Detroit Challenged Under Establishment Clause On Super Bowl Clean-Up Grants

Today's Detroit News reports that a resident of Detroit and American Atheists, Inc. are suing the city and Detroit's Downtown Development Authority, demanding that they seek repayment of grants given to two downtown churches so they could fix up their building exteriors and parking areas as the city hosted this year's Super Bowl. The federal court suit seeks recovery of $690,000 given to Central United Methodist Church and Second Baptist Church as part of the Lower Woodward Facade Improvement Program. The complaint alleges that the grants violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and Article 1, Sec. 4 of the Michigan Constitution that prohibits use of public funds for the benefit of any religious sect or society.

Today Religion Clause Blog Is 1 Year Old !

Today-- April 17-- is the first birthday of Religion Clause blog. Thanks to all who have been loyal readers. Here are two things that you can do to help celebrate:

(1) post a Comment, or send me an e-mail, with your thoughts on the blog; tell me how regularly you read it; and let me know what would lead you to read it more regularly;

(2) recommend the blog to others who you think might be interested in it; link to it on your site if you have not already done so.

Litigant's Free Exercise Claim Against State Judges Is Moot

In Donkers v. Simon, (6th Cir., April 6, 2006), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a challenge by a state court litigant in Michigan who claimed that her free exercise rights were infringed when a state court judge insisted that she rise when he entered and exited the court room. Plaintiff Catherine Donkers claimed that rising for the judge violated her sincerely-held religious beliefs. As a result of Donker's suit in federal court raising this claim and seeking a declaratory judgment and injunction against the state judges, all the judges in the state judicial district disqualified themselves and her case was reassigned to a neighboring county. The 6th Circuit held that this mooted her claim for injunctive and declaratory relief.

Poll: Even Split On Propriety of Teaching Bible In Public Schools

Taking a poll on what the Constitution means is not a very useful interpretive technique. Nevertheless, a CBS poll released Sunday did just that. It asked whether teaching the Bible in public school violates church-state separation. Respondents were evenly split: 46%, yes; and 46%, no.

More Prisoner Free Exercise Claims Decided

In Howard v. Wilson, (5th Cir. April 11, 2006), the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Mississippi federal district court's dismissal of a prisoner's free exercise challenge to the refusal of state prison officials to recognize the prisoner's adoption of a Muslim name. The appeal was dismissed as frivolous.

In Mark v. Off, (WD Wis., March 31, 2006), a Wisconsin federal district court rejected a former state prison inmate's free exercise claims brought under the First Amendment and RLUIPA. Mark Off variously claimed he was a Wiccan, a pagan, and a ritual magician. He brought suit challenging prison officials' removal of his "magic seals" from his cell walls and door.

In Keesh v. Smith, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18834 (ND NY, March 2, 2006), a New York federal district court refused to issue a preliminary injunction to require New York correctional authorities to accommodate two prisoners' requests to practice the religion of "Tulukeesh". One of the prisoners identifies himself as the "Savior and Teacher" of Tulukeesh and says its tenets and practices are set out in the book "Holy Blackness," which he authored.

In Andreola v. Wisconsin, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19123 (ED Wis., April 4, 2006), a lawsuit that has already been up to the 7th Circuit once, a Wisconsin federal district judge issued orders clarifying the remaining issues in a prisoner's lawsuit seeking greater accommodation of his request for kosher food than Wisconsin authorities are willing to grant. The court rejected plaintiff's claim under the First Amendment, but found that a claim under the higher standard of RLUIPA remains.

Ohio's Leading Democratic Candidate For Governor Has Strong Religious Roots

The religiosity of the candidates is apparently an important issue in Ohio's gubernatorial race this year. Dueling Republican candidates Kenneth Blackwell and Jim Petro have been touting their Christian credentials for months. Now leading Democratic candidate Ted Strickland apparently wants to make certain that the voters know that he is just as committed. An article on Strickland in today's Toledo Blade prominently includes a profile of Strickland's religious credentials, beginning with his experiences at a church summer camp as a 12-year old.

