Hasidic Charity Can Claim Return of Seized Funds Only In Criminal Case

Friday's New Jersey Law Journal reports that a federal magistrate judge has ruled that a Hasidic Jewish charity cannot rely on 18 USC Sec. 983 to obtain a return of funds seized as part of a high profile public corruption and money laundering case. (See prior posting.) The court held that Gmach Shefa Chaim has an adequate remedy in a criminal case in which the government is suing for forfeiture of the $508,925 in the account. The court ruled that Sec. 983 only applies only to nonjudicial civil forfeitures of $500,000 or less and not to funds seized under a search warrant. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Virginia's AG Says State Colleges Cannot Ban LGBT Discrimination

According to the Washington Post, Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II on Thursday sent a letter (full text) to the state's public colleges and universities advising them that:

the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including "sexual orientation," "gender identity," "gender expression," or like classification, as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy, absent specific authorization from the General Assembly.

Taxpayer Lacks Standing To Challenge Church's Use of School; Parent May Have Standing

In Henley v. Cleveland Board of Education, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18892 (ND OH, March 3, 2010), an Ohio federal district court held that a local taxpayer lacks standing to bring an Establishment Clause challenge to the practice of a local high school in permitting a church to use the school building for its weekly religious services. The court held that it was unable at this stage of the litigation to determine whether or not a second plaintiff, the mother of a school child, had alleged sufficient injury to her child under the Establishment Clause to have standing.

UPDATE: In Henley v. Cleveland Board of Education, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21876 (March 10, 2010), the court denied a motion for reconsideration.

9th Circuit Says Christians In Indonesia Face Likely Persecution, Torture

In Pelle v. Holder, (9th Cir., March 4, 2010), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Board of Immigration Appeals should have applied disfavored group analysis in deciding whether appellant faced a clear probability of future persecution. Christians who are not ethnic Chinese are a disfavored group in Indonesia. Further, in the court's view, there was ample evidence that the Indonesian government is aware, and possibly complicit, in torture inflicted on Christians by Muslim extremists.

Qualified Immunity Applies To RFRA Claim Growing Out of Drug Search

In Jama v. United States, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18554 (WD WA, March 2, 2010), a Washington federal district court held that the concept of qualified immunity applies in suits under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, just as it applies in suits charging constitutional violations. It concluded that a police officer and a federal DEA agent had qualified immunity in a Muslim woman's lawsuit against them charging they had violated RFRA in forcing her to remain outside her apartment in a nightgown without her head covered while her apartment was being searched for evidence of khat distribution. No evidence was found. Two others detained in the same raid were unrelated males. Plaintiff's Muslim faith prohibits her from appearing in a state of undress or from appearing without a head scarf before unrelated males. In granting qualified immunity, the court held that it could not conclude that the right of a person to wear religious covering during a search of a her home was "clearly established" at the time of the search.

Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Noise Prosecutions Against Church Bells

In St. Mark Roman Catholic Parish Phoenix v. City of Phoenix, (D AZ, March 3, 2010), an Arizona federal district court issued a preliminary injunction barring the City of Phoenix from enforcing its Noise Ordinance against sound generated in the course of religious expression. The lawsuit was brought by churches which had been prosecuted or feared prosecution under the ordinance because of the level of sound from their carillon bells. (See prior posting 1, 2). The challenged law prohibits "unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise." Plaintiffs alleged that the law's restrictions are unconstitutionally vague and violate their free expression and free exercise rights, as well as their rights under Arizona's Free Exercise of Religion Act. In granting the preliminary injunction, the court, focusing on plaintiffs' free expression challenge, said:

The Court finds, for the purposes of preliminary injunction analysis, that the Noise
Ordinance is neither precise enough nor clear enough to be considered narrowly tailored. The Noise Ordinance does not contain an objective standard, such as a decibel level, under which loud, disturbing, and unnecessary sounds are targeted to the exclusion of sounds that are not loud, disturbing, and unnecessary. Also, the exemptions from the Noise Ordinance are a scattershot list, providing an exception for government vehicles, noncommercial public addresses, ice cream trucks (or other uses of hand-held devices playing "pleasing melodies"),and nighttime street work, but not considering any other types of sound to be exempt from coverage. The government's interest in preventing the disturbance of its citizens by noise could be achieved by other, less restrictive means.

Alliance Defense Fund issued a release announcing the decision.

Religious Questionnaire To City Candidates Draws Criticism

In Farmington, New Mexico's recent municipal elections, the campaign manager for one of the losing City Council candidates secretly designed a scorecard to rank local candidates on their religious and social values. Yesterday's Farmington Daily Times says that candidate Bob Moon did not know that his campaign manager, Drew Degner, had designed the questionnaire that asked closed-end questions about issues such as church attendance, abortion rights and gay marriage. Some candidates refused to answer the questions and are critical of it. Degner said he designed the survey in order to help fellow Emmanuel Baptist Church members determine candidates' values. He did not distribute the scorecard beyond his church. Moon, a pastor, only posted a copy on the bulletin board at his church, My Father's House.

4th Circuit Upholds Church's Discrimination and RLUIPA Claims

In Reaching Hearts International, Inc. v. Prince George's County, (4th Cir., March 3, 2010), the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a Maryland federal district court that a Seventh Day Adventist Congregation's rights under the Equal Protection Clause and RLUIPA were infringed when the county refused to grant a change in sewer and water classifications for a portion of property on which it planned to build a church. The court concluded:

the evidence presented at trial of the County's anti-church animus was very strong. The evidence thus supports the jury’s conclusion that (1) the County intentionally discriminated against Reaching Hearts on a prohibited ground, and (2) the County imposed or implemented a land use regulation in a manner that imposed a substantial burden on Reaching Heart’s religious exercise, without satisfying the standard of strict scrutiny.

Yesterday's Washington Post reports on the decision.

State Employees Say Boss Judged Them On the Quality of Their Religious Faith

The director of the Ohio Workers' Compensation Council is being accused of religious discrimination by her three-member staff-- two attorneys and an executive assistant. According to yesterday's Columbus Dispatch, Virginia McInerney, director of the Council that oversees the operations of Ohio's Bureau of Workers' Compensation, fired the staffers after they asked for separation agreements because of insurmountable inter-office tensions. The staffers say that McInerney, who often asked them to pray, was judging them "not on professional performance but on the quality of their faith, according to her beliefs." In letters to the state senator who chairs the Council, the three said McInerney told them she believed God placed her in her job and that the source of office conflict was an "inability to recognize her 'divine gift for editing.'"

Anti-Evolutionists Tying Curriculum Efforts To Global Warming Skepticism

Today's New York Times reports that critics of evolution who want alternative theories taught in public schools are beginning to tie that effort together with a similar push to encourage teaching of alternative theories about global warming. The strategy, being pursued in various states, builds on growing numbers of conservatives who have doubts about the science of climate change. Rev. Jim Ball of the Evangelical Environmental Network, a group that agrees with the science of global warming, says that many religious opponents believe "it is hubris to think that human beings could disrupt something that God created." As a legal matter, those tying the two issues together are reacting in part to a statement in a 2005 federal district court opinion finding that Cobb County, Georgia's singling out of evolution as a questionable theory in textbook stickers had the effect of advancing religion.

Church Lacks Standing To Sue Over Investigation of Its Loud Music

In Faith Baptist Church v. Waterford Township, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18226 (ED MI, March 2, 2010), a Michigan federal district court held that a church lacks standing to complain about police investigations of complaints about the volume of music coming from the church during rehearsals, services and concerts. (See prior posting). The court said:

Plaintiffs have not articulated any concrete or particularized injury. FBC continues to hold services with the music of its choosing. There is no allegation that the nature of FBC's religious services changed in any way in response to the investigation of the noise complaints. There is no specific allegation that any right to free association has been impinged or that any church members were deterred from worshiping.... There is no allegation that FBC was ordered to stop their music or that anyone was ticketed, charged, or fined. In fact, Waterford's disturbing the peace ordinance, which they challenge as vague and overbroad, was not enforced against them. Further, the evidence suggests that Waterford does not have a present intention to enforce the ordinance against them....

