Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
First Amendment Does Not Require Accommodation Of Job Applicant's Beliefs
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
New Jersey Chief Justice Nixes Fugitive Safe Surrender Program
In Cleveland, fugitives were greeted by volunteers who handed out water and pretzels, while sheriff's deputies ran their names through computerized databases. Then they met with a judge and a public defender in the church's library, and generally released on bond. The New Jersey Supreme Court, however, is concerned about court procedures taking place in a religious facility. It is also concerned that it would appear that the court was working on behalf of the prosecutor and was not neutral. The court offered to have a judge available at the courthouse to process the fugitives, but U.S. Marshall James Plousis said that is inconsistent with the underlying concept of the program.
GAO Report Reviews Faith-Based Initiative
Titled Faith-Based and Community Initiative: Improvements in Monitoring Grantees and Measuring Performance Could Enhance Accountability, the full report has just been posted on the GAO's website. Here is part of the Report Abstract:
Since 2001, federal agencies have awarded over $500 million through new grant programs to provide training and technical assistance to faith-based and community organizations and to increase the participation of these organizations in providing federally funded social services.... Most of the agencies provided grantees with an explicit statement on the safeguard prohibiting the use of direct federal funds for inherently religious activities. If these activities are offered, they must be offered separately in time or location from services provided with direct federal funds and must be voluntary for the beneficiary. However, we found that Justice's regulation and guidance related to these activities is unclear for its correctional programs. We also found that only four programs provided a statement on the rights of program beneficiaries and only three provided information on permissible hiring by FBOs.
While officials in all 26 FBOs [Faith Based Organizations] that we visited said that they understood that federal funds cannot be used for inherently religious activities, a few FBOs described activities that appeared to violate this safeguard. Four of the 13 FBOs that provided voluntary religious activities did not separate in time or location some religious activities from federally funded program services....
[I]t is unclear whether the data reported on grants awarded to FBOs provide policymakers with a sound basis to assess the progress of agencies in meeting the initiative's long-term goal of greater participation of faith-based and community organizations. Moreover, little information is available to assess progress toward another long-term goal of improving participant outcomes because outcome-based evaluations for many pilot programs have not begun.
Americans United Criticizes Upcoming House Vote On 2 Bills
UPDATE: On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed the Pledge Protection Act by a vote of 260-167. Here is the roll call vote. It now goes to the Senate where the Associated Press reports that its fate is uncertain. On Wednesday afternoon, the House also passed the bill authorizing the federal government to take title to the Soledad Veterans Memorial. The roll call vote was 349 yes; 74 no; 3 present. (10news.com report.)
Church Homeless Shelter Housing Code Trial Will Begin In Florida
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Recent Prisoner Decisions On Claims By Muslim and Atheist
In Kaufman v. Frank, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47840 (WD Wis., July 13, 2006), a state prison inmate who was an atheist claimed that his rights under the First Amendment and RLUIPA were violated by: (1) references to God in the Wisconsin Constitution; (2) a state statute granting inmates access to Bibles; (3) prohibitions on sex offenders changing their names; (4) the prison's refusal to allow him to possess a silver circle emblem representing Atheist beliefs; (5) its refusal to authorize study groups for atheist and agnostic inmates; and (6) its refusal to make donated atheist literature available in the prison library. The court permitted plaintiff to proceed only as to claims that the Establishment Clause was violated by the prison's making Christian literature, but not literature about atheism available, and its excluding free non-religious items and publications while permitting other inmates to receive free religious items and publications.
Retired Professor Wants Anti-Evolution Issue On Oshkosh Wisconsin Ballot
Evangelist Argues Lack of Jurisdiction After Indictment For Tax Fraud
Hovind is accused of paying employees of his Creation Science Ministry in cash and calling them missionaries to avoid withholding payroll and FICA taxes. His wife is also charged. For years Hovind has claimed that he is employed by God and has no income or property because everything he owns belongs to God. Hovind believes that man and dinosaurs inhabited the earth at the same time and has offered a $250,000 reward to anyone who can furnish satisfactory proof of evolution.
Muslim Group Claims Zoning Discrimination
Arkansas Supreme Court Dismisses Claims Against Parochial School As Involving Religious Doctrine
Monday, July 17, 2006
Religious Objections Impede Prosecution Of US Soldiers In Iraq Murder Case
Colorado City Will Limit Display To Christmas Trees
Suits Against Las Cruces For Using Crosses In City Logo Pending
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Minister In Congress Opposes Amendment To Ban Gay Marriage
US Senate Urges Russia To Protect Unregistered Religious Groups
Church Files RLUIPA Challenge In Southfield Michigan
Recent Law Review Articles Of Interest
Susan J. Becker, Many Are Chilled, But Few Are Frozen: How Transformative Learning in Popular Culture, Christianity, and Science Will Lead To the Eventual Demise of Legally Sanctioned Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities in the United States, 14 American University Journal of Gender Social Policy & the Law 177-252 (2006).
David S. Caudill, Arthur M. Goldberg Family Chair Lecture: Augustine and Calvin: Post-Modernism and Pluralism, 51 Villanova Law Review 299-309 (2006).
Jennifer L. Monk & Robert H. Tyler, The Application of Prior Restraint: An Alternative Doctrine for Religious Land Use Cases, 37 University of Toledo Law Review 747-779 (2006).
Gregory C. Pingree, Rhetorical Holy War: Polygamy, Homosexuallity, and the Paradox of Community and Autonomy.,14 American University Journal of Gender Social Policy & the Law 313-383 (2006).