In India, Arrest For Preaching Christianity On Easter

DNA India reports that in Bhopal, police arrested two women on Easter Sunday for preaching Christianity without first getting permission from authorities. According to the chief of police of Jabalpur District in Madha Pradesh, "The women were distributing pamphlets telling people how they may overcome their problems by following the Bible."

White House Sends Easter Greetings

A White House release on Thursday (full text) conveyed Easter greetings from President and Mrs. Bush to those observing the holiday. It said in part:

Christ's extraordinary sacrifice and compassion continue to inspire people around the world. His promise of new life gives hope and confidence to His followers. His service and love for His neighbors offer a profound lesson for all people.

During this Easter season, we celebrate God's gifts of freedom and justice. We pray for peace and ask for God's blessings on the brave men and women who wear our Nation's uniform and their families.

Priest's Trial For Bizarre Murder Begins Monday In Toledo

There is a reason that my home town is know as "Holy Toledo!" On Monday in Toledo, Ohio Common Pleas Court, jury selection begins in one of the most bizarre murder cases imaginable. Catholic priest Gerald Robinson is being tried for the murder of a 71-year old nun that took place 26 years ago. In 1980, on the day before Easter, a nun was strangled, then stabbed between 27 and 32 times in the chest and neck in the sacristy next door to the chapel in a local Catholic hospital. Her undergarments had been pulled down over her ankle. The victim, Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, had gone to prepare the chapel for Holy Saturday Mass.

In Saturday's Toledo Blade, religion editor David Yonke does an excellent job of chronicling the background of what may have been a ritualistic murder carried out by a Satanic cult to which Father Robinson belonged. Robinson could be tried by the Church under canon law as well-- though experts think this is unlikely.

Finally, in a tip for locals who are used to immensely convenient parking, the Blade informs readers that there will be a loss of some of the on-street meter parking around the courthouse during the trial as the space is taken up by television satellite trucks, including Court TV that plans gavel to gavel coverage.

Suit Challenges Prayer At School's Teachers Meetings

In Pocola, Oklahoma, a lawsuit has been filed against the superintendent and school board members by Frank Makinson, the school district’s federal program coordinator. The Fort Smith, Arkansas Times-Record reported Friday that the suit challenges the practice of opening the schools' annual teacher and staff meeting with a prayer, led by the high school principal who is also a Baptist minister. Makinson says that his challenge to prayers has led to his being ridiculed and accused of being a Communist. His lawsuit also challenges the opening of school board meetings with an invocation that Makinson says is sectarian.

Rally In Conn. To Oppose Church-State Separation Draws Unwanted Support

Minutemen United, an Ohio-based Christian group, is planning to hold a rally on Tuesday in Danbury, Connecticut, according to last Thursday’s Danbury News-Times. The rally will call for an end to the separation of church and state. Its location was chosen because Thomas Jefferson’s famous reference to “a wall of separation between church and state” is found in his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. After a neo-Nazi group, the Grey Wolves, said they would attend the rally, Danbury officials revoked Minutemen United’s permit to hold the rally on Danbury Green and asked them to find private property for the gathering so they can control who attends. Minutemen United says they are opposed to any association with the white supremacist group, according to a second story in the News-Times.

7th Circuit Says Notre Dame Might Need To Repay Government Funds

On Thursday, in a decision written by Judge Richard Posner, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision reversed the lower court's dismissal of a taxpayers' Establishment Clause challenge to federal funding of a Catholic teacher training program. The case is Laskowski v. Spellings (7th Cir., April 13, 2006). While the court agreed with the lower court that plaintiffs' petition for an injunction was moot since all the appropriated funds had been spent, it held that there was still the possibility that the court could order the recipient of the funding, Notre Dame University, to repay the funds it received to the federal Treasury if it turns out that the Department of Education unconstitutionally transferred tax money to Notre Dame. Judge Diane Sykes dissented arguing that the plaintiffs never asked for the restitutionary relief that the majority says is possible, and such relief is inconsistent with the cases on taxpayer standing which have never recognized a private party's right to seek repayment to the Treasury as a remedy in Establishment Clause cases. The Chicago Sun Times and the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel covered the decision.