Although the complaint alleges that the actions of the prosecutor and police have caused a "chilling effect" -- such bare allegations are insufficient to confer standing.

Texas Republicans Support Religious Reference At Public Gatherings and On Government Buildings

Tuesday's Texas Republican primary ballot included five "non-binding resolutions that are the party's way of gauging support for issues, and for informing voters and elected officials where the party's grassroots stand on the issues." One of those, Ballot Prop. #4 read:

The use of the word "God", prayers, and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as be permitted on government buildings and property.

The advisory measure passed by an overwhelming 95.14% majority, with 11.1% of the state's registered voters participating. (Official results.) Apparently this same measure will appear on the November general election ballot. (San Marcos Daily Record). Yesterday American Atheists issued a press release warning that if this proposal is formally adopted in the state, "it will prove to be unconstitutional and expensive for state taxpayers."

Key Christian Conservative Defeated In Texas Board of Education Primary

The Christian Post and the Baptist Standard report that in Tuesday's Texas Republican Party primary, State Board of Education member Don McLeroy lost to challenger Thomas Ratliff by fewer than 900 votes. The ousted McLeroy was an outspoken Christian conservative who has doubts about the theory of evolution. He has supported added emphasis in social studies courses on the role of Christianity in the founding of the United States. In a debate about evolution, he supported a proposal that science teachers encourage students to address the "strengths and weaknesses" of scientific theories. Different language was ultimately adopted. (See prior related posting.) According to the AP, winner Ratliff is considered a moderate. The 15-member board currently has 7 social conservatives who sometimes win on issues by picking up one or two other swing votes. Meanwhile conservative member Ken Mercer won his primary race. In the race for the seat of retiring conservative Cynthia Dunbar, conservative candidate Brian Russell will be in an April runoff with educator Marsha Farney. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Public Housing Authority Says No More On-Site Church Services

According to yesterday's Dallas News, the Dallas (TX) Housing Authority has ordered a halt to Sunday morning worship services in one of the public housing complexes it administers. For the past 14 years, Lake Highlands United Methodist Church has brought Sunday services to elderly residents of Audelia Manor. Now, however, MaryAnn Russ, Dallas Housing Authority CEO, says the worship services violate the DHA's contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as church-state separation principles. She says that worship services amount to agency endorsement of religion. New Housing Authority agreements with religious social service groups prohibit them from holding worship services in public housing units. However a HUD spokesman in Washington says that the Fair Housing Act does not prohibit religious activity in common areas of public housing as long the activity does not result in unequal treatment of residents.

UPDATE: The Dallas News reports that on Thursday, the Dallas Housing Authority reversed its decision. Religious services at Audelia Manor will resume on Sunday.

Bristish Airport Refuses Boarding To Muslim Women Who Rejected Body Scan

At Britain's Manchester Airport, two Muslim women have become the first passengers to be banned from boarding their flight because they refused to undergo a full body scan using an expensive new X-ray system. According to yesterday's London Express, one of the women objected on religious grounds and the other on medical grounds. The women, who had been randomly selected for scanning, had tickets to fly to Islamabad, Pakistan. An airport spokesman said: "These ladies were not in traditional Muslim dress and while they were not happy about being refused permission to fly there was no anger. They accepted the decision and did not complain." The privacy group Big Brother Watch offered to represent the women if they want to challenge the airport's actions in court.

Suit Challenges State Civil Rights Agency Jurisdiction Over Small Religiously-Motivated Group

A press release yesterday from the Thomas More Society announced that it has filed a lawsuit in Indiana state court challenging the authority of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) over the Fishers Adolescent Catholic Enrichment Society (FACES), a group of nine families who home-school their children. FACES was created to provide social occasions at which home-schooled children can interact in a religious context with one another. Problems arose when one mother whose daughter suffered from a serious food allergy insisted that her child have a special diet at a FACES banquet. FACES leaders believed that a home-prepared meal would be better, and refused the mother's request. The mother then filed a civil rights charge claiming that the refusal to accommodate her daughter amounted to discrimination on the basis of disability. The new lawsuit charges that the ICRC's assertion of jurisdiction over this kind of small voluntary association formed for religious purposes violates members' rights to freely associate in exercising and expressing their religious beliefs, protected by the Indiana and U.S. constitutions.

Cert. Denied In Establishment Challenge To Religious Displays In Postal Unit

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Sincerely Yours, Inc. v. Cooper, (Docket No. 09-608, 3/1/2010). (Order List). In the case, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals held that religious displays by the Full Gospel Interdenominational Church in the Contract Postal Unit it operates along side its ministry and outreach efforts in a store front facility in Manchester, Connecticut violate the Establishment Clause. (See prior posting.) AP yesterday reported on the Supreme Court's refusal to review the case.

Evangelical Group Wins Compromise In Settlement of Suit Over Tax Exemption

Kenneth Copeland Ministries on Monday announced the settlement of a lawsuit it had filed against Tarrant County (TX) Appraisal District challenging the denial of a tax exemption (see prior posting) for a $3.6 million jet owned by the evangelical religious group. BNA Daily Report for Executives (3/3/2010) [subscription required] gives further details. At issue was the county's requirement that the application for an exemption include the names, positions and salaries of all the organization's employees-- some 600 in total. KCM, which separately had been resisting Congressional demands for more financial information, refused to furnish the data arguing that it was protecting the privacy rights of its employees and the more general privacy rights of churches. In its view, only the Internal Revenue Service has authority to obtain this type of information from non-profits.

In the settlement in Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. v. Tarrant Appraisal District, Tex. Dist. Ct., No. 342-235701-09, agreed judgment entered 2/16/10, the county agreed to have KCM's employment records reviewed by a CPA who specializes in religious organizations. The county accepted as sufficient a report from the CPA that KCM's employee compesation was reasonable, without the underlying data going to the government.

European Court Grand Chamber Will Review Its Decision Banning Crucifixes In Italian Classrooms

The European Court of Human Rights announced yesterday that its 17-judge Grand Chamber will review a controversial decision handed down in November by a 7-judge panel in Lautsi v. Italy. The panel decision held that crucifixes in public school classrooms in Italy violate the European Convention on Human Rights' protections of thought, conscience and religion and the right of parents to educate their children according to their convictions. (See prior posting.) Business Week reported on the Court's decision to review the case.

High School Teacher Suspended Over Banning Wiccan Altar In Shop Class

A high school industrial arts teacher in Guthrie Center, Iowa has ben placed on paid leave pending the school's consultation with its attorney in an unusual dispute regarding student religious expression in class assignments. Yesterday's Des Moines Register reports that teacher Dale Halferty told a student that he could not build a Wiccan altar in shop class. While he could build a table that he could later use as part of an altar, Halferty told the student that he needed to keep all religious materials at home. However the student kept returning with a book on witchcraft. Halferty says he does not want any religious symbols in the shop, and previously told another student he could not build a cross in class. Almost 70 students have signed a petition saying they do not want witchcraft practiced in school. Halferty agreed, saying: "It scares me. I'm a Christian. This witchcraft stuff - it's terrible for our kids. It takes kids away from what they know, and leads them to a dark and violent life. We spend millions of tax dollars trying to save kids from that." Ben Stone, executive director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, says that students have the right to express their religious viewpoints within the context of a class assignment.

D.C. Catholic Charities Ends New Spousal Benefits To Avoid Recognizing Same-Sex Partners

Following up on their pledge to be in compliance with D.C. same-sex marriage law that takes effect today, Catholic Charities of Washington has stopped offering benefits to spouses of new employees. This avoids charges that the organization is illegally discriminating on the basis of marital status were it to refuse to recognize same-sex partners. CNS and Beliefnet report that the change will not affect employees whose spouses are currently covered. A letter to Catholic Charities employees from its CEO said: "We sincerely regret that we have to make this change, but it is necessary to allow Catholic Charities to continue to provide essential services to the clients we serve in partnership with the District of Columbia while remaining consistent with the tenets of our religious faith." While Catholic Charities CEO Edward J. Orzechowski says that the new D.C. statute requires that same-sex couples receive the same spousal benefits as heterosexual couples, in fact that requirement seems to stem from the anti-discrimination provisions of the D.C. Human Rights Law that prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or marital status.

