Faith Healer Sues Atheist Activist Claiming Misuse of YouTube Video

In Arizona last week, Adam Miller, a "spiritual transformational healer," filed a federal lawsuit against Joel Guttormson, an activist in the atheist and transgender communities, who allegedly obtained and misused Miller's promotional video by hacking into a private YouTube account.  The complaint (full text) in Miller v. Guttormson, (D AZ, filed 4/28/2015), alleges that Guttormson misappropriated a video titled "Healer Adam Miller – Explanation of the Healing Work," inserted into it allegations attacking the truthfulness of statements in it, and uploaded it to Guttormson's own publicly available YouTube channel under the title "Adam Miller: Con Artist." At the end of the doctored video, Guttormson promotes a website and an online atheist audio bookstore. The doctored video then appeared at the top of any Google search for Adam Miller. Guttormson subsequently uploaded two additional videos attacking Miller to YouTube. The complaint alleges copyright infringement, intentional interference with business expectancies and defamation. Techdirt blog criticizes the lawsuit at length.

Suit Seeking Declaration That Homsexuality Is Sinful Receives Quick Dismissal

With the leading academic law-and-religion listserv filled with suggestions for grounds on which the lawsuit might be dismissed, a Nebraska federal district judge has, only six days after the suit was filed, dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction a suit purportedly brought as ambassador of God and Jesus against "Homosexuals" apparently seeking to have the court declare that homosexuality is a sin.  In Driskell v. Homosexuals, (D NE, May 6, 2015), the court began by stating: "A federal court is not a forum for debate or discourse on theological matters." The court went on to find that plaintiff has not complied with the general rules of pleading, plaintiff lacks standing and plaintiff has not set forth a factual or legal basis for a claim under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.  Advocate reports on the decision.

Today Is the Official National Day of Prayer

A federal statute, 36 USC Sec. 119, requires the President to issue a Proclamation each year designating the first Thursday in May as "a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals."  This year's Proclamation (full text) which this morning is on the National Day of Prayer Task Force website, but not yet on the White House website, reads in part:

When women and men of all backgrounds and beliefs are free to practice their faiths without fear or coercion, it bolsters our religious communities and helps to lift up diverse and vibrant societies throughout our world. In America, our Nation is stronger because we welcome and respect people of all faiths, and because we protect the fundamental right of all peoples to practice their faith how they choose, to change their faith, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so free from persecution and discrimination. Today, as we pause in solemn reflection, we celebrate the religious liberty we cherish here at home, and we recommit to standing up for religious freedom around the world.

In recent years, the National Day of Prayer has become increasingly controversial as the private National Day of Prayer Task Force has emphasized a Christian-themed program and the White House, particularly under Barack Obama, has attempted to make the event more inclusive. (See prior posting.) The Washington Post carried an opinion piece yesterday making a similar point titled Let’s stop pretending we’re being inclusive on the National Day of Prayer. This year's National Observance planned by the Task Force will be held this morning on Capitol Hill at the Cannon House Office Building and will be llive streamed here beginning at 9:00 am. This year's honorary chair is Dr. Jack Graham. The listed speakers include at least one non-Christian, the politically conservative Rabbi Daniel Lapin who heads the American Alliance of Jews and Christians. Lapin's Message on that organizaion's website reads in part: "I realized that Jews lived more benignly, more tranquilly and more prosperously today in the United States than anywhere else in the world during the past two thousand years.  It was clear to me that this was precisely because America is a Christian country."

UPDATE: The Presidential Proclamation is now also on the White House website.

Former Town Marshal Outlines FLDS Control of Two Towns

Sunday's Salt Lake Tribune carried an article titled A Polygamous Community’s Cop is Spilling its Secrets. reporting on an interview with Helaman Barlow, a former marshal in the twin towns of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah. Barlow said that the community has always been a theocracy run by the FLDS church.  Barlow cited examples of his accommodating FLDS leadership:

He knew men who took 16-year-old girls as plural wives. The marriages were sanctioned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, so Barlow didn't report them.

He looked up license plates for church security so they could track dissenters and their families. He obstructed the FBI when it came to town.

Church Attendance Did Not Violate Sex Offender's Probation Terms

Bangor Daily News reports that a Maine state trial court judge ruled yesterday that convicted sex offender Jason Simpson did not violate the terms of his probation by attending a church service where children were present.  Simpson was convicted in 2007 on 8 counts of gross sexual assault involving a 5-year old boy and 7-year old girl. Conditions of his probation included no contact with children.  Simpson did not speak to any child at the March 22 church service in Augusta that he attended, but a woman whose grandchildren were in church reported Simpson to his probation officer.

Afgahn Court Sentences Men Charged In Mob Killing Of Woman Falsely Accused of Burning Quran

Yesterday Afghanistan's Primary Court in Kabul sentenced four men to death by hanging for the mob killing of a 27-year old woman who was falsely accused of burning the Qur'an.  Eight others were sentenced to 16 years in prison, while charges were dropped against 18 men for lack of evidence.  Nineteen police officers charged in the case with neglect of duty and failure to stop the attacks will be sentenced on Saturday. AP reports:

On March 19, a mob attacked Farkhunda after an amulet peddler accused her of burning a Quran after she challenged him over selling his wares to women desperate to have children. Chilling mobile phone videos recorded the horror of the last moments of Farkhunda's life, as she was punched, kicked, beaten with wooden planks, thrown off a roof, run over by a car and ultimately set afire on the banks of Kabul River.

The two full days of hearings in Farkhunda's trial were broadcast live across the country.

Pro Se Plaintiff Asks Court To Declare Homosexuality A Sin

As reported by the Lincoln Journal Star, a 66-year old Nebraska woman last week filed a 7-page handwritten complaint (full text) captioned Sylvia Ann Driskell, Ambassador for Plaintiffs God, and His Son, Jesus Christ vs. Homosexuals, Their Given Name Homosexuals, Their, Alis Gay, (D NE, filed 5/1/2015). The somewhat incoherent complaint, citing Biblical verses, apparently seeks to have the court declare that homosexuality is a sin. [Thanks to Friendly Atheist for the link to the complaint.]

Suit Claims Drug Treatment Center Uses Scientology Rituals

Yesterday's Santa Cruz Sentinel reports on a lawsuit filed last month in a California federal district court against Narconon drug rehabilitation centers (and related entities) alleging that they falsely represent their success rate and are used to recruit people into the Church of Scientology. The class action complaint (full text) in Burgoon v. Narconon of Northern California, (ND CA, filed 3.25/2015), alleges false advertising, deceptive trade practices, negligent misrepresentations and breach of contract.  Among the key allegations in the complaint is:

Defendants represented, through their advertising and other express representations, that the drug rehabilitation services they offered were “secular” and not associated with any religion when, in fact, their treatment program required the Plaintiff and Class Members to study Scientology and engage in Scientology religious rituals as “treatment.”

A similar lawsuit was filed in Michigan in January against a Narconon Center there. (See prior posting.)

6th Circuit Rejects Free Exercise Claim By Christian Militia Member Over Seizure of Bibles

In Meeks v. Larsen, (6th Cir., May 5, 2015), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the civil rights complaints brought by a Michigan militia group against federal law enforcement officials.  Plaintiffs claimed that search warrants and the resulting searches violated their 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Amendment rights. As reported by WLS-TV News:

The Hutaree Militia formed in 2006, preparing for the apocalyptic end of time with commando exercises and live ammunition training....

For years the Hutaree Christian Warriors enjoyed playing war games in the woods of Northwest Indiana and Southern Michigan. But in 2010, federal authorities said the Hutaree Games had given way to a violent plot aimed at killing police and overthrowing the government.

Nine militia members were arrested, but the charges ended up being dismissed, and some members sued federal authorities for violating their rights.