New Illinois Law Protects Condo Owners' Right To Put Up Mezuzahs

Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today signed legislation that was designed to guarantee condominium owners the right to observe their religion at home, specifically including the display of objects on their front door. (Press release.) The legislation, S.2165 was prompted by several cases where Chicago co-op boards passed rules banning the display of religious symbols in hallways-- including barring Jewish residents from placing mezuzahs on their doorposts. The bill passed unanimously in both the state House and the Senate. It becomes effective January 1, 2007.

President Extends Passover Greetings

President George W. Bush yesterday issued a statement (full text) extending Passover greetings to all those observing the holiday. The 8-day long Jewish festival begins at sundown tonight. Beginning his statement with a quotation from the Biblical book of Exodus, the President concluded with this wish:

During this celebration of faith and hope, we are reminded that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every man, woman, and child. We pray for a more peaceful and hopeful world where the blessings of liberty are bestowed upon all mankind.

Church Refuses Social Services To Transsexual

A new sort of conflict between non-discrimination rules and faith-based social services has arisen in St. Francis, Minnesota. UPI reported yesterday that the Missouri Synod Trinity Lutheran Church will no longer take clients from Anoka County, Minn. The church refused to serve day-care lunch to a transsexual-- now a woman who had undergone a sex change from her prior identity as a man. The church said the gender change violates its religious beliefs.

Navajo Family's Claim Regarding Autopsy and Cremation Dismissed

The Associated Press reports that a New Mexico federal district court on April 4 dismissed the remaining state free exercise of religion claims in a suit by a Navajo family who accused the state Office of the Medical Investigator of violating tribal religious traditions when it performed an autopsy and then erroneously cremated the body of Abel Taylor. An earlier opinion in the case, Taylor v. Zumwalt, upheld plaintiffs' standing under New Mexico's RFRA statute.

South Carolina Considering Religious Release Time Law

The Charlotte Observer today reports that the state Senate is about to consider a bill that would authorize high schools to provide "release time" for students to attend religious courses. Even without the legislation, 71 schools in South Carolina already offer such programs-- all so far run by Protestant organizations.

Two New Scholarly Articles Online

Here are two new articles recently posted on Bepress:

Jeffrey H. Goldfien, Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor: RLUIPA and the Mediation of Religious Land Use Disputes (April 1, 2006).

Maxim Grinberg, Combating Defamation of Religion v. Freedom of Speech: Finding the Balance in a Democratic Society (March 25, 2006).

Serbian Orthodox Face Problems In Macedonia

The Christian Science Monitor yesterday reported on the severe problems faced by the the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia. Its followers meet in secrecy in Skopje. The Macedonian chapter of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights last month after Macedonia's highest court upheld a law barring the Serbian Orthodox Church from functioning in Macedonia. The dispute centers around controversial Archbishop Jovan Vraniskovski who broke with the Macedonian Orthodox Church in July 2002. He has previously been jailed for his religious activities, but is also charged with financial misconduct from 2001 and 2002 when he was still affiliated with the Macedonian Orthodox Church. (See prior related posting.)

Recent Prisoner Cases Include Claims By Man Arrested For Suspicion Of 9/11 Involvement

The opinion in Omar v. Casterline, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17302 (WD La., Feb. 8, 2006), has just become available. It involves an arrest made in the immediate wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. Hady Hassan Omar was taken into custody, suspected of being linked to the 9/11 plot because he had purchased an airline ticket for the morning of 9/11 from the same internet account as two of the known hijackers. Omar was questioned by the FBI and after a few days' custody in Arkansas was transferred to the United States Penitentiary at Pollock, Louisiana where he was held until Nov. 23, 2001. He claims that during his detention at Pollock, his free exercise rights were infringed. His charges relate to being served pork, or being served pork substitute without being told it was a substitute; to inteferences with his observance of Ramadan, including being given the wrong date for its commencement; and to mocking of his religion by prison officials. All the claims were dismissed, either on grounds of qualified immunity or de minimis interference with Free Exercise rights. The court held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act has no impact on the claims because it only deals with challenges to neutral laws of general applicability.

In an unrelated prisoner free-exercise decision recently released, Blount v. Johnson, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17300 (WD Va., Feb. 14, 2006), a Virginia federal district court rather summarily dismissed a challenge to state prison grooming rules on the basis of 4th Circuit precedent.