Chief Justice Refuses To Stay Effectiveness of D.C. Same-Sex Marriage Law

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has refused to grant a stay to prevent the District of Columbia’s Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act from taking effect today. In an in chambers opinion in Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, (Sup. Ct., March 2, 2010), the Chief Justice said that it has been the practice of the Court to defer to defer to the decisions of the courts of the District of Columbia on matters of exclusively local concern. Congress has chosen not to override the D.C. statute, and petitioners can raise many of the same arguments in their pending litigation attempting to get an initiative on the ballot to repeal the law that permits same-sex marriage. AP reports on the decision, saying that while couples may apply for licenses beginning today, there is a 3-day waiting period before they get the licenses and can actually be married. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Plaintiffs Have Standing To Challenge Day of Prayer, But Not Prayer Proclamations

In Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Obama, (WD WI, March 2, 2010), a Wisconsin federal district court ruled on the standing of Freedom from Religion Foundation and some of its members in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer statute (36 USC 119) and the issuance of prayer proclamations by the President. (See prior posting.) In addition to the President, Shirley Dobson, chairperson of the National Day of Prayer Task Force was also named as a defendant. The court held:

Although the answer is not free from doubt, I conclude that, under the unique circumstances of this case, plaintiffs have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer statute. The primary injury plaintiffs allege is the feeling of unwelcomeness and exclusion they experience as nonreligious persons because of what they view as a message from the government that it favors Americans who pray. That injury is intangible, but it is no less concrete than the injuries in the many cases in which courts have recognized the standing of persons subjected to unwelcome religious speech. The only difference between those cases and this one is that plaintiffs have not come into physical or visual contact with a religious display. However, that difference has little significance in a case like this one involving a national message intended to reach all Americans.

... With respect to plaintiffs' challenge to "prayer proclamations" issued by the President (other than one required by § 119), none of the plaintiffs has read or heard such a proclamation except when they expressly sought one out. Such a self-inflicted "injury" cannot establish standing. With respect to defendant Dobson, plaintiffs have failed completely to show that any of her actions has injured them.

Alliance Defense Fund issued a release on the decision.

Tennessee School District Settles Suit Challenging Religious Practices In Schools

The Cheatham County (TN) Board of Education voted Monday night to approve a settlement in a lawsuit alleging a pattern of religious activities in the county schools. (See prior posting.) The settlement order (full text) in Doe v. Cheatham County Board of Education, (MD TN, filed 11/16/2009), was announced in a press release by the ACLU of Tennessee that filed the lawsuit. Under the agreement, among other things school officials will not participate in or permit non-student third parties to offer prayers in conjunction with school events; will prevent non-student third parties (including the Gideons) from distributing Bibles during instructional time or at school events; will make a good faith effort not to hold school events at religious venues; will not knowingly let teachers promote personal religious beliefs to students during class or at school events; teachers will not cite sacred text as authority for historical or scientific fact to students in classes, or display religious symbols in class unless there is a pedagogical reason for doing so; and school teachers will not put religious beliefs or references to a deity on their school web pages.

British Sikhs Challenge 2011 Census Form

Britain's Sikh Federation is considering filing a lawsuit against the UK government's Office of National Statistics over the form it plans to use for the 2011 census. According to yesterday's Sikh Times, the government intends to list Sikhs as a choice in the voluntary portion of the form that asks about religious affiliation. The Sikh group insists that Sikh should also be a choice in the compulsory portion of the form that asks about ethnicity. They say that otherwise this will continue the under count of Sikhs that occurred ten years ago, reducing the amount of government services to which they are entitled.

Church Zoning Decision Remanded for Further Findings

In Arnold v. Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Board of Adjustment, (KY Ct. App., Feb. 26, 2010), a Kentucky appellate court in a second appeal in a church zoning case sent back for additional proceedings a county zoning authority's decision to grant Versailles United Methodist Church a conditional use permit for construction of a church building, school building, gymnasium and parking lot. The court held that again the County Board of Adjustment had not made adequate findings to justify its conclusions. It also directed the Board to make appropriate findings under RLUIPA instead of the conclusory statements that appeared in its original decision.

Ohio Supreme Court Will Decide If Church Can Sponsor Charter School

The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to review a case in which a church claims that a decision of the Ohio Department of Education denying its application to sponsor a charter school ("community school") violates the equal protection clauses of the U.S. and Ohio (Art. 1, Sec. 2) constitutions and as well as the free exercise clause of the Ohio Constitution (Art. 1, Sc. 7). The denial was based on Ohio Rev. Code 3314.015(B)(3) that requires a sponsor to be an "education-oriented institution." According to yesterday's Columbus Dispatch, Brookwood Presbyterian Church in Columbus runs an educational program for 64 children with autism. It currently operates under the umbrella of another approved charter school, but that school is now threatened with closure. An Ohio Court of Appeals dismissed the church's challenge on the ground that the Department of Education's decision to deny a community school application is unappealable. Brookwood Presbyterian Church v. Ohio Department of Education, (OH Ct. App., Sept. 8, 2009). The full text of all the pleadings, briefs and court orders filed in the case in the Ohio Supreme Court are available online. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Teacher Wins Right To Display Classroom Banners With Religious References

In Johnson v. Poway Unified School District, (SD CA, Feb. 25, 2010), a California federal district court held that high school teacher Bradley Johnson's rights were violated when school officials told him to take down two 7-foot wide banners he had placed on his classroom wall. One displayed quotes such as "God Bless America" and "In God We Trust." The other quoted from the Declaration of Independence, with the term "Creator" in the quote in all capital letters. The school permits teachers to create their own displays in their classrooms, so long as the displays are not disruptive. Other teachers had posted items such as a Tibetan prayer flag, posters of Mahatma Gandhi, the Dali Lama and Malcolm X, as well as posters with views on a wide variety of other issues. Johnson's posters had hung in his classroom without objection for 20 years.

The court concluded that the school had created a limited public forum for teachers to express their views on their classroom walls, and that officials had engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in squelching Johnson's speech. Establishment Clause concerns were unjustified since, according to the court, there is no realistic danger that an observer would think the school district was endorsing a particular religion. Moreover, the court concluded that by permitting Buddhist, Hindu, and anti-religious speech by some teachers while silencing the Judeo-Christian speech of Johnson, the school violates the Establishment Clause, the Equal Protection Clause and the "no preference" clause of the California Constitution. The court ordered school officials to immediately permit Johnson to redisplay the two banners at issue, and also awarded Johnson nominal damages. AP yesterday reported on the decision, and the Thomas More Law Center that represented Johnson issued a release on the decision, including photos of the disputed banners. (See prior related posting.)

Settlement Reached In Texas Prayer Garden Challenge

The San Antonio (TX) Express News reported yesterday that a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit attempting to prevent The Coming King Foundation from placing a 77-foot tall cross in their Kerrville, Texas subdivision. The cross is part of a 23-acre prayer garden., and will overlook Interstate 10. Neighbors say that subdivision deeds limit lots to residential use, but the Foundation argued that the deed restrictions are invalid because the 12-lot subdivision plot was not approved by county commissioners. (See prior posting.) Under the settlement, the garden will be constructed, but a privacy wall will be put up. Also access and parking from a subdivision street will be limited, and defendants will pay $25,000 toward plaintiff's legal fees.

Cert. Denied In Property Dispute Involving Break Away Episcopal Parish

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in St. Luke's of the Mountains v. Episcopal Church, (Docket No. 09-708, March 1, 2010). (Order List.) In the case below, decided by a California appellate court under the name Huber v. Jackson, the court applied the "neutral principles" of law doctrine, concluding that the Episcopal Church and its Diocese of Los Angeles are the owners of the property of St. Luke's parish in La Crescenta, California. The congregants of St. Luke's voted in 2006 to break away from the Episcopal Church and affiliate with the more conservative Anglican Church of Uganda. (See prior posting.) The California Supreme Court refused review in the case (2009 Cal. LEXIS 9850, Sept. 17, 2009). The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles issued a statement yesterday thanking the Supreme Court for its clarity in refusing review. Episcopal News Service reports on the Supreme Court's refusal to review the state appellate court's ruling. [Thanks to John W. Chilton for the lead.]