Among the claims unsuccessfully asserted by the Hutaree was that the free exercise rights of one of their members were infringed by the seizure of copies of the Bible during the search.  The 6th Circuit held that it is questionable whether a cause of action for damages for violation of the Free Exercise Clause exists, but even if it does, plaintiff had not plead violation of a clearly-established right sufficient to overcome defendants' qualified immunity, nor had plaintiff plead that the seizure placed a substantial burden on his practice of religion.

A Bit of Humor On A Serious Topic...

For those who have been promising themselves that they will listen to the full Supreme Court oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, the same-sex marriage cases argued last week, but have not gotten around to it, the task has now perhaps become more inviting with the posting on YouTube of the arguments synchronized with John Oliver dog clips:

Madison, Wisconsin Bars Discrimination Against Atheists, Agnostics, and Nonbelievers

As reported recently by AP, last month the city of Madison, Wisconsin enacted amendments (full text) to its Equal Opportunities Ordinance adding "nonreligion"  to the protected classes covered by its employment, housing and public accommodation anti-discrimination law (final action 3/31, enactment date 4/9). The ordinance defines "nonreligion" as "atheism, agnosticism, or other disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods."  Under the ordinance, non-profit religious organizations can still give preference to members of their own, or similar, denominations in hiring for instructional or policy-making positions, including hiring chaplains or counselors. According to a Freedom From Religion Foundation attorney, one of the reasons for enactment of the amendments is the recent increase in Madison of religiously-owned housing.

Cert Denied In Challenge To New Jersey's Reparative Therapy Ban

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court denied review in King v. Christie, (Docket No. 14-672, cert. denied 5/4/2015) (Order List).  In the case, the 3rd Circuit upheld against 1st Amendment challenges New Jersey's statute barring professional counselors from engaging in sexual orientation change therapy with minors. (See prior posting.)  The Hill reports on the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari.

District Court Invalidates Invocations Delivered By County Commissioners Instead of Invited Clergy

In Lund v. Rowan County, North Carolina, (MD NC May 4, 2015), a North Carolina federal district court held that a county Board of Commissioners invocation policy is not constitutionally permissible under the Supreme Court's Town of Greece decision when sectarian invocations are delivered by the county commissioners themselves rather than invited clergy and other prayer-givers.  The court said in part:

Under the Board’s practice, the government is delivering prayers that were exclusively prepared and controlled by the government, constituting a much greater and more intimate government involvement in the prayer practice than that at issue in Town of Greece or Marsh....

Additionally, because of the prayer practice’s exclusive nature, that is, being delivered solely by the Commissioners, the prayer practice cannot be said to be nondiscriminatory....  [T]he present case presents a closed-universe of prayer-givers, that being the Commissioners themselves, who favored religious beliefs believed to be common to the majority of voters in Rowan County. While an all-comers policy is not necessarily required, a nondiscriminatory one is. When all faiths but those of the five elected Commissioners are excluded, the policy inherently discriminates and disfavors religious minorities. That some day a believer in a minority faith could be elected does not remedy that until then, minority faiths have no means of being recognized.

The court also held that the county's prayer practice is unconstitutionally coercive in violation of the Establishment Clause. Charlotte Observer reports on the decision.

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Josh Blackman, Collective Liberty, (Floyd Abrams Freedom of Expression Scholars Conference at Yale Law School, May 2-3, 2015).
• Ioana Cismas & Stacy N. Cammarano, Whose Right and Who's Right? The US Supreme Court v. The European Court of Human Rights on Corporate Exercise of Religion, (Boston University International Law Journal, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2016 Forthcoming).
• Dov Fox, Religion and the Unborn under the First Amendment, (April 27, 2015).
• Alexander Guney, Standing Before the Law: A Perspective on the Intersection of Law and Society, (University of San Francisco Law Review, Vol. 49, No. 161, 2015).
• Perry Dane, Judaism, Pluralism, and Constitutional Glare, (Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion, Forthcoming).
• Robert J. Hunt & James J. Woodruff, God & Man in the Military: Military Commanders and the First Amendment, (The Reporter: Education and Outreach for The Judge Advocate General's Corps, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2015).

From SSRN (non-US law):

• Alev Dudek, Integration of and the Potential for Islamic Radicalization Among Ethnic Turks in Germany, (June 16, 2014).
• Vanessa Haggie, But Names Will Never Hurt Me: Extending Hate Speech Legislation to Protect Gender and Sexual Minorities in New Zealand, (2013).

From SSRN (Marriage):

• Jack B. Harrison, On Marriage and Polygamy, (Ohio North University Law Review, Vol. XLII, Forthcoming).
• Katie R. Eyer, Brown, Not Loving: Obergefell and the Unfinished Business of Formal Equality, 125 Yale L. J. F. 1 (2015).

From SSRN (Charity law):

• Linda Sugin, Strengthening Charity Law: Replacing Media Oversight with Advance Rulings for Nonprofit Fiduciaries, (Tulane Law Review, Vol. 89, No. 3, 2015).
• Miranda Perry Fleischer, Libertarianism and the Charitable Tax Subsidies, (Boston College Law Review, Vol. 56, September 2015).

New Books:

• Gary Scott Smith, Religion in the Oval Office: The Religious Lives of American Presidents, (Oxford Univ. Press, March 31, 2015), reviewed by Wall of Separation blog.
• Anna Grzymała-Busse, Nations under God: How Churches Use Moral Authority to Influence Policy, (Princeton Univ. Press, April 2015).
• Andrew Hambler, Religious Expression in the Workplace and the Contested Role of Law, (Routledge, 2015).

Muhammad Drawing Exhibit In Texas Ends As 2 Gunmen Attempt Attack and Are Killed

In Garland, Texas Sunday night, a controversial Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest sponsored by Pamela Geller's American Freedom Defense Initiative ended in violence as two gunmen opened fire outside the event venue, wounded a security guard, and were killed in return fire by police.  According to the Dallas Morning News, the guard who was shot was released from the hospital after being treated for a leg wound. The identities of the two gunmen had not yet been made public late Sunday. According to an earlier report by the Dallas Morning News, the Exhibit was booked at Garland's Curtis Cultural Center after the Center hosted Sound Vision Foundation’s Stand With the Prophet in Honor and Respect event.  The contest offered a top prize of $10,000 for the best drawing, and received around 350 entries. (Depicting Muhammad is seen as offensive by some schools of Muslim thought.) The winner of AFDI's contest was cartoonist Basch Fawstin who has posted his winning cartoon on his website. The keynote speaker at the event was right-wing Dutch politician  Geert Wilders who told the audience: "We are here in defiance of Islam to stand for our rights and freedom of speech."

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Herbert v. Balducci, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54866 (WD WA, April 27, 2015), a Washington federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation (2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54945, Jan. 8, 2015) and dismissed an inmate's claim that his free exercise rights were infringed by prison policy that limits reading material to a Bible while serving disciplinary confinement  Plaintiff argued this means he is forced to read a Bible and cannot read his Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book.

In Truidalle v. Godinez, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55061 (CD IL, April 28, 2015), an Illinois federal district court dismissed with leave to amend a complaint by a Rastafarian inmate that he was receiving a vegan rather than a kosher diet, and that his religion was wrongly changed on his identification card to "other."

In Walker v. Fasulo, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56209 (D NV, April 29, 2015), a Nevada federal magistrate judge permitted a Muslim inmate to move ahead with his complaints that  jail officials prevented him from praying (and threatened to send him to disciplinary housing if he prayed without permission), prevented him from attending Jumua services, and from obtaining Kosher-Halal meals.

In Simmons v. Williams, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56134 (SD GA, April 29, 2015), a Georgia federal magistrate judge recommended permitting an inmate to move ahead with his claims that a search resulting in his being undressed in front of other men and having to shave his beard imposed a substantial burden on the exercise of his religion.

In Wilson-El v. Mutayoba, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56163 (SD IL, April 29, 2015), an Illinois federal district court held that requiring an inmate who had successfully recovered $10,100 in punitive damages against prison officials who had denied his request for a vegan diet should not be required to pay more than a nominal amount of his $15,000 attorneys fees, with the remainder paid by defendants.

