Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Convicted Murderer Waives Appeals Partly for Religious Reasons
British Catholic Adoption Agency Becomes Secular To Avoid Gay Adoption Mandate
7th Circuit Upholds RLUIPA Claim; Concurrence Criticizes RLUIPA
Judge Evans concurred, but included in his opinion an interesting attack on RLUIPA:
Clearly, without RLUIPA, this case would have been dead in the water when it was filed because declining Koger’s request for a nonmeat diet would not have violated the United States Constitution....
Because Mr. Koger is out of prison... his request for injunctive relief is moot. And because he was in prison when the case arose, he must proceed under the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act, which takes compensatory and punitive damages off the table as he suffered no “physical injury” but only, at best, a “mental or emotional injury.” And that limits his recovery to nominal damages.
So when all is said and done, the State of Illinois has spent a lot of money defending this case for six years. Koger may end up with a dollar, and his lawyer, Jeffrey L.Oldham, who by the way has done an outstanding job, will get a limited amount of attorney’s fees. A waste of time? Some may disagree, but I lean towards saying “yes.”
Florida Chambers Pass Competing Bills On Teaching of Evolution
Malaysia Agency Rejects Prime Minister's Proposal On Conversions
Monday, April 28, 2008
Supreme Court Upholds Indiana Voter ID Law, But Majority Question Burden on Religious Objectors
Under Indiana's law, even though religious objectors may obtain state drivers licenses without a photo on them, these do not suffice for voting purposes. Those voters must cast a provisional ballot in every election, and then each time travel to the circuit court clerk's office within ten days and execute an affidavit. Justice Stevens, writing for three justices, said (at fn. 19):
Presumably most voters casting provisional ballots will be able to obtain photo identifications before the next election. It is, however, difficult to understand why the State should require voters with a faith-based objection to being photographed to cast provisional ballots subject to later verification in every election when the BMV is able to issue these citizens special licenses that enable them to drive without any photo identification.Justice Souter, writing in dissent for himself and Justice Ginsberg, said:
regardless of the interest the State may have in adopting a photo identification requirement as a general matter, that interest in no way necessitates the particular burdens the Voter ID Law imposes on poor people and religious objectors. Individuals unable to get photo identification are forced to travel to the county seat every time they wish to exercise the franchise, and they have to get there within 10 days of the election.... Nothing about the State's interest in fighting voter fraud justifies this requirement of a post-election trip to the county seat instead of some verification process at the polling places.Justice Breyer's dissent also found the burden on those lacking the required ID to be disproportionate, though his opinion focuses primarily on the burden imposed on indigents. On the other hand, Justice Scalia writing for himself, Justice Thomas and Justice Alito saw no problem in treating the ID requirement as merely a neutral law of general applicability for which the state is not required to create a religious exemption. The New York Times reports further on the decision. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]
Fellowship of Christian Athletes Sues Middle School After Field Trip Denial
Indian State Implements Anti-Conversion Law
Meanwhile, according to Zee News, near Mumbai on Sunday some 1,793 individuals underwent reconversion to Hinduism as part of a campaign by Narendra Maharaj who says he has reconverted over 42,000 people mainly in the tribal areas of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
9th Circuit Says School Can Require Relgious Clubs Be Open To All
Florida Commission Approves Constitutional Proposal For School Vouchers
Earlier this month, the voucher amendment fell one vote short of the 17 needed for its approval. However on Friday, 19 members of the Commission voted in favor of it, apparently in exchange for the Commission's also approving a proposed amendment that would lower property taxes by 25% and replace the lost revenue with other sources including an increased sales tax. Altogether, the Commission has approved seven constitutional amendments for the November ballot, including one that would repeal the state's "Blaine Amendment" ban on public financial aid to religious institutions. (See prior posting.)
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Japanese Man Charged For Dumping Buddhist Altar Beside Expressway
Episcopal Church Sues For Property of Break-Away California Diocese
FLDS Mothers Unsuccessful So Far In Seeking Return of Children
Meanwhile, Texas Rangers continue to investigate charges that the original call to authorities that led to the raid was not authentic. (See prior posting.) An arrest warrant (full text) has been issued for a Colorado Springs, CO woman, Rozita Swinton, who has a history of making false reports of abuse.
Meanwhile an AP story published Friday says that the breadth of the custody order issued in Texas raises constitutional issues. Jessica Dixon, director of SMU Law School's Child Advocacy Center described the order as an unprecedented "class-action child removal". Of particular concern is whether there was justification for removing the 130 children under five years of age, and the over two-dozen teenage boys, none of whom apparently had been the victims of abuse. Also apparently not all residents of the Ranch practiced polygamy. A Child Protective Services spokesman said that the state has no way to protect the young children from possible future abuse if they remain at the Ranch.
Birminghm, AL Mayor Holds Sackcloth and Ashes Prayer Rally to Fight Crime
UPDATE: Here is the full text of the mayor's Proclamation declaring the day for prayer in sackcloth and ashes. [Thanks to Dispatches From the Culture Wars for the lead.]
Florida Court Rejects Religious Defense To Unlicensed Midwifery Charges
Meanwhile Saturday's Houston Chronicle features a story about a Pennsylvania midwife who is appealing a cease and desist order issued against her by the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine. Diane Goslin served many in Pennsylvania's Amish community. She is a certified professional midwife, but not a nurse-midwife as required by Pennsylvania law. (See prior related posting.)
Friday, April 25, 2008
Utah Supreme Court Rejects Mission's Zoning Challenge On Procedural Grounds
Jewish Groups Diverge On Joining Church-State Brief
The brief was filed in American Atheists, Inc. v. City of Detroit Downtown Development Authority, a case challenging the disbursement of public beautification funds to three Detroit churches in an attempt to improve the external appearance of buildings in areas of the city prior to the 2006 Super Bowl. (See prior posting.) Marc Stern, AJCongress general counsel, said AJCongress did not participate because they believe that in light of recent precedents allowing greater church-state interaction the challenge to city funding will be unsuccessful. Americans United issued a release describing the brief which asserts in part: "The lessons of history are compelling: Governmental aid to construct and maintain houses of worship degrades religion and distorts government."
Today is "Day of Silence"; 7th Circuit Allows "Day of Truth" T-Shirt
For the past four years, the Alliance Defense Fund has sponsored a "Day of Truth" on the school day following Day of Silence. This year that is April 28. The Day of Truth website says the event "was established to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective." Sponsors encourage students to wear T-shirts and hand out cards in class with their counter-message.
Just in time for this year's dueling events, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Nuxoll v. Indian Prairie School District #204, (7th Cir., April 23, 2008), a case growing out of an Illinois high school's limits on messages that could be displayed on Day of Truth T-shirts. Messages could be positive ones, but not negative ones that impugned another group. The court approved a preliminary injunction limited to permitting plaintiff to stencil the slogan "Be Happy, Not Gay" on his T-shirt this year. Judge Posner's majority opinion said even this might be shown to be improper after a fuller record is developed in the case. Judge Rovner concurred, writing an opinion indicating that she had a broader view of permissible student speech. Alliance Defense Fund issued a release praising the decision, as did the ACLU of Illinois. (See prior posting.) [corrected].
White House Holds Summit On Faith-Based Inner-City Schools
Pelosi Challenged On Her Earth Day Biblical Quote
UPDATE: Get Religion on Friday commented on CNS's coverage of Pelosi's remarks, quibbling primarily about the story's failure to emphasize tbe Biblical motivation of many environmentalists.