Private Rabbinic Court In Israel Is At Center of a Controversy

Last week Haaretz carried a long article about the little known group of private rabbinic courts in Israel known as Badatz, an acronym for Court of Justice or Righteous Court. The article focuses on the court branch located in Bnei Brak, a city east of Tel Aviv in which strictly observant Orthodox Jews (Haredi) and important Haredi rabbis live. Unlike the government-run rabbinical courts that deal only with family and personal status matters, Badatz deals with a wide variety of civil disputes. The parties must agree to submit their disputes to Badatz, but the rabbinic court can place pressure on members of the Haredi community who do not do so by issuing a "writ of refusal" which essentially calls for others to ostracise the individual who will not submit to the court's jurisdiction. Badatz has come into the news because of a lawsuit filed in the civil court system against several of the rabbinic judges (dayanim) on Badatz. [This paragraph has been corrected thans to an e-mail from Jack Levey.] As reported by Haaretz:

Rabbi Zvi Bialostosky, a building contractor, his son Chaim and the son's partner, Eliezer Friedman, were involved in a lengthy dispute with people who bought an apartment from them in Bnei Brak. The case was heard by Badatz Bnei Brak, until at a certain point Bialostosky and the other plaintiffs sued the dayanim in Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court.... Late last year, the contractors filed no fewer than 11 requests for various legal proceedings against the religious judges, in the process crossing a Haredi red line by taking their case to the state secular court system and, worse, suing dayanim. The result was an offensive of unprecedented ferocity by the Haredi leadership against two private individuals.

A letter signed by ... spiritual leaders of the Haredi world asserts that Bialostosky and Friedman "lifted a hand against God and His Torah" and are liable to cause "the destruction of the religion."

The contractors requested and were granted a restraining order against threats and harassment, after complaining to the civil court that the Badatz rulings constituted "harassment" and "libel." The dayanim retorted that such allegations were groundless and added that Bialostosky is "a quarrelsome individual who is involved in numberless disputes and litigations."

Supreme Court Denies Cert. In Oklahoma 10 Commandments Case

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied certiorari in Haskell County Board of Commissioners v. Green, (Docket No. 09-531, March 1, 2010). (Order List.) In the case, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a display of a Ten Commandments monument on the lawn of the county courthouse in Stigler, Oklahoma, violated the Establishment Clause. (See prior posting.) AP reports on the Court's refusal to grant review. [Thanks to both Bob Ritter and Scott Mange for the lead.]

Indian Court Strikes Down Longer Divorce Waiting Period for Christians

In India last week, Kerala's High Court struck down as unconstitutional a provision that requires Christians to wait at least two years after they are first married to file for divorce. The personal law that governs other religious communities, as well as the Special Marriage Act that governs those with no religion, all allow others to file for divorce after one year. According to today's CathNews Asia, the court held that the clause in the Indian Divorce Act applicable only to Christians is discriminatory and violates the constitutional protection of equality before the law. Praveen and Soumya Thomas filed for divorce eight months after they were married. The court suggested that the legislature could impose a one-year waiting period for Christians, the same as imposed on other religious groups.

Obama's New Envoy To OIC Profiled

Today's Washington Post profiles Rashad Hussain, President Obama's recently appointed special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. (See prior related posting.) The 31-year old Hussain who grew up in Plano, Texas, is both a scholar of the Qur'an and an ardent North Carolina Tar Heels basketball fan (his undergraduate alma mater). After completing a master's degree in Arabic and Islamic studies at Harvard, he was working with the House Judiciary Committee at the time of 9-11. He later attended Yale Law School and, until his recent appointment, worked in the White House Counsel's Office. Hussain has memorized the Qur'an and prays daily, often in a room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building used by all faiths.

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Luc B. Tremblay, The Bouchard-Taylor Report on Cultural and Religious Accommodation: Multiculturalism by Any Other Name?,(EUI Working Papers LAW No. 2009/18, Dec. 1, 2009).
• Juliet P. Stumpf, Juliet P., The Implausible Alien: IQBAL and the Influence of Immigration Law, (Lewis & Clark Law Review, Vol. 14, No. 231, 2010).
• Cosmin Dariescu, Jurisdiction Over Marriage in the Romanian Principalities: From the Ecclesiastical Court to the Secular Tribunal, (Turning Points and Breaklines: Yearbook of Young Legal History 4, Szabolcs Hornyak, et. al., eds., pp.180-192, Martin Meidenbauer, Munchen, 2009).
• Gregor Noll, Sacrificial Violence and Targeting in International Humanitarian Law, (February 24, 2010).
• Perry Dane, Constitutional Law and Religion, (Blackwell Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory, Dennis Patterson, ed., Blackwell, 2010).
• Frederick C. DeCoste, Caesar's Faith: Limited Government and Freedom of Religion in Bruker v. Marcovitz, (Dalhousie Law Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 153-176, 2009).
• Dimitry Kochenov, On Options of Citizens and Moral Choices of States: Gays and European Federalism, (Fordham International Law Journal, Vol. 33, No. 1, 2009).
• Heather Kennedy, Pleasant Grove v. Summum: Is Ten Truly Greater than Seven? An Examination of the Government Speech Doctrine Regarding Privately Donated Monuments Displayed on Public Land, (February 23, 2010).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• J. Scott Carpenter, Matthew Levitt & Michael Jacobson, Confronting the Ideology of Radical Extremism, 3 Journal of National Security Law & Policy 301-327 (2009).
• H. Lyssette Chavez & Monica K. Miller, Religious References in Death Sentence Phases of Trials: Two Psychological Theories That Suggest Judicial Rulings and Assumptions May Affect Jurors, 13 Lewis & Clark Law Review 1037-1083 (2009).
• Michael Hatfield, The Anabaptist Conscience and Religious Exemption to Jury Service, 65 N.Y.U. Annual Survey of American Law 269-322 (2009).
• Debra A. Jones, The Role of Spirituality in the Mediation Process, [Abstract], 27 Conflict Resolution Quarterly 145-165 (2009).
• Journal of Church and State, Vol. 51, No. 3 (Summer 2009) has recently been issued.
• The March 2010 issue of American United's Church & State has recently appeared online.

Recent Books:

• Dan Diner, Lost in the Sacred: Why the Muslim World Stood Still, (Princeton Univ. Press , Nov. 2009), reviewed in The Muslim News.
• Frank Lambert, Religion in American Politics: A Short History, (Princeton Univ. Press, Feb. 2010).
• Ian Buruma, Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents, (Princeton Univ. Press, Feb. 2010).

Op-Ed Presses For Continued US Foreign Aid Through Religious Groups

Nicholas Kristof's op-ed in today's New York Times focuses on the history of the U.S. channeling foreign humanitarian aid through religious organizations. He says that evangelicals have become the "new internationalists," pressing for U.S. programs abroad for a range of human service needs. He writes in part:

Some Americans assume that religious groups offer aid to entice converts. That's incorrect. Today, groups like World Vision ban the use of aid to lure anyone into a religious conversation.

Some liberals are pushing to end the longtime practice (it's a myth that this started with President George W. Bush) of channeling American aid through faith-based organizations. That change would be a catastrophe. In Haiti, more than half of food distributions go through religious groups like World Vision that have indispensable networks on the ground. We mustn't make Haitians the casualties in our cultural wars.

DC Catholic Archdiocese Says It Will Be In Compliance When Same-Sex Marriage Takes Effect

Washington, D.C.'s new law legalizing same-sex marriage takes effect this Wednesday. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Washington Post reports that the Washington Catholic Archdiocese that receives significant social service funding from the city says it will be in compliance with law, though it has not specified exactly what it will do. D.C. law appears to require groups receiving public funds to offer benefits to spouses of married employees, whether traditional or same-sex marriages. The Archdiocese has already transferred its foster care program to avoid having to allow same-sex couples to serve as foster parents. (See prior posting.)