In Kindred v. Allenby, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56318 (ED CA, April 29, 2015), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed with leave to amend a complaint by a Native American civil detainee that Native Americans were denied the right to hold Sunrise Prayer Ceremonies, were retaliated against for displaying sacred or spiritual items, and that his spiritual rug was confiscated and his medicine bag desecrated.

Justice Department Wins Its Suit Against Florida To Require a Kosher Meal Program In Prisons

The U.S. Department of Justice has won it long-running lawsuit against the state of Florida over its prisons' kosher meal policy.  In United States v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, (SD FL, April 30, 2015), a Florida federal district court held that the blanket denial of kosher meals violates RLUIPA, and issued a permanent injunction requiring the state to provide kosher meals to those prisoners with a sincere religious belief requiring kosher meals.  The state initially suspended its kosher meal program for budgetary reasons, but reinstituted a program in 2013.  However the state rejects the claim that it is by law required to provide kosher meals. In granting the injunction, the court said in part:

Because neither side disputes that a blanket denial of kosher meals imposes a substantial burden on prisoners' religious exercise for those prisoners that have a sincere religious belief requiring them to eat kosher, the burden is on Defendants to demonstrate that denying such prisoners kosher meals (a) is in furtherance of a compelling state interest and (b) is the least restrictive means of achieving that interest. Throughout this litigation, Defendants have asserted that they have a compelling state interest in cost containment and that not providing a kosher diet is the least restrictive means of achieving cost containment.  Defendants have not met their burden....

As the United States contends, it is hard to understand how Defendants can have a compelling state interest in not spending money that they are already voluntarily spending on the exact thing they claim to have an interest in not providing.

The court also enjoined two other aspects of the religious diet program: the zero tolerance policy on infractions and the rule requiring removal from the program of an inmate who has missed 10% of his meals. However the court refused to enjoin the potential use as one part of its testing of an inmate's religious sincerity a question asking the inmate to identify the religious rules that require him to eat a religious diet. The Justice Department issued a press release announcing the decision. Orlando Sentinel yesterday reported on the decision.

Helena Diocese Posts List of Alleged Abusers As Part of Settlement

As reported by the Ravalli Republic, last Wednesday, as part of the non-monetary terms of the settlement with 362 sex-abuse victims, the Catholic Diocese of Helena, Montana posted on its webiste the names of 80 individuals (priests, sisters and lay persons) who were identified by the victims as sexual abusers betwen the 1930's and the 1970's.  A number of the alleged abusers are identified only by first or last name. Most of those on the list have died.  Under the settlement, the names are to remain posted for at least ten years. The diocese exited bankruptcy in March. (Full text of reorganization plan and confirmation order.)

6th Circuit Hears Oral Arguments In RLUIPA Zoning Case

On Wednesday, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments (audio of full arguments) in Tree of Life Christian Schools v City of Upper Arlington, (Docket No. 14-3469, argued 4/29/2015). In the case, an Ohio federal district court dismissed a Christian school's RLUIPA and constitutional challenge to Upper Arlington's refusal to issue a conditional use permit or to rezone for use as a school an existing office building. (See prior posting.)  Upper Arlington News, reporting on the oral arguments, quoted the reaction to the arguments from Erik Stanley who argued the case for Tree of Life:

A few of the judges seemed to key in on the idea the city argued all along that the city needs this property for revenue, but the judges seemed alarmed that some of the uses the city has allowed in the ORD don’t generate a lot of revenue. The city cannot have this zoning district that claims only to allow revenue-generating uses when they’ve allowed uses that don’t generate revenue to the extent Tree of Life would, such as day care centers, charitable hospitals and nonprofit offices.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Reinstates Priest's Child Endangerment Conviction; Trial Court Orders Him Back To Prison

On Monday in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Lynn, (PA Sup. Ct., April 27, 2015), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a 4-1 decision, reinstated the conviction of Msgr. William J. Lynn who had been sentenced to prison for 3 to 6 years on charges of endangering the welfare of children. Lynn is the first U.S. priest criminally convicted of covering up sexual molestation of minors by another priest. An appeals court reversed the conviction, holding that the statute under which Lynn was convicted only applies to a person who is directly in charge of a child, not to someone supervising the person in charge. (See prior posting.) Now the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has reversed the appellate court, holding "the statute is plain and unambiguous that it is not the child that Appellee must have been supervising, but the child’s welfare." The court explained:

[T]he requirement of supervision is not limited to only certain forms of supervision, such as direct or actual, as the Superior Court held. By its plain terms it encompasses all forms of supervision of a child’s welfare.... Further, as the Commonwealth correctly argues, supervision is routinely accomplished through subordinates, and is no less supervisory if it does not involve personal encounters with the children. Like Appellee, school principals and managers of day care centers supervise the welfare of the children under their care through their management of others. Depending upon the facts, they could be criminally liable for endangering the welfare of the children under their supervision if they knowingly place sexually abusive employees in such proximity to them as to allow for the abuse of these youth.

Chief Justice Saylor filed a dissenting opinion.

As reported by the Philadelphia Daily News, in January 2014 after the state appeals court (Superior Court) reversed Lynn's conviction, Lynn was released from prison on bail, but ordered to remain under house arrest pending the appeal to the state Supreme Court.  Yesterday a common pleas court judge ordered Lynn back to prison. Lynn's attorney said he will file an emergency petition with the Superior Court seeking Lynn's release on bail again while additional issues are resolved on appeal.

9th Cirucit Upholds Ban on Christmas Display In Palisades Park

In Santa Monica Nativity Scenes Committee v. City of Santa Monica, (9th Cir., April 30, 2015), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected free speech and Establishment Clause challenges to Santa Monica's repeal of a policy that, as an exception to a general ban on unattended displays, allowed  unattended Winter Displays in the city's Palisades Park. Since 1955, during December local residents  (and later the Nativity Scenes Committee) have erected dioramas in the Park depicting the Biblical story of Christmas. A policy enacted in 2003 allocated space on a first-come-first-served basis. However beginning in 2011, atheists who opposed Christmas displays in the Park, flooded the city with requests for their own displays and the city moved to a lottery system for allocating space. Rather than continuing to deal with this, in 2012 the city repealed the exception that allowed Winter Displays, and the Nativity Scenes Committee sued. The court held that the Ordinance repealing the Winter Display exception was a narrowly tailored neutral time, place and manner regulation that serves a substantial governmental interest and leaves open ample alternative channels of communication. The court refused to extend the "heckler's veto" doctrine to this situation. Finally the court rejected challengers' claim that the repeal violated the Establishment Clause by conveying hostility toward Christianity. Thompson/ Reuters reports on the decision.

Satanic Temple Member Claims State RFRA Exemption To Missouri's Abortion Waiting Period

Friendly Atheist reports this week on plans by a member of the Satanic Temple to challenge Missouri's requirement for a 72-hour waiting period for abortions by asserting a religious freedom claim.  Missouri has a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (MO Rev. Stat Section 1.302.1).

Missouri law (MO Rev. Stat. Section 188.027.1)  requires that: "The physician who is to perform or induce the abortion or a qualified professional shall provide the woman with the opportunity to view at least seventy-two hours prior to the abortion an active ultrasound of the unborn child and hear the heartbeat of the unborn child if the heartbeat is audible." Using an exemption form developed by the Satanic Temple, the Missouri native identified as "Mary" claims that her sincerely held Satanic Temple beliefs are that her body is inviolable and subject to her will alone, and that inviolable body includes any fetal tissue so long as it is unable to survive outside her body as an independent human being.

Planned Parenthood of St. Louis is the only abortion provider in Missouri, and Mary lives hundreds of miles away from it, making a 72 hour wait after her initial appointment difficult. The head of the Satanic Temple says it will pursue litigation if Mary's exemption claim is not honored. Last year, using similar arguments, the Satanic Temple launched a campaign against "informed consent" laws that require abortion providers to furnish women certain informational material when they seek an abortion. (See prior posting.)

