Azerbaijan Backs Down On Promise To Have Alternative Service for CO's

Forum 18 reported last week that Azerbaijan is backing down on its commitments to permit alternative service for conscientious objectors. A 23-year-old Jehovah's Witness is facing trial for refusing military service on grounds of religious conscience, even though the Azerbaijan Constitution (Art. 76) guarantees the right to perform alternative service. When Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001, it promised to have alternative service in place by 2004. However, Krzysztof Zyman, an official of the Council of Europe's Directorate General of Human Rights, says that no progress has been made in adopting an alternative service law.

Article On Religious Use Of Common Areas Focuses On Religion Clause Blog Coverage

Today's Spartanburg (South Carolina) Herald-Journal carries a follow-up on its coverage earlier this week of a local apartment building whose residents were banned by management from conducting a Bible study group in the building's common area. The article carries lengthy quotes from a telephone interview that the reporter had with me and cites to coverage of other similar cases on Religion Clause blog. In what will not go down as one of my most eloquent interviews, I conclude that there is no clear reason why there has been a cluster of similar cases in the last month or so.

Last Week's Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Jefferson v. Gonzalez, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27720 (D DC, May 10, 2006), a DC federal district court rejected free exercise, RFRA and equal protection challenges to Bureau of Prisons Program Statement 5360.09, regulations on the wearing of religious headwear and religious garments . Muslim inmates are permitted to wear a Kufi, but not a turban, while Sikhs are permitted to wear a turban. As to ceremonial clothing, the Program Statement provides that "Islamic inmates may not hem or wear their pants above the ankle." The court found that the government's security interests and its interest in prisoner rehabilitation justified the restrictions.

In Muhammad v. San Joaquin County Jail, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27821 (ED Cal., May 10, 2006), a Magistrate Judge recommended that a jail inmate be permitted to proceed with a claim that he was improperly denied bag meals to eat after sundown during Ramadan. However the Magistrate Judge rejected the claim that the inmate's free exercise rights were violated when the jail failed to provide Muslim services on Fridays.

Challenge To Firing Of Youth Director Dismissed; Defamation Claim Goes On

In Patton v. Jones (Tex. 3d Dist. Ct. App., May 11, 2006), a Texas appellate court upheld dismissal of some of the claims brought by Ken Patton, a Methodist church's Director of Youth Ministries, who was terminated from his position after rumors circulated about his dating certain women and hugging girls at church. There were also unsubstantiated rumors about his viewing pornography. The court held that the Free Exercise clause prohibits state interference in church governance matters. Therefore actions taken and communications made by the Church as part of its employment decision about Patton's ministerial position are ecclesiastical matters protected from secular review. However, the court permitted Patton to proceed with defamation claims that arose out of statements made about him after the Church's decision on his dismissal was final.

Challenge To UNC's Student Organization Rules Dismissed As Moot

In Alpha Iota Omega Christian Fraternity v. Moeser, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28065 (MD NC, May 4, 2006), a North Carolina federal district court dismissed as moot a suit that had originally been filed in 2004 by AIO, a Christian student group, challenging the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's requirement that the organization be open to all interested students regardless of religion or sexual orientation. While the litigation was pending, the University changed its policy to permit student groups to select their members on the basis of commitment to a set of beliefs, and gave official recognition to AIO.

Right To Trial Delay For Religious Observance Rejected

In Hoyt v. Lewin, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28294 (SDNY, May 12, 2006), a Magistrate Judge in a New York federal district court recommended rejection of a free exercise claim brought by Leroy Hoyt, who had been convicted in state court on drug charges. In Hoyt's criminal trial the state court had refused to adjourn jury deliberations on a Friday, thereby forcing Hoyt, a Muslim, to choose between attending religious services and being present at his trial. The Magistrate Judge said that the trial court had a compelling interest in declining to interrupt jury deliberations, particularly given the approach of a weekend.

A Wealth of New Books and Articles

Books:

• Michelle Goldberg, Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism (WW Norton, 2006). Here is the book's website. And here is the link to NPR's Fresh Air interview with the author.

Articles (full text online):

• William Martin, Secular State, Religious People-- The American Model (April 2006) [Thanks to Mainstream Baptist for the information.]