Mennonites Have Problems With Road Protection Law In Iowa County

Today's WCF Courier reports on the problem posed for the Groffdale Conference Mennonite Community by Mitchell County, Iowa's Ordinance No. 41 that bans steel wheels on the county's hard surfaced roads. This group of Mennonites use modern tractors, but as a religious matter they replace inflated rubber tires with metal rims surrounded by a thick rubber belt containing metal bars to provide traction. They fear conventional tires would make trips to town too convenient. Thirteen year old Matthew Zimmerman is due in court this Friday on charges of violating Ordinance No. 41. He was cited for driving a 19,000 pound steel-wheel tractor pulling a home-made 2-wheel cart on a county road on his way to pick up four bales of wood shavings for his family's farm. County officials say steel wheels damage highways. However neighboring Howard County rejected a similar ordinance after Mennonites deposited $25,000 in a trust to cover any future highway damage. (See prior related posting.) Apparently steel wheels are harder on cement roads like many in Mitchell County, than on asphalt roads that predominate in Howard County. Mitchell County suspended the ordinance for 60 days last fall during the harvest season.

Anti-Semitism Showing Reductions In Poland

Today's New York Times reports that Poland "is finally showing solid signs of shedding the rabid anti-Semitism of the past." There has been a small Jewish revival in Eastern Europe, with hundreds of Poles converting to Judaism or discovering Jewish roots that were hidden during World War II. The article focuses specifically on the story of Pawel, a former Nazi skinhead, who after discovering he and his wife both had Jewish grandparents has become an observant Orthodox Jew. Pawel says he is now studying to become a schochet, a a ritual kosher slaughterer of animals. He explained: "I am good with knives."

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Yoshiyah v. Norris, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14176 (ED AR, Feb. 18, 2010), an Arkansas federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14386, Jan. 28, 2010) and dismissed claims by an inmate who was a member of the House of Yahweh who complained that he was denied various religious publications and that he could only watch religious videos alone on Wednesdays rather than with a group on Saturdays. He also complained about the quality of the vegetarian kosher diet that was available.

In Abdul-Aziz v. Ricci, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14657 (D NJ, Feb. 19, 2010), a New Jersey federal district court allowed an inmate to proceed with claims relating to use of prayer oils and availability of Halal meals.

In Walker v. Dart, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14638 (ND IL, Feb. 19, 2010), an Illinois federal district court refused to dismiss an pre-trial detainee's complaint that religious services were denied for nearly nine months in one part of the Cook County Jail.

In Wappler v. Kleinsmith, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15322 (WD MI, Feb. 22, 2010), a Michigan federal district court allowed a now-released inmate to proceed only against certain of the defendants in their individual capacities on his claims that he was denied kosher meals, religious materials and the opportunity to participate in group religious services and that officials made membership in the Alliance for Jewish Renewal (ALEPH) a condition of his ability to practice Judaism, participate in Seder and Passover services.

In Shoucair v. Snacker, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15551 (ED MI, Feb. 23, 2010), a Michigan federal district court adopted the magistrate's recommendations (2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15634, Feb. 3, 2010) and dismissed claims by an inmate including an allegation that a correction officer assaulted him, motivated by prejudice against Islamic Caucasians.

In Roberson v. South Carolina Department of Corrections, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16421 (D SC, Feb. 24, 2010), a South Carolina federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations
(2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16370, Jan. 27, 2010) finding that an inmate failed to show how an alleged denial of "any Kairos sponsored religious feast [and/or] bread festival celebration" prevented him from practicing his religion, and did not claim that Kairos food or celebrations are part of any religious ritual or faith to which he subscribed.

No Compromise Found For Hutterite Drivers' Licenses

Last July, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a requirement imposed by the province of Alberta that all drivers' licences contain a photo of the license holder. Hutterites had objected to the requirement on religious grounds. (See prior posting.) A report from yesterday's Calgary Herald says that months of discussions between the provincial government and the Hutterites have failed to work out a compromise. The photo-less licenses that were issued to Hutterite drivers while legal proceedings were pending are now mostly expiring. Sam Wurz, manager of the Three Hills Hutterite Colony, says that their current plan is to continue to drve without a license.

Controversy In Trinidad Over Aid To Prime Minister's Church

In Trinidad & Tobago, a bitter fight between Prime Minister Patrick Manning and his critics is underway involving the extent of government aid to a Christian church with which Manning has ties. Today's T&T Guardian reports that Manning delivered a strongly worded 53-minute statement to the Lower House of Parliament yesterday accusing his critics of persecuting the Full Gospel Fellowship Movement. Two issues have surfaced. One is the extent of government assistance in the construction of the Heights of Guanapo church. Manning says no government funds are being used in the construction, but that the land was given to the church just as the government has granted land over a number of years to many religious groups. T&T Express reports that, according to Manning, over the years the government has given millions of dollars of assistance to a wide variety of religious bodies. The other issue is Manning's relationship with Juliana Penna, leader of the Lighthouse of the Lord Jesus Christ Church. Manning has been consulting her as his spiritual advisor. (T&T Express.) Manning denied charges that government funds were used to pay for Penna's travel, and that she accompanied him on his trips. (T&T Express.)

Complaint Filed With EEOC Over Conflict Between Hijab and Abercrombie's Employee "Look Policy"

National Law Journal reports today on an EEOC complaint filed against Abercrombie & Fitch on behalf of Umme-Hani Kahn, a Muslim stockroom worker who was fired from Hollister (an Abercrombie subsidiary) because she insisted on wearing her hijab (headscarf). According to the complaint filed by CAIR (press release), Kahn was originally assured by local management in San Mateo, California, that she could wear her hijab so long it was in white, blue or gray. However several months later a district manager told Kahn that scarves and hats do not fit the company's "look". In September, the EEOC sued Abercrombie on behalf of a prospective employee in Tulsa, Okla., who was denied a sales position because her hijab violated the company's "look" policy. (See prior posting.) [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Suit Charges Car Dealership With Employment Discrimination Against Sikh

A lawsuit filed in a New Jersey state court yesterday alleges that a Little Falls (NJ) Lexus dealership refused to hire plaintiff, a Sikh, because he was not willing to shave his religiously-mandated beard. The refusal came after plaintiff completed a two-day training course for potential sales employees. The complaint (full text) in Kherha v. Tri-County Lexus, (NJ Super. Ct., filed 2/25/2010), alleges that the dealership engaged in religious discrimination and that its refusal to accommodate plaintiff's religious practice violates the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJSA Sec. 10:5-1 et. seq.). A press release today from the Sikh Coalition announced the filing of the lawsuit.

New Policy on Comments on Religion Clause Blog

Beginning with this morning's posts, I am turning off the Comment function on new postings on Religion Clause. In recent months, comments have largely become a lengthy colloquy between a small number of readers. While their views are robust, it has become an exchange that is so extensive that it calls for those readers to create their own forum for their debate rather than imposing me as an intermediary. I continue to invite readers who find factual errors in any posting, or who are personally involved in any of the matters discussed, to e-mail me about them.

Suit On Religious Use of Cannabis Dismissed On Ripeness Grounds

In Oklevueha Native American Church of Hawaii v. Holder, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16123 (D HI, Feb. 23, 2010), an Hawaii federal district court dismissed on ripeness grounds a suit seeking a declaratory judgment that a church and its founder can grow, possess and distribute cannabis free from federal drug crime prosecution. Plaintiffs claimed that cannabis is used in their religion. The court found that the complaint does not allege any threat that the church or any of its members will be prosecuted for drug related offenses. The court also cautioned the attorney in the case about advising his client to submit an affidavit admitting to a possible drug crime, saying that the attorney may have a conflict in giving this advice because the declaratory judgment sought would benefit another of his clients.