USCIRF Issues 2015 Annual Report

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom yesterday released its 2015 Annual Report (full text) (press release). The Report, mandated by the International Religious Freedom Act, this year documents religious freedom violations in 33 countries and recommends that 17 countries be designated by the State Department as "countries of particular concern" (CPC) in which particularly severe violations of religious freedom are perpetrated or tolerated. This year, USCIRF expands its criteria for designating CPC:

The 2015 Annual Report recognizes that non-state actors, such as transnational or local organizations, are some of the most egregious violators of religious freedom. For example, in the Central African Republic and areas of Iraq and Syria, the governments are either non-existent or incapable of addressing violations committed by non-state actors. USCIRF has concluded that the CPC classification should be expanded to allow for the designation of countries such as these, where particularly severe violations of religious freedom are occurring but a government does not exist or does not control its territory. Accordingly, USCIRF’s CPC recommendations reflect that approach.

The Report recommends that the State Department redesignate 9 countries as CPC: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.  It also recommends adding 8 other countries to the list: Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and Viet Nam.

USCIRF placed 10 countries on its Tier 2 list, countries that engage in or tolerate violations, but which do not reach CPC levels: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Russia and Turkey.

The Introduction to this year's report highlights massacres by ISIL and Boko Haram, as well as violence in the Central African Republic and Burma, saying:

A horrified world has watched the results of what some have aptly called violence masquerading as religious devotion.

The Report also recommends changes within the State Department to give more authority to the Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom as well as a number of other funding enhancements, programmatic changes and changes in the processing of asylum seekers. Vice-Chair James Zogby issued a dissenting statement saying:

I voted against some of the recommendations in this chapter because I cannot support USCIRF calling on Congress to micro-manage the way the State Department and the White House National Security Council organize their staff and set their priorities.

Again this year, the Report includes lists of those imprisoned in several countries as activists, conscientious objectors or those sentenced for blasphemy.

California Megachurch Challenges Church-State Boundaries

The Center for Investigative Reporting on Wednesday posted a long report on a megachurch in Chino Hills, California that is attempting to break down the church-state barrier.  Three of the five members of the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education worship at the 10,000-member Calvary Chapel.  Apparently two of them bring their praying and preaching regularly into school board meetings.The church's Pastor Jack Hibbs frequently flouts IRS regulations by urging his congregants to vote for specific anti-abortion, anti-gay-marriage and pro-Israel candidates. Hibbs says he is only precluded from endorsing candidates "from behind the pulpit." So during services Hibbs walks in front of the pulpit, blesses a favored candidate, tells the congregation how great the person is and that he is voting for the individual.  Hibbs also uses social media to endorse candidates. Every election, Calvary Chapel hands out questionnaires on conservative issues to candidates and then distributes the responses to the congregation. Following the lead of Pastor Hibbs, the school board has approved a course on The Bible and Its Influence and has opposed the state's transgender protection law. Last November, the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit against the Chino Valley School Board over the prayers and preaching at board meetings. (See prior posting.)

Kenyan Court Says LGBT Rights Group May Be Formed; Christian Churches Object

In Kenya, a 3-judge panel in the High Court at Nairobi in a lengthy opinion has held that the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordination Board must accept the registration of an organization that will seek to address the violence and human rights abuses suffered in the country by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons.  In Gitari v. Coordination Board, (Kenya High Ct., April 24, 2015) the court held that the equal protection provisions of Article 27 of Kenya's Constitution, along with the freedom of association provisions of Article 36, guarantee petitioner the right to form his proposed organization, even though various homosexual acts are illegal in the country.

Among the parties the court had permitted to intervene in the case was the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum (KCPF) which argued that "the registration of the proposed NGO will advance a cause against public policy and it will also seek to legalise criminality, that is homosexuality..." According to a Religion News Service report yesterday, KCPF will appeal the court's decision. Archbishop  Eliud Wabukala, head of Kenya's 4.5 million Anglican Christians, said: "The judgment was made with very narrow considerations and it is not only against Christianity, but also against Muslims’ teachings and traditions."

New York MTA Bans All Issue Advertising After Court Orders Acceptance of Anti-Islam Ad

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority yesterday adopted a resolution barring all political  and issue advertising on subways and buses.  The move comes in response to a federal district court's ruling last week requiring the Authority to accept an ad that refers to "killing Jews" as part of Islam's jihad. (See prior posting.) According to CBS New York, MTA's general counsel explained that "Advertisements expressing viewpoint messages, regardless of the viewpoint being expressed, would no longer be accepted." Opposing the ban, an ACLU spokesman said: "The New York City transit system is our public square."  However MTA board member Charles Moerdler argued that the MTA "is a transportation agency, it is not an agency that provides a platform for hatemongers."

Supreme Court Says Required Conciliation Is Reviewable Prerequisite To EEOC Title VII Lawsuit

Yesterday in Mach Mining LLC v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (Sup. Ct., April 29, 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the requirement in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that the EEOC attempt conciliation before filing an employment discrimination lawsuit is a judicially enforceable prerequisite to suing. However the scope of review of whether the EEOC has met this requirement is narrow:

the EEOC must inform the employer about the specific allegation.... Such notice properly describes both what the employer has done and which employees ... have suffered as a result. And the EEOC must try to engage the employer in some form of discussion (whether written or oral), so as to give the employer an opportunity to remedy the allegedly discriminatory practice. Judicial review of those requirements (and nothing else) ensures that the Commission complies with the statute. At the same time, that relatively barebones review allows the EEOC to exercise all the expansive discretion Title VII gives it to decide how to conduct conciliation efforts and when to end them.

The Court's unanimous opinion was written by Justice Kagan.  Wall Street Journal reported on the decision.

Armenian Christians Sue In Turkey To Regain Church Property

In Turkey yesterday, the Armenian Christian church filed suit in Turkey's Constitutional Court seeking to regain ownership of its historic headquarters, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia. According to a press release by the Church:

This lawsuit reflects the determination of Armenians worldwide, on the Centenary of the Genocide, to reclaim their sacred religious property and Christian heritage in lands where they lived peacefully for centuries.

.... Under the Ottoman Empire, the Catholicosate of Cilicia was recognized as an independent church.  During the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, the Armenian population of Sis was massacred and deported, and its Christian holy sites were pillaged and confiscated.

Atheist Group Sues Pennsylvania Transit System Over Refusal To Accept Ad

The ACLU of Pennsylvania announced that it has filed suit on behalf of an atheist group against the County of Lacawana Transit System (COLTS) over its advertising policy. The complaint (full text) in Northeastern Pennsylvania Free Thought Society v. County of Lacawana Transit System, (MD PA, filed 4/28/2015) contends that COLTS rejected an ad submitted for the outside of its buses reading: "Atheists. NEPAfreethought.org." COLTS advertising policy originally barred ads that are derogatory to any religion, or are objectionable, controversial or generally be offensive to COLTS’ ridership.  The policy was subsequently amended to bar ads that promote the existence or non-existence of a supreme deity; promote or criticize a religion or lack of religious belief; that quote or cite scriptures; or that are otherwise religious. COLTS policy was to maintain its advertising space as a nonpublic forum and not to allow its transit vehicles to become a platform for debate, or discussion of public issues or issues that are political or religious in nature.

The suit contends that COLTS has violated plaintiff's free expression rights by favoring commercial speech over speech on matters of public concern; and by in fact having a policy that accepted all ads until the Freethought Society attempted to advertise.  The complaint claims that COLTS policy is viewpoint based and unreasonable.

Small Church Brings RLUIPA Suit Against Kansas County

AP reports that the 15-member Liberty Baptist Church in Crawford County, Kansas on Monday filed a RLUIPA lawsuit against the county which has twice denied the church a conditional use permit that it sought in order to build on a 2.8 acre parcel of land it bought in 2013. The suit claims that County regulations prevent new churches from locating anywhere in the county without undergoing an extensive zoning process.

