The petitions in all three cases, Trump v. Karnoski, Trump v. Doe, and Trump v. Stockman, were filed before Circuit Courts of Appeal handed down decisions in the cases-- an unusual procedural step.  The Trump Administration policy-- unlike the policy adopted by the Obama Administration-- precludes most new enlistments by transgender individuals. (See prior posting.) The cert. petitions argue for the immediate granting of review:

Absent an immediate grant of certiorari, there is ... little chance of a prompt resolution of the validity of Secretary Mattis’s proposed policy. And so long as this or any other injunction remains in place, the military will be forced nationwide to maintain the Carter policy—a policy that the military has concluded poses a threat to “readiness, good order and discipline, sound leadership, and unit cohesion,” which “are essential to military effectiveness and lethality.”

Twitter CEO Charged In Indian Court With Outraging Religious Feelings

According to Times of India yesterday, a local court in Jodhpur, India has agreed to move ahead with a complaint against Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for his Tweet of an anti-Brahmin photo.  The photo taken by Dorsey during his recent trip to India shows a woman holding a sign reading "Smash Brahminical Patriarchy". The petition filed against Dorsey charges him with violation of India's Penal Code Sec. 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), as well as with defamation and criminal conspiracy. A hearing is set for Dec. 1.

President's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

Donald Trump this week issued a formal Proclamation (full text) declaring today as a National Day of Thanksgiving. The Proclamation reads in part:

We are especially reminded on Thanksgiving of how the virtue of gratitude enables us to recognize, even in adverse situations, the love of God in every person, every creature, and throughout nature. Let us be mindful of the reasons we are grateful for our lives, for those around us, and for our communities. We also commit to treating all with charity and mutual respect, spreading the spirit of Thanksgiving throughout our country and across the world.

DOJ Files Statement of Interest In Church's Challenge To Limits On Use of Civic Center

As previously reported, in August a suit was filed in a South Carolina federal district court against Edisto Beach challenging the Town's rule change that prohibits renting space in the town's Civic Center for religious worship services.  Now the lawsuit has attracted the attention of the Justice Department. On Tuesday, DOJ filed a Statement of Interest (full text) in Redeemer Fellowship of Edisto Island v. Town of Edisto Beach, South Carolina, arguing in part:

... [T]he Town’s legally erroneous “concerns” about Establishment Clause liability turn First Amendment jurisprudence on its head: the First Amendment prohibits the content-based and viewpoint-based restrictions on protected speech that the Town seeks to permit and permits religious worship services the equal access to government facilities that the Town seeks to prohibit.

Charleston Post and Courier reports on developments.

Court Bars Enforcement of Trump's Limitation on Asylum Seekers

In East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Trump, (ND CA, Nov. 19, 2018), a California federal district court issued a temporary restraining order against implementation of a Presidential Proclamation and implementing rule that allow asylum to be granted only to refugees who cross the border at a designated port of entry.  8 USC Sec. 1158(a) provides:

Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival ...), irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum....

Focusing on this section and on treaty obligations, the court said in part:

The rule barring asylum for immigrants who enter the country outside a port of entry irreconcilably conflicts with the INA and the expressed intent of Congress. Whatever the scope of the President’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden.

A hearing on whether a preliminary injunction should issue in the case was set for Dec. 19.  Washington Post reports on the decision. The decision led to an unusual war of words between President Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts.

9th Circuit: Animal Rights Group Lacks Standing To Challenge Kapparot Practices

In United Poultry Concerns v. Chabad of Irvine, (9th Cir., Nov. 20, 2018), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that an animal rights group lacks standing to sue a Jewish religious organization for violating California's Unfair Competition Law. The suit challenged Chabad's sponsoring of kapparot -- an atonement ritual carried out before Yom Kippur involving the use and slaughter of live chickens.  The district court had reached the merits of the claim and had held that the acceptance of a donation in connection with the performance of religious ritual is not covered by the state's Unfair Competition Law. (See prior posting.) The 9th Circuit, by contrast, held that plaintiff was not injured by Chabad's actions and so lacks Article III standing. It vacated the district court's judgment and ordered the case dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Metropolitan News-Enterprise reports on the decision.

Court Invalidates Mississippi's Restrictive Ban On Abortions

In Jackson Women's Health Organization v. Currier, (SD MS, Nov. 20, 2018), a Mississippi federal district court held unconstitutional a recently enacted Mississippi statute that prohibits most abortions after 15 weeks gestation.  The court said in part:

[T]he real reason we are here is simple. The State chose to pass a law it knew was unconstitutional to endorse a decades-long campaign, fueled by national interest groups, to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

This Court follows the commands of the Supreme Court and the dictates of the United States Constitution, rather than the disingenuous calculations of the Mississippi Legislature.

Bustle reports on the decision.

2 Philadelphia Police Officers Claim Anti-Semitic Harassment

Two Philadelphia police officers filed suit on Monday against the Philadelphia Police Department and Department supervisors alleging the creation and sanctioning of a racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish environment. The complaint (full text) in Gonzalez v. City of Philadelphia, (ED PA, filed 11/19/2018) seeks damages for harassment, discrimination and hostile work environment in violation of 42 USC Secs. 1981, 1983 and 1985. WHYY News further summarizes the complaint:

The federal civil rights lawsuit claims an array of abuse — that the officers were not given time off to celebrate Jewish holidays, that a Nazi “SS” symbol and a German phrase meaning “skull and crossbones” were scratched onto their lockers, and that a police patrol car was marked with the Star of David with the words “Hebrew Hammer.”

Civil rights lawyers Brian Mildenberg, who is representing the officers, said those acts were intended to “scare and harass” Reznik, a Jewish immigrant born in Russia who is a 12-year veteran of the force.

Pastor Sues To Access Homeless Encampment

The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia reports on a lawsuit filed in a Washington federal district court on Monday against the city of Aberdeen, Washington by an Episcopal priest and two others over access to a homeless encampment. The city has purchased the land and intends to clear it, but in the meantime is requiring anyone entering the site to obtain a permit. Rev. Sarah Monroe, who was denied a permit, explains the lawsuit:

My permit to visit this encampment was denied by the city on the grounds that I did not provide enough detail, or a schedule, or a clear list of what I intend to do during my visits. I am a priest. I have been pastoring the people in this camp for five years. I do everything from drive people to the hospital, to prayer, to taking people to social service appointments, to performing last rites when people die here. These essential pastoral duties do not happen on a schedule, as any member of the clergy can attest. I have continued to visit people, even though I have been denied a permit, and am petitioning the court to prevent the city from arresting me.

Homeless people have a constitutionally protected right to freedom of religious expression. I have a constitutionally protected right to my freedom of religious expression, which includes serving the poor and the sick and the hungry.

California Appeals Court OK's Repeal of Belief Exemption To Immunization Requirements

In Love v. Department of Education, (CA App., Nov. 20, 2018), a California state appellate court rejected state constitutional challenges to a California law that repealed the personal belief exemption to the state's immunization requirements for school children.  Saying that "Plaintiffs’ arguments are strong on hyperbole and scant on authority," the court rejected claims that the repeal violates the constitutional right to attend school, substantive due process, or rights of privacy or free exercise of religion.