Malaysian Professor Discusses Controversy Over Christians Using "Allah" For God

The American Muslim on Wednesday published an interview with Prof. Chandra Muzaffar, Malaysia's best known public intellectual, on the controversy over Christians in Malaysia using the term "Allah" for God in their Malay language publications. While saying there is nothing in Islam that prohibits the practice, he urged understanding of the fear by Malays that they are being turned into an economically subordinate community in their native country. He added:

I have been pushing for the setting up of a National Consultative Council for Religious Harmony, as an official body or mechanism to promote dialogue between the different religious communities in Malaysia. Such a council can deal with issues like this ongoing controversy.... Lamentably, the muftis of the different states in Malaysia have consistently opposed the setting up such a council, on the specious grounds that it would mean Islam being treated at par with the other religions although Islam is the religion of the Malaysian Constitution.

Court Says School Can Insist Valedictorian Remove Religious References From Talk

A Montana trial court this week upheld the action of Butte High School officials in refusing to let one of the class' ten valedictorians speak at her 2008 graduation when she refused to remove religious references from her remarks. Yesterday's Billings Gazette reports that officials asked Renee Griffith to replace the words "Christ and his joy" with "my faith" and "from God with a passionate love for him" with the words "derived from my faith and based on a love of mankind." The court concluded that the school board policy barring religious references in graduation speeches is a policy applied even handedly to all students in order to maintain the religious neutrality required by the Establishment Clause. Griffith's attorney plans to appeal the decision to the Montana Supreme Court, arguing that Griffith was not going to be speaking on the school's behalf, but wanted to express her own personal beliefs.

White House Official To Meet With Secular Coalition Members

This morning, Tina Tchen, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement along with representatives from the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services are scheduled to meet with the Secular Coalition for America. According to McClatchy Newspapers, some 60 individuals from the Coalition's ten member groups will be at the meeting being held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House. The President is not expected to make an appearance. Attendees want to raise three issues with administration officials: child medical neglect, proselytizing in the military and faith-based initiatives.

Court Finds No Meeting of the Minds on "Mahr"

In Obaidi v. Qayoum, (WA App., Feb. 23, 2010), a Washington state appellate court refused to enforce a mahr-- a prenuptial agreement based on Islamic law that provides an immediate and long-term dowry to the wife. When the couple's marriage was dissolved after 13 months, the wife claimed she was entitled to $20,000 under the terms of the mahr. However the court concluded, applying neutral principles of contract law, that the parties had not entered a valid agreement. The court said in part:

A valid contract requires a meeting of the minds on the essential terms.... Mr. Qayoum was not told that he would be required to participate in a ceremony that would include the signing of a mahr until 15 minutes before he signed the mahr. Here Mr. Qayoum was unaware of the terms of the agreement until they were explained to him by an uncle after the mahr had been signed. The negotiations preceding the execution of the agreement were conducted in Farsi. Also, the document was written in Farsi which Mr. Qayoum does not read, write, or speak.... Because Mr. Qayoum could not speak, write, or read Farsi, there was no meeting of the minds as to the terms of the mahr agreement. In addition, the court indicated that the agreement was influenced by duress.

[Thanks to Volokh Conspiracy for the lead.]

Finnish Court Imposes Damages on Parents for Son's Circumcision Without Anesthetic

A district court in Helsinki, Finland has imposed damages of 1500 Euros on an Orthodox Jewish couple who had their son ritually circumcised by a British Chabad rabbi who is a recognized mohel in Britain. The damages are payable to their son for pain and suffering. London's Jewish Chronicle reported yesterday on the proceedings brought by the Helsinki prosecutor who wanted the court to rule that only physicians could perform circumcisions. However instead the court found the parents guilty of conspiracy to commit bodily harm because the procedure was performed without use of an anesthetic-- a common practice because of complications with anesthetic creams or injections. The case was instituted after the parents took the child to Helsinki University Hospital because of excessive bleeding. The boy was treated by Dr. Harry Lindahl, a well-known campaigner against circumcision. Despite the victory, the prosecutor is expected to appeal because the court did not prohibit non-physicians from performing circumcisions. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State in Israel) for the lead.]

Maryland AG Says Same-Sex Marriages From Other States May Be Recognized

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has issued a 55-page Attorney General's Opinion concluding that same-sex marriages validly entered in other states may be recognized in Maryland. The opinion (94 Op. Att'y. Gen. 3, Feb. 23, 2010) says in part:

While the matter is not free from all doubt, in our view, the Court is likely to respect the law of other states and recognize a same-sex marriage contracted validly in another jurisdiction. In light of Maryland's developing public policy concerning intimate same sex relationships, the Court would not readily invoke the public policy exception to the usual rule of recognition.

Three Catholic Archbishops of Maryland issued a joint statement (full text) criticizing the ruling. Today's Baltimore Sun reports on developments.

Brazil's Catholic Church Sues Columbia Pictures Over Use of Statue In Film

AFP reports that the Catholic archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is suing Columbia Pictures for unauthorized use of its famous Christ the Redeemer statue in the motion picture 2012. The disaster movie shows the famous landmark being destroyed by a giant wave in a worldwide apocalypse. The archdiocese holds the copyright on the famous Paul Landowski statute that overlooks the city until is expires in 2032. Usually the archdiocese grants permission for movie producers to use the statute, but it refused to do so in pre-production negotiations. Columbia Pictures used the statute anyway. Negotiations to settle the lawsuit have been under way since December, a month after the movie was released. The Archdiocese wants Columbia Pictures to publicly declare that it did not intend to cause offense.

Murder Trial of Cult Members Under Way In Baltimore

The Baltimore Sun in two articles is reporting on the murder trial of a religious cult leader who convinced another cult member to starve her 16-month old child to death because he was likely possessed by an evil spirit. Two other cult members are also on trial for their parts in the death. The three defendants have refused lawyers and are representing themselves. Toni Sloan (also known as Queen Antoinette), the leader of 1 Mind Ministries, convinced Ria Ramkissoon that her son Javon should be deprived of food when he refused to answer "amen" after a prayer. Ramkisson believed that her own mother and stepfather had offered Javon up to the devil. Ramkissoon is not a defendant in this trial. She has already plead guilty to child abuse resulting in death. She will likely receive a 20-year suspended sentence, inpatient counseling and five years' probation. Her sentencing has been postponed pending her testimony in the current trial that opened on Monday.

Tony Perkins' Invitation To Speak At Military Prayer Luncheon Rescinded Over Stand on Gays

CBN News reported yesterday that the Andrews Air Force Base chaplain's office has withdrawn its previous invitation to Family Research Council president Tony Perkins to speak at the National Prayer Luncheon scheduled at Andrews on Feb. 25. The move came after Perkins spoke out strongly against President Obama's call to end the military's don't-ask-don't-tell policy that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. A letter to Perkins said his past statements are "incompatible in our role as military members who serve our elected officials and our Commander in Chief." Perkins, an ordained minister and Marine corps veteran, reacted strongly, saying:

I am very concerned ... that this merely foreshadows the serious threat to religious liberty that would result from repeal of the current military eligibility law. Such legislation would not merely open the military to homosexuals. It would result in a zero-tolerance policy toward those who disapprove of homosexual conduct. Military chaplains would bear the heaviest burden. Would their sermons be censored to prevent them from preaching on biblical passages which describe homosexual conduct as a sin? Would they remain free to counsel soldiers troubled by same-sex attractions about the spiritual and psychological resources available to overcome those attractions?

Negligent Supervision Claims Against Archdiocese Dismissed on 1st Amendment Grounds

In two decisions handed down on Tuesday, Doe v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis and Nicholson v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, (MO Ct. App., Feb. 23, 2010), a Missouri state appellate court held it is bound by Missouri Supreme Court holdings on whether the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars courts from adjudicating the reasonableness of a church's supervision of a cleric. In both cases, the trial court dismissed negligent supervision claims against the Archdiocese growing out of sexual abuse of minors over 50 years ago by a now deceased priest. The court of appeals affirmed, quoting the Missouri Supreme Court's 1997 opinion in Gibson v. Brewer:

adjudicating the reasonableness of a church's supervision of a cleric—what the church 'should know'—requires inquiry into religious doctrine. . . . [T]his would create an excessive entanglement, inhibit religion, and result in the endorsement of one model of supervision.