Transcripts and Audio of Today's Same-Sex Marriage Arguments In Supreme Court Are Now Available

The Supreme Court this morning heard oral arguments in four same-sex marriage cases. It first heard 90 minutes of argument on the question "Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?" Here is the full transcript and the audio recording of arguments on that question.  The Court then heard 60 minutes of arguments on the question "Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?" Here is the full transcript and the audio recording of arguments on that question.  A New York Times report on the oral arguments is titled "Gay Marriage Arguments Divide Supreme Court Justices."

UPDATE: Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSBlog has an excellent analysis of the oral argument.

Kentucky Court Says Businesss May Refuse To Print Gay Pride T-Shirts

In Hands On Originals, Inc. v. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission, (KY Cir. Ct., April 27, 2015), a Kentucky state trial court, reversing an order of a county human rights commission, held that a small business that prints promotional items for customers did not violate the county's public accommodation ordinance when it refused to print Lexington Pride Festival t-shirts for the Gay and Lesbian Service Organization.  The business, Hands On Originals ("HOO"), had a policy, displayed on its website, that it would refuse any order that endorsed a position in conflict with the convictions of the business' Christian owners. The court concluded that the refusal was not because of the sexual orientation of the representatives that communicated with HOO, but rather because of the message the t-shirt would convey-- that one should be proud of sexual relationships other than between a married man and woman. The court held that it is the right of HOO and its owners "not to be compelled to be part of the advocacy of messages opposed to their sincerely held Christian beliefs."

The court also held that the Commission's order substantially burdens the free exercise rights of HOO and its owners, in violation of Kentucky's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Christian News reports on the decision. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, an appeal of the court's decision is likely.

Jewish Sheriff's Office Employee Sues Alleging Religious Discrimination and Harassment

The Florida ACLU announced yesterday that it has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Jewish employee of the Collier County, Florida Sheriff's Office alleging religious discrimination and harassment.  The ACLU summarized the complaint:

In 2009, Mr. Newmark requested religious accommodations to allow him to observe the tenets of his Jewish faith, including being allowed to not shave his beard and wear a head covering, and to have a schedule that accommodated his observance of the Jewish Sabbath as well as religious holidays like Passover and Yom Kippur.

Mr. Newmark’s requests for accommodations were denied, he was demoted from his position as an officer within the department’s gang unit to a non-certified civilian position of jail technician, and a campaign of harassment began that included being referred to by Sheriff’s staff as “a hairy Jewish mother-[expletive],” and having a Nazi Iron Cross flag placed outside his cubicle.

In 2012 – by which time Mr. Newmark had become a member of the Hasidic sect... Mr. Newmark was retaliated against for filing a complaint with the EEOC and threatened that he would  be forced to shave his beard and cease wearing his yarmulke.

The complaint (full text) in Newmark v. Collier County Sheriff's Office, (MD FL, filed 4/27/2015), asks for declaratory and injunctive relief as well as damages for violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Fort Myers News-Press reports on the filing of the lawsuit.

Suit Challenges Library's Rules For Use of Conference Rooms

Yesterday, Liberty Counsel announced that it has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Conference Room Policy of the Wake County, North Carolina Public Library.  The Policy permits non-profit groups to use the library's conference rooms for cultural, civic and informal educational purposes, but not for religious instruction, religious services or religious ceremonies.  The complaint (full text) in Liberty Counsel, Inc. v. County of Wake, North Carolina, (ED NC, filed 4/24/2015) contends that the policy discriminates on the basis of content and viewpoint of speech.  It alleges that the policy violates free speech, free exercise and Establishment Clause protections of the federal and state constitutions.

Supreme Court GVR's Another Non-Profit Contraceptive Mandate Challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday in Michigan Catholic Conference v. Burwell, (Docket No. 14-701) (Order List) granted certiorari, vacated the judgment below and remanded the case to the 6th Circuit for further consideration in light of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.  In the case, the 6th Circuit denied preliminary injunctions to several Catholic non-profit entities that object to the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage accommodation.  The accommodation allowed non-profits with religious objections to opt out of furnishing contraceptive coverage to their employees by completing a form and sending it to their insurer or third party administrator which would then furnish contraceptive coverage directly. (See prior posting.) Subsequently the accommodation for non-profits has been further modified to allow notice to be sent to the federal government rather than the insurer or administrator. (See prior posting.) The Court's GVR order in the case follows a similar one issued last month in Notre Dame University's challenge to the same regulations. (See prior posting.) Becket Fund issued a press release on the Court's action yesterday.

Some Background For Tomorrow's Same-Sex Marriage Arguments At the Supreme Court

Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges and three related cases raising the question of whether states may constitutionally refuse to authorize same-sex marriages and, even if they may, whether a state may refuse to recognize a same-sex marriage validly performed in another state. Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSBlog has an excellent summary of the legal issues involved. The New York Times last week profiled lead plaintiff James Obergefell and traces the changes in attitude toward marriage equality in Obergefell's home town of Cincinnati, Ohio. And CNN profiles the lawyers who will argue the cases. SCOTUSBlog will live blog the oral arguments beginning at 10:45 am. at this link.  For those who want in depth background material, SCOTUSBlog's case page has links to all the briefs, other relevant legal documents and additional legal analysis. The Supreme Court will release both audio tapes and the written transcript of oral arguments later tomorrow.  CBS News reports that a line began forming Friday afternoon for the limited number of seats available for spectators in the courtroom.

Supreme Court Grants Certiorari In Title VII Constructive Discharge Case

The U.S. Supreme Court today granted certiorari in Green v. Donahoe, (Docket No. 14-613, review granted 4/27/2015) (Order List.) The petition for certiorari in the case frames the question presented:

Under federal employment discrimination law, does the filing period for a constructive discharge claim begin to run when an employee resigns, as five circuits have held, or at the time of an employer’s last allegedly discriminatory act giving rise to the resignation, as three other circuits have held? 

In the case, the 10th Circuit (full text of opinion) held that the filing period begins to run at the date of the last discriminatory act. It said in part:

No policy reason, certainly not the policy behind recognition of constructive discharge claims as a means to provide appropriate relief to employees, commends itself as a ground for postponing the accrual of constructive-discharge claims until the employee leaves work...

SCOTUSBlog's case page links to filings in the case. While the case in which review was granted involves alleged racial discrimination. the Supreme Court's decision will also impact cases in which religious discrimination led to a constructive discharge.

Georgia Company Refuses To Print Wedding Invitations For Same-Sex Couple

In the latest clash between business owners and same-sex couples, WXIA News reported yesterday that a suburban Atlanta printing business has refused to print wedding invitations for a same-sex couple. The owner of a Suwanee, Georgia Alpha Graphics franchise refused on religious grounds to print the invitations that Paige Beth says she wanted designed to look like a train ticket. The Alpha Graphics home office issued a statement apologizing, and emphasizing that the company does not condone discrimination on the basis of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity or sexual orientation.  Georgia's is one of 5 states that has no public accommodation law (except for disabled persons).

Proposed Order On Damages Issued Against Oregon Bakery That Refused Same-Sex-Wedding Cake

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries announced last Friday that an Administrative Law Judge has issued a Proposed Order relating to damages to be paid by the owners of an Oregon bakery (Sweet Cakes by Melissa).  Aaron Klein, a co-owner of the bakery, was previously found to have violated the Oregon Equality Act by refusing on religious grounds to provide a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. (See prior posting.) The 111-page Proposed Findings, Conclusions, Opinion and Order issued April 21 (full text) proposes an award of compensatory damages for emotional suffering of $135,000, to be apportioned $75,000 to Rachel Bowman-Cryer and $60,000 to Laurel Bowman-Cryer (who was not present at the cake refusal).  The Administrative Law Judge ruled that these are damages caused by the cake refusal, and that the couple is not entitled to additional damages for emotional suffering caused by media and social media attention. The ALJ also proposes issuance of a cease-and-desist order against the bakery owners.