Articles from Bepress:

• Eric Alan Isaacson, Traditional Values, or a New Tradition of Prejudice? The Boy Scouts of America vs. the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (May 2006).

Articles from SSRN:

• Stephen M. Bainbridge & Aaron H. Cole, The Bishop’s Alter Ego: Enterprise Liability and the Catholic Priest Sex Abuse Scandal.
• Thomas Berg, What’s Right and Wrong with the "No Endorsement of Religion" Test (forthcoming Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Vol. 21, 2006).
• Marc O. Degirolami, The New Religious Prisons and Their Retributivist Commitments (forthcoming Arkansas Law Review 2006).
• Robert K. Vischer, The Sanctity of Conscience in an Age of School Choice: Grounds for Skepticism.

SmartCILP's recently published articles:

• Bradley P. Jacob, Free Exercise In the "Lobbying Nineties", 84 Nebraska Law Review 795-845 (2006).
• Victor E. Schwartz & Leah Lorber, Defining the Duty of Religious Institutions To Protect Others: Surgical Instruments, Not Machetes, Are Required, 74 Univ. Cincinnati Law Review 11-54 (2005).
• Jeffrey Shulman, Spiritual Custody: Relational Rights and Constitutional Commitments, 7 Journal of Law & Family Studies 317-349 (2005).
• L. Scott Smith, From Typology To Synthesis: Recasting the Jurisprudence of Religion, 34 Capital Univ. Law Review 51-123 (2005).
• Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf, John E. James Distinguished Lecture, What is Islamic Law? 57 Mercer Law Review 595-619 (2006).
• Symposium: Can the Seamless Garment Be Sewn? The Future of Pro-Life Progressivism, 2 University of St. Thomas Law Journal 235-424 (2005).
• Lectures on Law and Culture, Presented at the John Paul II Cultural Center, Washington, D.C. Fall 2004. 2 University of St. Thomas Law Journal 425-474 (2005) (lectures by Thomas C. Berg, John Witte, Jr., and Richard W. Garnett).
  
  

  
  

7th Circuit Asked To OK Sectarian Prayer In Indiana Legislature

This week, according to the Indianapolis Star, Indiana state House of Representatives Speaker Brian C. Bosma filed the anticipated appeal to the 7th Circuit a lower court ruling that prohibited the House from opening its sessions with prayers that mention Jesus or endorse a particular religion. Both the Indiana House and Senate had passed resolutions directing Bosma to appeal the decision. (See prior posting.)

Creationist Invited To Speak In Missouri Schools

The St. Louis Post Dispatch today reported that in Missouri's Potosi R-III school district, the superintendent and board invited Mike Riddle, a Biblical Creationist from Answers in Genesis, to discuss science with high school and middle school students. The paper reports that during Riddle's presentations to student groups, he never referred to "Jesus" or "God" or even "religion." Instead, he urged students to question established scientific principles and theories and encouraged them to think about a career in science. Riddle talked about amino acids, proteins, DNA, telemers and thermodynamics, and used examples to challenge the idea that life began on land. He interspersed his talk with quotations from scientists, some with ties to creationist or intelligent design organizations.

Last-Ditch Attempt To Save Mt. Soledad Cross

After a federal judge last week took new action to require the removal of the large cross from on top of California's Mt. Soledad, California Representative Duncan Hunter has written President Bush, asking him to exercise the federal power of eminent domain to turn the land under the cross into a national park. Orders by a federal judge to remove the cross rely on provisions in the California constitution. Supporters think that federal law is less restrictive. The developments are reported in today's San Diego Union Tribune.

UPDATE: Sunday's San Diego Union Tribune profiles Jim McElroy, lawyer for the plaintiff in the Mt. Soledad cross case. McElroy has received a good number of nasty, and even threatening, e-mails and phone calls from outraged defenders of the cross.

US Civil Rights Commission Investigating California Campus Anti-Semitism

Today's Los Angeles times reports that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is for the first time conducting an investigation of anti-Semitism on a college campus. It is focusing on the University of California Irvine. Renewed concerns have arisen on campus as the school's Muslim Student Union has scheduled a program for next week titled "Holocaust in the Holy Land". Jewish leaders are not asking university officials to cancel the program, but do want them to condemn the use of the term "Holocaust" in its title. Chancellor Michael V. Drake issued a more generic statement on Tuesday, merely calling on students "to show appreciation for one another, for people of diverse opinions, backgrounds and cultures and for ideas that may be different from their own." Last month, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission made a number of recommendations to counter campus anti-Semitism. (See prior posting.)