The court of appeals held that different 1st Amendment interpretations by federal district and appellate courts and courts in other states do not take precedence.

Florida Federal Court Rejects Jurisdiction In Church Homeless Shelter Challenge

In Westgate Tabernacle v. Palm Beach County, (SD FL, Feb. 18, 2010), a Florida federal district court dismissed claims by a West Palm Beach church that its federal and state constitutional rights were violated by Palm Beach County's zoning enforcement efforts against its use of its church building as a homeless shelter. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. That doctrine precludes a federal district court from reviewing a prior judgment of a state court where the federal issues involved could have been raised in that state proceeding. Here a Florida Court of Appeals had previously rejected a similar challenge to the county's requirement that Westgate Tabernacle apply for a conditional use permit. (See prior posting.) Tuesday's Palm Beach Post reported on the federal court dismissal.

Employee Loses Sabbath Accommodation Claim

In Waltzer v. Triumph Apparel Corp., (SD NY, Feb. 18, 2010), a New York federal district court rejected claims under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and under the New York City Human Rights Law by a former employee of an apparel manufacturer who wanted to leave work early on Friday afternoons to accommodate her observance of the Jewish Sabbath. Employee Marilyn Waltzer had two residences, a small apartment in New Jersey and a condo in Pennsylvania. She insisted on leaving work on Fridays as early as 1:00 while her employer insisted she work until 3:00 or 4:00. Waltzer's supervisor was unaware that Waltzer was commuting to Pennsylvania instead of New Jersey for the Sabbath. The court concluded that Waltzer had not shown religious discrimination because in months when sundown came early she was offered the opportunity to leave in time to get to her New Jersey apartment, or alternatively to work part time on Fridays. Waltzer concealed that she was commuting to Pennsylvania and instead told her employer she needed the earlier time off to go to the kosher butcher and prepare herself mentally for the Sabbath. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Church Classification for Capitol Hill Townhouse Questioned

Both the New York Times and the Washington Post report on a letter (full text) sent yesterday to the Internal Revenue Service by a group of Ohio mainline Protestant clergy. The signers, members of Clergy VOICE, question the tax-exempt status of the C Street Center which owns a town house on Capitol Hill that provides inexpensive lodging and meals for conservative Christian members of Congress. The letter argues that the C Street Center does not qualify as a church under IRS regulations.

Apparently there is a close relationship between the Center and the Fellowship Foundation that sponsors the National Prayer Breakfast. J. Robert Hunter, a member of the Fellowship, said that "there are religious services all the time" at the C Street Center. He added it is also "a safe place where politicians who are tempted by lust would hold each other accountable." The Center has received notoriety because at least four politicians involved in extra-marital affairs have lived at or used the Center-- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Nevada Senator John Ensign, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, and Mississippi Representative Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, Jr. Last year D.C. tax authorities classified the Center as 66% taxable. [Thanks to Scott Mange and Wall of Separation for the leads.]

Court Upholds Application of Noise Ordinance To Church

In Christian Methodist Episcopal Church v. Rizzo, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15246 (D SC, Feb. 18, 2010), a South Carolina federal district court rejected a church's free exercise challenge to the enforcement of a town's noise ordinance against it. Atlantic Beach, South Carolina police ticketed the CME Mission Church for broadcasting its religious services into the surrounding neighborhood by means of a loud speaker system, after complaints by surrounding businesses and residents. The court rejected CME's contention that it was exempt from the noise ordinance and found that police had not acted improperly in entering the church during a service to address the noise violations. CME failed to prove either intent to suppress religious practices or discriminatory enforcement.

Report Urges More US Religious Engagement In Foreign Policy

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs yesterday released a task force report titled Engaging Religious Communities Abroad: A New Imperative for U.S. Foreign Policy. The 32-member task force includes former government officials, religious leaders, heads of international organizations, and scholars. Here is an excerpt from the Foreword to the 109-page report:

Religion has been rapidly increasing as a factor in world affairs, for good and for ill, for the past two decades. Yet the U.S. government still tends to view it primarily through the lens of counterterrorism policy. The success of American diplomacy in the next decade will not simply be measured by government-to-government contacts, but also by its ability to connect with the hundreds of millions of people throughout the world whose identity is defined by religion. Religious communities are central players in the counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan, development assistance, the promotion of human rights, stewardship of the environment, and the pursuit of peace in troubled parts of the world, but the United States lacks the capacity and framework to engage them.

The report includes a dissent and response among task force members on whether the Establishment Clause imposes restrictions on the way the U.S. pursues engagement with religious communities abroad.

The report is already controversial. Writing in the Washington Post, author Susan Jacoby says: "I have rarely read a document filled with more destructive premises and recommendations...." US Catholic says that the task force co-chairs and others involved in the report were scheduled to discuss its findings yesterday with Joshua Dubois, director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

European Human Rights Court Says Turkey Violated Rights In Conviction For Clothing

The European Court of Human Rights yesterday held that Turkey violated Art. 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights when it convicted members of a religious group known as Aczimendi tarikatÿ for the clothing they wore. According to the Court's press release on the decision:

In October 1996 they met in Ankara for a religious ceremony held at the Kocatepe mosque. They toured the streets of the city while wearing the distinctive dress of their group, which evoked that of the leading prophets and was made up of a turban, "salvar" (baggy "harem" trousers), a tunic and a stick. Following various incidents on the same day, they were arrested and placed in police custody.

In the context of proceedings brought against them for breach of the anti-terrorism legislation, they appeared before the State Security Court in January 1997, dressed in accordance with their group's dress code.

Following that hearing, proceedings were brought against them and they were convicted for a breach both of the law on the wearing of headgear and of the rules on the wearing of certain garments, specifically religious garments, in public other than for religious ceremonies.

The full opinion in Affaire Ahmet Arslan v. Turquie, (ECHR, Feb. 23, 2010), is available in French.

Oregon Senate Agrees With House That Teachers Can Wear Religious Garb

According to the Oregonian, yesterday by a vote of 21-9 Oregon's state Senate approved House Bill 3686 repealing an 87-year old ban on teachers wearing religious dress in the classroom. Beginning in the 2011-12 school year, teachers will be allowed to wear head coverings or other clothing in accordance with sincerely held religious beliefs. The state House of Representatives has already passed the bill, but it now goes back to the House because of two changes in wording made by the Senate. Opponents of the bill argued that a classroom should be a religiously neutral environment. (OPB News.) The new law (Sec. 659A.033(5)) does not require schools to accommodate religious garb if it "would would constrain the legal obligation of a school district, education service district or public charter school to: (a) Maintain religious neutrality in the school environment; or (b) Refrain from endorsing religion." [Thanks to Steven Green via Religionlaw for the lead.]

UPDATE: On Feb. 23, the House by a vote of 48-7, with 5 not voting, repassed the bill with the Senate amendments in it. It now goes to the governor for his signature. The Oregonian reports on the final vote, and the questions about the bill raised by even some who voted for it. Opponents predicted the bill will lead to numerous lawsuits.

Saudi Judges Can Require Women Witnesses To Unveil Faces For Identification

Today's Saudi Gazette reports that Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Haqeel, chairman of Saudi Arabia's Court of Grievances, speaking at a workshop said that judges now have the right to require Muslim women inside the courtroom to unveil their faces for identification purposes. The move is designed to prevent instances in which veiled women are falsely presented as wives or daughters in inheritance cases. The Court of Grievances is planning to employ women to check out identities before women present their cases in court. [Thanks to Crossroads Arabia for the lead.]

New USCIRF Executive Director Named

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom announced on Monday that it has appointed a new executive director. The new top staff person is Jackie Wolcott, ambassador to the United Nations Security Council in the George W. Bush administration. Reporting on the appointment, World Mag suggests that Wolcott may be able to develop a stronger relationship with the State Department where she worked for nine years. The State Department in the past has ignored some of the recommendations of USCIRF as to the nations that should be designated as countries of particular concern because of their religious freedom restrictions.