Both sides have ten days to file exceptions to the Proposed Order.  The Labor Commissioner will then issue the agency's final order, which is appealable to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

As reported by the Daily Signal, last Friday, supporters of the bakery owners set up a crowdfunding page on GoFundMe to help the bakers raise funds to pay any final damage award.  Within a day the page raised $109,000, but was taken down by GoFundMe as being in violation of its Terms and Conditions because it involves formal charges. The money already raised will still go to the bakery owners, Melissa and Aaron Klein.  A new fundraising page has been set up on Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse website.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Robin L. West, Freedom of the Church and Our Endangered Civil Rights: Exiting the Social Contract, (in The Rise of Corporate Religious Liberty, Zoe Robinson, Chad Flanders and Micah Schwartzman, eds., Oxford University Press, 2015, Forthcoming).
• Nicholas B. Adell, Razing the Forest to Kill a Tree: EEOC V. Abercrombie and Why the Supreme Court Must Continue to Place the Burden of Actual Notice on Applicants and Employees in Title VII Requests for Religious Accommodation,(April 19, 2015).
• Harry G. Hutchison, Metaphysical Univocity and the Immanent Frame: Defending Religious Liberty in a Secular Age?, (George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No. 15-13, April 2015).
• Michael J. Perry, American Religious Freedom: Reflections on Koppelman and Smith, (The Review of Politics 77 (2015), 287-299).
• Ryan H. Nelson, Marriage Equality and the Third Nail in the 'Proceed with Caution' Coffin, (90 N.Y.U. L. Rev. Online 17 (2015)).
• Howard M. Wasserman, Crazy in Alabama: The Judicial Process and the Last Stand Against Marriage Equality in the Land of George Wallace, (Northwestern University Law Review, 2015).

From SSRN (non-U.S. Law):

• Gabriel Cepaluni & Umberto G. Mignozzetti, Discrimination in International Courts Before and After 09/11: A Natural Experiment in the WTO Dispute Settlement, (April 17, 2015).
• Isaac Kfir, The Morocco Truth Commission Balancing Religion, Realpolitik and Idealism, (Impunity Watch L.J., Forthcoming).
• Muhammad Munir, The Principle of Legality in Islamic Criminal Justice System, (April 20, 2015).
• Michael J. Perry, Human Rights Theory, 2: What Reason Do We Have, If Any, to Take Human Rights Seriously? Beyond 'Human Dignity', (Emory Legal Studies Research Paper No. 15-350, April 2015).
• Matthew S. Erie, Defining Shariʿa in China: State, Ahong, and the Postsecular Turn, (Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review, Vol. 12, Pp. 88-117. 2014).
• Steven F. Friedell, A Jewish Constitution, (April 22, 2015).
• Fiona Martin, Has the Charities Act 2013 Changed the Common Law Concept of Charitable 'Public Benefit' and, if so, How?, (Australian Tax Forum, Vol. 30, 2015).

From SmartCILP:

• T.W. Brown, Ensuring the Application of RFRA and RLUIPA in Pro Se Prisoner Litigation, 41 Ohio Northern Univeristy Law Review 29-60 (2014).
• A Discussion of Religious Freedom in America. Article by Steven D. Smith; responses by Andrew Koppelman, Paul Horwitz and Nelson Tebbe; reply by Steven D. Smith. 41 Pepperdine Law Review 903-990 (2014).
• Symposium: Islamic and Jewish Law in the 21st Century. Introduction by Michael A. Helfand; articles by Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin, Christopher C. Lund, Ann Laquer Estin, Seval Yildirim, Faisal Kutty, Zvi Triger and Russell Powell. 41 Pepperdine Law Review 991-1113 (2014).

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In West v. Grams, (7th Cir., April 22, 2015), the 7th Circuit vacated the district court's dismissal on mootness grounds of a Muslim inmate's RLUIPA claim. While the inmate had been transferred to another institution, the challenged policy of allowing religious services only if an outside volunteer is available to lead them is a system-wide policy.

In Holtz v. Pierce County, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52453 (WD WA, April 20. 2015), a Washington federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52448, April 1, 2015) and dismissed a number of claims by a Muslim inmate. Numerous claims were dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Claims relating to Halal meat and dessert; purchase of Kosher food; non-recorded visitations; threat and inappropriate language regarding religion by an officer; and conditions of housing unit regarding prayer were dismissed with prejudice.

In Desmond v. Phelps, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52657 (D DE, April 22, 2015), a Delaware federal district court severed into three separate suits a case in which a number of inmates representing 3 different religions (Islam, Catholicism, Judaism) complained about availability of religious services.

In Allah v. Colorado Department of Corrections, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52792 (D CO, April 22, 2015), a Colorado federal district court dismissed a Muslim inmate's complaint that after he had legally changed his name to a religious name, prison authorities only allowed him to use that as an a.k.a. along with name under which he was originally committed.

In Montague v. Schofield, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53208 (ED TN, April 22, 2015), a Tennessee federal district court dismissed an inmate's complaint that religious programs have been curtailed and that Muslim inmates are allowed to purchase prayer oil only from a single vendor, but with general leave to amend because class action status had been denied for these and numerous other claims.

In El v. Wehling, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53356 (D NJ, April 23, 2015), a New Jersey federal district court in dealing with a sprawling 537-page complaint raising 49 counts relating to plaintiff's arrest and his being charged with weapons and drug offenses among other things dismissed plaintiff's claim that his free exercise rights were infringed when officials used his given name rather than his Moorish name on court papers.

In Barstad v. Wright, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53573 (WD WA, April 23, 2015), a Washington federal magistrate judge recommend dismissing an inmate's complaint that his free exercise rights were infringed by various mail rejections.

In Kuykendall v. Kennell, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53798 (CD IL, April 24, 2015), an Illinois federal district court dismissed an inmate's complaint that his requests to change his religious affiliation from Catholic to Messianic Hebrew, then to Judaism, and lastly to Assemblies of Yahweh were not honored to legitimize his requests for a list of Jewish holidays, special religious holiday meals and a Kosher diet.

Egyptian Channel Cancels Program After Host's Criticism of Conservative Islam

Egypt's Daily News reported yesterday that the Al-Qahera Wal Nas satellite channel has cancelled the program hosted by commentator Islam El-Behiry after two lawsuits against it challenge El-Behiry's criticism of conservative Islamic schools of thought.  One suit filed by an independent lawyer calls for closing down the channel and removing episodes of the program from the Internet, accusing El-Behiry of "insulting the divine."  A second suit filed by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar accuses El-Behiry of insulting Al-Azhar which Egypt's Constitution makes the main source of interpretation of Islamic law.  Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has called for a reinterpretation of Islamic doctrine (see prior posting). In cancelling El-Behiry's show, the channel said:

We should let ‘enlightened’ religious preachers handle the task of renewing religious discourse.

Abercrombie Changes Dress Code As Supreme Court Decision Nears

As it awaits a Supreme Court decision in a case challenging its failure to provide a religious accommodation to its dress code for employees (see prior posting), Abercrombie & Fitch announced Friday that it will no longer hire employees based on body type or physical attractiveness.  According to the Washington Post,  the change comes as the company faces declining sales and less than six months after the long-time and controversial CEO Mike Jeffries stepped down.  The company's new dress code softens its "Look Policy," but employees among other things are still barred from wearing head coverings.  However the company says it will accommodate disabilities and "sincerely-held religious beliefs."

FASB Proposes Changes In Accounting Standards For Non-Profits

On April 22, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued an Exposure Draft containing proposed refinements in current accounting standards for Non-Profit Entities. (Full text). The proposals address several issues:

• Deficiencies in the utility of information provided to donors, creditors, and others regarding an entity's liquidity stemming from misunderstandings of restrictions imposed by donors, laws, contracts, and governing boards on the entity's assets.
• Inconsistencies in the reporting intermediate measures of operations in the statement of activities.
• Inconsistencies in the type of information provided about the function and nature of operating expenses.
• Misunderstandings about and opportunities to enhance the utility of the statement of cash flows.