Role of Christianity In Air Force, Academy, Continues To Provoke Interest

The controversy over the role of religion in the Air Force and at the U.S. Air Force Academy continues to spur interest.

Jeremy Gunn, director of the ACLU's program on religious freedom spoke at the Air Force Academy Thursday, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. Gunn told Air Force cadets and faculty that the alleged war on Christians in America is a myth driven by politics. In fact, he said, religion has never enjoyed a time of greater freedom. Philosophy Professor Col. James Cook, who invited Gunn to speak, said the debate over the role of faith in the military has led the school to seek out a variety of opinions without taking sides.

Meanwhile, today's edition of the Forward profiles Air Force Academy alumnus Mikey Weinstein who has led opposition to federal legislation to permit military chaplains to offer sectarian prayers. Weinstein is suing the Air Force Academy over anti-Jewish slurs and coercion experienced by his sons while they were students there. The suit also challenges the Air Force's revised guidelines for chaplains. (See prior postings 1, 2, 3 .) Weinstein, a lawyer who worked for the Reagan White House and once served as Ross Perot's general counsel, has formed the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to call attention to religious coercion in the military. Weinstein strongly criticized the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish organizations for their positions on church-state issues in the military and their refusal to file amicus briefs in his lawsuit.

And the blog Jews On First this week carries a report about another issue exposed by Mikey Weinstein. Air Force Maj. General Jack J. Catton Jr. has used his military e-mail account to urge 200 of his Air Force Academy classmates to support a Colorado Republican congressional candidate, Retired Air Force General Bentley Rayburn. The Air Force general wrote: "We are certainly in need of Christian men with integrity and military experience in Congress." He attached a message to the e-mail from candidate Rayburn, who, referring to Congressional debates on religious intimidation at the Air Force Academy said: "For those of us who are Christians, there is that whole other side of the coin that recognizes that we need more Christian influence in Congress."

Wal-Mart Pharmacist Convicted For Religious Tirade To Customers

WBAY-TV reports that in LaCrosse, Wisconsin yesterday, former Wal-Mart pharmacist Neil Noesen was convicted by a jury on charges of obstruction, but acquitted on disorderly conduct charges. All the charges grow out of a disturbance he caused last July while working briefly at the Wal-Mart in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Noesen insisted on telling customers about his religious objections as a Catholic to the dispensing of birth control prescriptions. When he refused police orders to leave the store, he was taken out in a wheel chair. This is Noesen's fourth conviction on charges relating to his objections to dispensing contraceptive prescriptions and devices.

Pat Robertson Uses 700 Club To Attack "Americans United"

ABP News reports that controversial Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson yesterday used his 700 Club television show to launch an attack on Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United For Separation of Church and State. Robertson said, "Barry Lynn is so extreme, he has said that if a church is burning down, the city shouldn’t bring the fire department and trucks to spray water on the church because that violates separation of church and state." AU officials deny that this is Lynn's position. Robertson went on to claim that the ACLU had taken over Americans United, and described the ACLU in these terms: "The goal of the ACLU is to strip all religion from the public square. Why? Because the goal of the Communist Party was to weaken America, and they thought that they could weaken America if they took faith out of our public life. That's where it all came from, ladies and gentlemen." In a release by Americans United in response to the attack said "Robertson is not just factually wrong, but increasingly shrill and paranoid."

Chinese Christian Activists Meet With President Bush

Reuters and the Associated Press report that yesterday President George W. Bush met at the White House with Chinese Christian dissidents Yu Jie (an author), Li Baiguang (a legal scholar) and Wang Yi (a law professor and blogger). All three are active in China's underground Protestant church movement. The Chinese activists are attempting to use China's own constitution to liberalize its treatment of religion. The White House visitors said that they joined in prayer with Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before their meeting ended. The meeting was briefly mentioned in yesterday's press briefing aboard Air Force One.