Court Upholds School Board Invocations Under Legislative Prayer Precedents

In Doe v. Indian River School District, (D DE, Feb. 21, 2010), a Delaware federal district court upheld against an Establishment Clause attack the policy of the Indian River School Board to open its meetings with a prayer delivered by members of the school board on a rotating basis. Alternatively the board member may call for a moment of silence. Under the policy, the prayers offered may be sectarian or non-sectarian, so long as they are not used to proselytize anyone or disparage any particular belief. The court held that the Supreme Court's Marsh v. Chambers decision relating to legislative prayer applies to invocations at school board meetings, even though school students sometimes attend the meetings. Brief sectarian references in some of the prayers offered do not make Marsh inapplicable, so long as the prayer is not used to proselytize or advance religion. Yesterday's Wilmington News Journal reported on the decision, pointing out that other parts of the lawsuit challenging promotion of religious activities in the schools and at school activities were previously settled with a payment to plaintiffs and a revision of school policies. (See prior posting.)

Forsyth County Commissioners Will Appeal Prayer Ruling To 4th Circuit

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that Forsyth County, North Carolina's Board of Commissioners voted 4-3 last night to appeal a federal district court decision (see prior posting) holding that, as implemented, its policy of beginning meetings with prayers violates the Establishment Clause. Board Chairman David Plyer was the swing vote. He agreed to the appeal to the 4th Circuit only after assurances that it would not cost the county money to do so. Alliance Defense Fund is bearing the costs of defending the county and pursuing its appeal, but it will not cover plaintiffs' costs which the county may be ordered to pay if it loses. However the North Carolina Partnership for Religious Liberty has now pledged $300,000. WFMY News reported that before the Commission meeting, Christ Cathedral Church of Deliverance organized a prayer group outside the government building to urge the Board to appeal the case.

Court Rejects Free Exercise Challenge To SSN For Drivers License

In State of Montana v. Turk, 2010 Mont. Dist. LEXIS 18 (MT Dist. Ct., Jan. 12, 2010), a Montana state court rejected a claim by defendant Richard Turk that his rights under the U.S. and Montana constitutions were violated by the state's requirement that he present a social security number in order to obtain a drivers' license. Turk believes that his social security number is the Biblical mark of the beast, and that requiring him to use it violates the free exercise and establishment clauses. The court concluded that Turk had not shown that his belief is a central teaching of any religion. It also concluded that the requirement has a completely secular purpose and does not advance or inhibit religion. Calling Turk's claim a "bold proposition," the court affirmed his conviction and $45 fine (plus court costs) imposed by a Justice of the Peace for driving without a valid license.

ICANN Review Panel Finds US Religious Right Pressure In Denial of .xxx TLD

ICANN is a non-profit corporation charged with overseeing the protocols and domain names system of the entire Internet. Challenges to any of its actions can be submitted for an advisory arbitration opinion of an Independent Review Panel. In the first ever use of the review panel process, a Panel last week found that ICANN's board acted improperly in 2007 when, under pressure from the U.S. government and others, it reversed a decision it had reached earlier and refused to allow ICM Registry to introduce a new .xxx top level domain that would identify pornographic websites. In ICM Registry, LLC v. ICANN, (ICDR, Feb. 19, 2010), the Panel, in a 2-1 decision, concluded in part:

The volte face in the position of the United States Government ... appeared to have been stimulated by a cascade of protests by American domestic organizations such as the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family. Thousands of email messages of identical text poured into the Department of Commerce demanding that .XXX be stopped.... [W]hile officials of the Department of Commerce concerned with Internet questions earlier did not oppose and indeed apparently favored ICANN’s approval of the application of ICM, the Department of Commerce was galvanized into opposition by the generated torrent of negative demands, and by representations by leading figures of the so-called “religious right”, such as Jim Dobson, who had influential access to high level officials of the U.S. Administration.

Goldstein Report, Thinq.co.uk and The Domains all report on the Panel's decision. ICANN has links to all the pleadings and briefs in the proceedings. As a result of the decision, apparently ICM will begin offering .xxx top level domains later this year. (See prior related posting.)

Recycled Church Pews In Courtroom Challenged As Establishment Clause Problem

In Southaven, Mississippi, the city's seven-year old renovation of a former library into its municipal courthouse has led to an unusual Establishment Clause challenge. To save money, the city salvaged the pews from a church building it had purchased to turn into a performing arts center. The pews were used for seating in two of the municipal courtrooms -- 24 pews in one and seven in the other. Now, according to the Memphis (TN) Commercial Appeal and Memphis ABC24 News, a defendant in a disorderly conduct case has filed a motion to have the pews removed because they all have crosses engraved on each side.

Seventy year old Carroll Robinson, an agnostic and a paralegal student, says that the 62 crosses are an endorsement of a religion he does not believe in. He does not want to be judged in a courtroom that represents a specific religion. He says: "I'm afraid I couldn't get a fair trial because I am not Christian, but am agnostic." Mayor Greg Davis says he will not remove the seats, calling this another example of war on public expression of the Christian faith in America. The charges against Robinson grew out of an incident at a Walmart where he was wrongly accused of shoplifting by store security.

AU Charges Liberty University Violated Non-Profit Limits In Virginia Election Campaign

Americans United announced yesterday that it has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether Liberty University has violated its Section 501(c)(3) non-profit status by using the school's student newspaper to support one of the two candidates for a seat in Virginia House of Delegates last November. AU's letter (full text) to the IRS charges that University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. and others used the paper and other school resources to support the election of Scott Garrett over incumbent Shannon Valentine. Garrett won by 210 votes in a victory attributed to block voting by students, faculty and staff of Liberty University. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Draft Report on Reform of White House Faith-Based Office Released

The Washington Post reports that on Saturday the task forces created by the President's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships released their long-awaited report (full text Word doc.) on reform of the faith-based office. The task forces' 12 recommendations--explained at length in the report-- will be voted on later this week by the full Advisory Council before being sent to the President. Here are the recommendations:

1: Perform a strategic review of government-supported technical assistance and capacity building.
2: Convene and encourage learning communities of social service programs and providers.
3: Develop a strategy to partner with State, county, and city officials.
4: Strengthen constitutional and legal footing of partnerships, and improve communications regarding White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and Agency Centers.
5: Clarify prohibited uses of direct Federal financial assistance.
6: Equally emphasize separation requirements and protections for religious identity.
7: State more clearly the distinction between "direct" and "indirect" aid.
8: Increase transparency regarding federally funded partnerships.
9: Improve monitoring of constitutional, statutory, and regulatory requirements that accompany Federal social service funds.
10: Assure the religious liberty rights of the clients and beneficiaries of federally funded programs by strengthening appropriate protections.
11: Reduce barriers to obtaining 501(c)(3) recognition.
12: Promote other means of protecting religious liberty in the delivery of government-funded social services.

Turkish Military Commanders Arrested In Plot Against Islamic Leaning Prime Minister

AP reported yesterday that Turkish police have arrested 52 military commanders for planning a military overthrow of the Islamic oriented government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. In simultaneous operations in eight cities, police detained the military leaders, including 21 generals and admirals. They are charged with plotting to blow up mosques in order to set off a military coup. They also are charged with planning to shoot down a Turkish warplane to trigger an armed conflict with Greece. Turkey's military has always strongly supported secularism in the country. (See prior related posting.)

Study On the Religion Blogosphere Released

The Social Science Research Council has released a study titled "The New Landscape of the Religion Blogosphere." SSRC describes the study:

This report surveys nearly 100 of the most influential blogs that contribute to an online discussion about religion in the public sphere and the academy. It places this religion blogosphere in the context of the blogosphere as a whole, maps out its contours, and presents the voices of some of the bloggers themselves.

Religion Clause is among the blogs included in the study.

US Supreme Court Refuses Review In Bible Trademark Infringement Case

Today the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Phillips v. Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association, (Docket No. 09-7813, 2/22/2010). (Order List.) In the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (full opinion LEXIS link) rejected a trademark infringement claim brought by the author of the Wisdom Bible of God against the author of The Wisdom Bible. It held that the term is descriptive and had not acquired a secondary meaning.