BNA Daily Report for Executives (subscription required) has more on the proposed changes.

Arizona Wins $2.18M In Attorneys Fees From FLDS Controlled Towns

As previously reported, last September an Arizona federal district court imposed a $50,000 civil penalty under the Arizona Fair Housing Act against the FLDS-controlled towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah for denying utility service to a couple because they are not FLDS members. Now in Cooke v. Town of Colorado City, (D AZ, April 21, 2015), the court ordered defendants to pay the state of Arizona (which was an intervenor in the case) was awarded $2.18 million in attorneys fees. Salt Lake Tribune reports on the decision.

Supreme Court Denies Certiorari In Title VII Case

Last Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Macon v. J.C. Penney Co., (Docket No. 14-946, cert. denied 4/20/2015) (Order List.)  In the case, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in a Dec. 29, 2014 opinion (full text) affirmed the district court's dismissal of plaintiff's Title VII religious accommodation claim.  Plaintiff was fired when she refused to sign her company's Statement of Business Ethics because according to her Christian beliefs the Bible prohibited her from taking oaths or making promises. She also refused to sign a document titled Our Integrity Promise because it would prevent her from writing an autobiography that included her work experiences. BNA Daily Report for Executives (subscription required) reports on the denial of review.

Controversial Former Navy Chaplain Now Running For Colorado State Senate

Former Navy chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, who gained national attention for his long-running battle with the military over regulations requiring chaplains to deliver inclusive prayers at military events (see prior posting), is back in the news. Klingenschmitt, who hosts a national religious television show under the pseudonym "Dr. Chaps," was elected to the Colorado state House of Representatives last November. Last month, Klingenschmitt was removed by the House Republican leader from the Health, Insurance and Environment Committee after Klingenschmitt suggested on his TV show that the brutal attack on a pregnant Longmont, Colorado woman was "the curse of God upon America for our sin of not protecting innocent children in the womb." (Denver Post, March 31).

The Colorado Independent published an interview with Klingenschmitt yesterday discussing Klingenschmitt's decision to run in 2016 for State Senate. Asked how he made the decision to run, Klingenschmitt responded in part:

I went on a three-day, water-only fast, day and night for 72 hours, and I prayed....  At the end of that time, I was reading in the Bible in Joshua, chapter one, where God blessed Joshua and told him, ‘Everywhere you set your foot you will claim as your territory.’ He was talking about ancient Israel. I was inspired by that.

It reminded me of many of the volunteers who knocked on doors for me in my previous campaign and maybe in my future campaign. Everywhere they set their foot, every time they knocked on a door, whether for me or another candidate, those citizens are taking back their territory. They are making a political claim, and almost a spiritual claim, on how they’re going to be represented in the Capitol here.....

Oklahoma Legislature Passes 2 Bills Protecting Clergy, Judges and Churches That Object To Same-Sex Marriage

The Oklahoma legislature this week gave final passage to HB 1007 (full text) protecting clergy and religious organizations that object to same-sex marriage.  The bill provides that clergy shall not be required to solemnize marriages that violate their conscience or religious beliefs.  Religious organizations shall not be required to provide religious-based services designed for engaged or married couples or couples where the services are directly related to solemnizing, celebrating, strengthening or promoting a marriage, such as religious counseling programs, courses, retreats and workshops, if doing so would violate the conscience or religious beliefs of an official of the organization.  Clergy and officials of religious organizations are immunized from civil liability for refusing to solemnize or furnish services for such marriages.

The legislature also gave final passage to SB 788 (full text) that (unless otherwise prohibited by law) protects judges who are authorized to perform marriages, as well as clergy, from being required to "perform or solemnize any marriage in violation of his or her right to the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution." It also provides that no church or church-controlled organization shall be required to participate in a ceremony performing or solemnizing a marriage in violation of the church's or organization's religious beliefs.

Texas Chef Says Feeding Homeless In Park Is Protected By State's RFRA

San Antonio, Texas chef Joan Cheever was cited by police earlier this month for feeding the homeless in the city's Maverick Park.  According to a report last week by My San Antonio, Cheever has been serving restaurant quality food to the city's homeless for the last ten years. She has a food permit for her non-profit mobile food truck known as  Chow Train, but police cited her for transporting and serving the food from another vehicle.  The ticket carries a potential fine of $2000. At her June 23 court hearing, Cheever will argue that her activity is protected by the 1999 Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Sex Club Evades Zoning Restrictions By Becoming A Church

The Washington Post yesterday published a lengthy and fascinating account of a Nashville, Tennessee swingers sex club that has apparently gotten around a number of zoning hurdles put in its way by turning itself into a church-- the United Fellowship Center.  The club sold its downtown building at a profit as its neighborhood gentrified, and it purchased a new building in the suburban community of Madison.  At the time, the building was properly zoned for the social club's activities.  However the building was located between two churches and an upscale Christian academy.  Local zoning laws were soon amended to bar private clubs of any kind in the area where the building was located.  And the state legislature passed a law prohibiting private clubs at which people can  view or engage in sex from operating within 1,000 feet of a school. So the club became a church at which swingers meet, mingle and engage in the regular practice of their faith. It revised its building plans to give areas of the church appropriate names. Actual sex will have to move off premises. The church's attorney says:

They can sue us and say they want an injunction to stop us from operating, and we can say we have some tenets of the church sort of like the Ten Commandments.... 

Employment Discrimination Suit Dismissed On Ministerial Exception Grounds

In Preece v. The Covenant Presbyterian Church, (D NE, April 22, 2015), a Nebraska federal district court held that the ministerial exception doctrine requires dismissal of employment discrimination claims by a church's former Director of Youth Ministry.  Richard Preece claimed that his employment was terminated in violation of Title VII and the Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act because he obtained a divorce and in retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment by a pastor who was his direct supervisor.  The court held:

The plaintiff’s job duties reflected a role in him conveying the defendant’s message and carrying out its mission..... In this case, the defendant’s treatment of the plaintiff in relation to his sexual harassment allegation clearly implicates an internal church decision and management, rather than the outward physical acts of one pastor. Accordingly... this court finds the plaintiff’s sexual harassment claim is factually entwined and related to the plaintiff’s other claims, which the court may not review without excessive government entanglement with religion in violation of the First Amendment.

County Council Prayer Policy May Limit Invocations To Local Clergy

In Coleman v. Hamilton County, Tennessee, (ED TN, April 22, 2015), a Tennessee federal district court upheld the prayer policy of the Hamilton County, Tennessee Commission.  The policy allows any eligible member of the clergy in the county to deliver an opening invocation. Plaintiff argued that the Policy is unconstitutional because it only allows invocations to be delivered by members of the clergy who are part of an eligible and established assembly or congregation and makes no provision for other individuals to deliver the invocation. The court rejected the argument, saying:

Plaintiffs’ argument is clearly flawed and flies in the face of established Supreme Court precedent. In Marsh, the Supreme Court expressly authorized legislative bodies to appoint and retain a single person to give invocations at the beginning of official meetings. To find that each and every individual person under the jurisdiction of a particular legislative body has the right to give an opening prayer or invocation at the body’s meetings would effectively overrule not only Marsh, but an entire body of federal case law approving of the constitutionality of chaplains and non-discriminatory legislative prayer policies.

An ADF press release announced the decision.

Obama Urged To Appoint Near East Religious Freedom Envoy

Last year Congress passed and the President signed the Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act which provides that  the President may appoint a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. (See prior posting.)  However the President has never filled the authorized position.  The Washington Times reported this week that now members of Congress and religious activists are urging the President to move swiftly to fill the position as Christians face increasng threats in the Middle East.  Last week 43 members of Congress wrote the President urging speedy action, and on Monday over 50 organizations, scholars, religious leaders and human rights advocates wrote the President with a similar request, saying in part:

In the seven months since the legislation became law, discrimination, repression and outright violence against religious minorities has only escalated.