Jury Convicts Priest In 1980 Murder Of Nun

In Toledo, Ohio today, a jury after deliberating for a total of 6 hours and 25 minutes convicted Catholic priest Gerald Robinson of the ritualistic murder 26 years ago of a nun, Sister Margaret Ann Pahl. (See prior postings 1, 2, 3 .) Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Osowik immediately sentenced Robinson to 15 years to life in prison. The Toledo Blade reports that defense attorneys plan an appeal.

Immediately after the verdict, Toledo Catholic Diocese Bishop Leonard Blair issued a statement saying, "Let us hope that the conclusion of the trial will bring some measure of healing for all those affected by the case as well as for our local church." He emphasized that Robinson is a retired priest who "continues to be barred from any public ministry." Local church officials expect that the Vatican will take some kind of additional action against Robinson.

WTOL News has a good summary of events leading up to the trial.

Israel's High Court Upholds Draft Exemptions For Yeshiva Students

Haaretz reports that in an 8-1 decision today, Israel's High Court of Justice rejected a challenge to the country's "Tal Law" which generally provides exemptions from military service for Orthodox Jewish yeshiva students engaged in Torah study. The Jerusalem Post, also reporting on the decision, describes how the law operates:. A student gets at least four years of guaranteed military deferment for yeshiva study. Then he may take one year off without being drafted to join the army, work or learn a trade. If the student then decides not to return to yeshiva, he performs a truncated period of military service and annual reserve duty.

While upholding the law, the High Court's majority criticized it as causing "serious harm to the human dignity of the majority who are obligated to do national service". Chief Justice Aharon Barak's decision said, however, that the problem needs to be solved by national consensus, not by a court ruling. The opinion suggested that if changes are not made, in the future the Court might find the law unconstitutional.

Graduation Prayer Initiative Launched

Liberty Counsel is distributing a Legal Memorandum On Graduation Prayers In Public Schools which suggests rather narrow interpretations of court prcedents banning prayer at graduation ceremonies. It says that public colleges and universities may invite clergy to deliver prayers at graduation ceremonies. In public middle, junior high and high schools, student or outside speakers chosen on neutral criteria can offer prayers, or make religious comments, if genuinely done on their own initiative. It also says that churches may sponsor baccalaureate services. Here is one interesting excerpt from the memo:

In [one] school, the valedictorian sneezed after giving the valedictory address. The students responded in unison, “God bless you.” Although this is a humorous way of acknowledging God during a ceremony, the Constitution does not require students to resort to such tactics in order to acknowledge God. When student speakers enter the podium during a graduation ceremony, they do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of expression, just like they do not shed this right when they enter the schoolhouse gate.

Last week, Liberty Counsel also announced that it was launching the "Friend or Foe Graduation Prayer Campaign" in cooperation with Dr. Jerry Falwell, the Founder and Chancellor of Liberty University. It will educate, and where necessary file suit, to vindicate speakers' right to deliver prayers or make religious comments at graduation ceremonies.

School Board Has Second Thoughts On Religious Literature Policy

After last month's approval of the first reading of policy permitting non-school-related "books and periodicals" including religious literature to be made available to high school students, the Brunswick (North Carolina) County Board of Education last week voted to table the measure. Yesterday's Brunswick Beacon reports that the decision was taken after the board met with legal counsel who told them that the proposed policy does not conform with the only court decision that permits religious material to be distributed. The board was apparently also concerned by the inquiries it was already receiving about distributing materials under the policy. Unitarian Universalists, Jehovah's Witnesses and Buddhists have already made inquiries, as has a group interested in distributing books on pagan religions.

Montreal School Accommodates Muslim Students Over Some Objections

In the Canadian province of Quebec, Montreal school officials have accommodated the religious needs of three Muslim high school girls by allowing them to take the required swimming test in physical education alone in the school's pool, shielded from the view of any men. The Toronto Star today reports that decision, opposed by the school's parent-teacher council, has created some controversy about the place of religion in Quebec's public institutions. However school officials say that the move is required by the Constitution and rulings of Canada's Supreme Court. Several Toronto public schools already set aside all-girls swim periods each week, as do other public pools in Jewish, Muslim and Sikh areas of Montreal.