Plaintiffs Say LA County Continues To Use Seal With Cross In Violation of Agreement

According to the Los Angeles Times,, yesterday a group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in Los Angeles filed papers in federal court alleging that Los Angeles County is violating an agreement it entered in connection with a pending lawsuit challenging the new design of the county seal.  In February 2014, the religious leaders, represented by the ACLU, sued challenging the redesign that added a cross atop the depiction of the San Gabriel Mission that is already on the county seal. (See prior posting.)  Last June, the county agreed to stop using the new seal while the litigation was pending.  In yesterday's motion, plaintiffs claim that the seal containing the cross is still on the county supervisor's website, a cover sheet for a recent Board of Supervisors meeting transcript and a program for the county's "Women of the Year" luncheon.  The county contends that all of these are materials that were in place before the June agreement. The ACLU says that materials for every new Board of Supervisor's meeting involves a new use of the county seal.

Catholic Bishop Robert Finn, Convicted of Not Reporting Sex Abuse, Resigns

According to the National Catholic Reporter, the Vatican yesterday announced that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn, head of the diocese of St. Joseph-Kansas City, Missouri.  In September 2012, Finn became the first bishop convicted criminally for failure to report suspicion of child abuse by a priest in his diocese. (See prior posting.) Parishioners have been calling for Finn's resignation, and Vatican's Congregation for Bishops conducted an apostolic visitation in September 2014 to investigate. In a posting on its website, the St. Joseph-Kansas City Diocese announced the resignation and the appointment of Kansas Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese.

Irish Court Dismisses Abuse Suit Against Religious Order Not Brought For 30 Years

In Cassidy v. The Provincialate, (Ireland Ct. App., April 16, 2015), Ireland's Court of Appeal held that a sex abuse suit seeking damages from the Religious Sisters of Charity should be dismissed for inordinate and inexcusable delay.  The suit was brought in 2012 by a 47-year old married mother of four who claimed that a male employee of the religious order assaulted, abused and raped her over a period of 4 years beginning in 1977 when she was between 12 and 16 years old. She alleged that the religious order was negligent in allowing the abuser (identified as "PD") to have ongoing unsupervised contact with children. The appeals court concluded that there was insufficient evidence of facts that would excuse plaintiff's delay in bringing suit, and the delay would cause great prejudice to defendant since the alleged abuser is now dead:

In the absence of PD, the defendant is not in a position to challenge or counter the allegations of abuse which the plaintiff makes.... [I]n circumstances where, almost to a man or woman, those who were alive at the time of the alleged abuse are dead or incapable of giving evidence, the defendant is once again left in a hopelessly vulnerable situation. Further, those witnesses that might have been able to assist in giving evidence referable to the issue as to whether or not the defendant ought to be deemed vicariously liable for the actions of PD, should findings of abuse be made against him, are effectively non existent.

Lexology reports on the decision.

Free Exercise Defense Raised For Teen Charged With Attempting To Support ISIS

The Chicago Sun-Times reported yesterday that the attorney for Chicago teenager Mohammed Hamzah Khan has filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Khan on First Amendment grounds.  The 19-year-old Khan was arrested at O'Hare Airport in October as he and his younger brother and sister were trying to travel to the Middle East to join ISIS.  He was charged with knowingly attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization.  According to a long and interesting article last month in Rolling Stone on the three siblings, Khan wrote in a letter to his parents:

An Islamic State has been established, and it is thus obligatory upon every able-bodied male and female to migrate.

In his motion to the court filed last week, Khan's attorney, Thomas Anthony Durkin, argued:

While it is easy to disagree with Mr. Khan’s unpopular religious beliefs and label them misguided simplistic, or even fundamentalist, it cannot be said that [they] were not sincerely held — and that is all that must be shown.

Jury Convicts 3 In "Coerced Get" Kidnappings

In Trenton, New Jersey yesterday a federal district court jury convicted 3 of the 4 defendants on trial on kidnapping related charges growing out of alleged arrangements to abduct, beat and torture recalcitrant Jewish husbands who refused to give their civilly divorced wives a religious divorce document (get). (See prior posting.) NJ Advance Media reported that the most prominent of the defendants, 69-year old Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Mendel Epstein, was found guilty only of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.  Prosecutors charged that he arranged the kidnappings and torture in exchange for as much as $60,000.  The jury found Rabbi Jay Goldstein, who allegedly acted as the scribe for the gets guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and attempted kidnapping.  Rabbi Binyamin Stimler who allegedly acted as a witness for the get was also convicted of conspiracy and attempt. David "Ari" Epstein, son of Mendel, was acquitted on all charges.  All of the defendants were acquitted on the kidnapping counts against them.  Stimler's attorney says an appeal is planned.

Court Requires NY Transit Authority To Accept Anti-Islam Ads

In American Freedom Defense Initiative v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, (SD NY, April 21, 2015), a New York federal district court granted a preliminary injunction to a pro-Israel advocacy group requiring the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority to accept the group's anti-Islam ad for display on the back of New York City buses. The ad included a picture of a man with his face largely covered by a keffiyeh and the language "Killing Jews is worship that draws us closer to Allah.  That's his jihad.  What's yours?"  The court found a likely infringement of plaintiff's free speech rights in a designated public forum.  It rejected the MTA's argument that the ad could be refused under its standards barring ads that will incite or provoke violence, saying that the MTA had not produced evidence that it would incite imminent violence. Reuters reports on the decision.  Last month, a Pennsylvania federal district court reached a similar conclusion regarding a different anti-Islamic ad from AFDI. (See prior posting.)

Israel's Women of The Wall Score Another First

The Jerusalem Post reported Monday that at Israel's Western Wall, the feminist group Women of the Wall succeeded for the first time in reading from a full-size Torah scroll at its monthly Rosh Chodesh prayer service at the Wall.  A scuffle broke out after a male worshipper in the men's area of the Wall passed one of the Torah scrolls available for public use to the women's area in violation of worship rules promulgated by the rabbi of the Western Wall. The Forward puts Monday's event in some perspective:

For Women of the Wall, this is a double victory: Not only did they read from a proper Torah, they also drew renewed attention to Western Wall Rabbi Shlomo Rabinowitz’s 2010 ban on Torah scrolls in the women’s section. While the Wall boasts more than 100 Torah scrolls, they’re all on the men’s side, preventing women from using them and making a full women’s holiday service next to impossible. If this incident creates enough pressure to remove Rabinowitz’s ban, it will be a win for Women of the Wall.

But really, Women of the Wall won its war two years ago. For decades, the group’s prayer was prohibited, its activists were detained and arrested, and their cause became a rallying cry for liberal Judaism — especially in the United States. But that ended in April 2013 when a Jerusalem district court judge ruled that their services were, in fact, legal.

North Carolina Counties Approve Display of "In God We Trust" Signs

Christian Post reported yesterday that the  McDowell County, North Carolina Board of Commissioners last week, working with the U.S. Motto Action Committee, approved placing "In God We Trust" signs in county buildings.  Two other county commissions in North Carolina took similar action earlier this year. Local reaction to the McDowell County decision has been mixed.

North Carolina Magistrates Forced To Resign Over Same-Sex Marriage Now Seek Reinstatement

As previously reported, last October North Carolina's Administrative Office of the Courts issued a memo stating that magistrates must perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples who present a license in the same way they do for opposite-sex couples. The memo led a number of magistrates to resign rather than perform same-sex wedding ceremonies.  Now, according to ABC News, two of the magistrates who resigned filed a state court lawsuit earlier this month seeking reinstatement, injunctive relief, damages and attorneys' fees.  Former magistrates Gilbert Breedlove and Thomas Holland contend that their religious freedom rights were infringed by requiring them to officiate at same-sex marriages.