FLDS Proceedings Costly To State; Investigations Continue

CNN reported yesterday that it has cost Texas well over $7 million to remove FLDS children from the YFZ Ranch, litigate the case and eventually return the children. The state spent $5.2 million to provide food, shelter and counseling (mostly employee overtime and transportation.) As of May 20, legal costs for the state exceeded $2.2 million, with the burden falling mainly on two county governments. Additional appeals took place after that. Meanwhile WFFA News reports that the investigation continues and that criminal charges against some FLDS men are possible. In a Findlaw column yesterday, law professor Marci Hamilton pointed out that the Texas Supreme Court decision returning the children to their parents made it clear that the state has broad continuing jurisdiction in the case.

Former Screen Star Convicted By French Court of Inciting Hatred

Former screen star, now animal rights activist, Brigitte Bardot yesterday was fined over $23,000 by a French court for provoking discrimination and racial hatred against Muslims. She was also ordered to pay $1,555 in damages to MRAP, a French anti-racism group. According to reports by AP and AHN, the case grew out of a letter she wrote in December 2006 to then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and which she subsequently published her foundation's quarterly journal. The letter objected to the slaughter of sheep by Muslims for the feast of Eid el-Kebir (also known as Eid al-Adha) and said that France is "tired of being led by the nose by this population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts." The court also ordered that the court's opinion be published in the newsletter of Bardot's animal rights foundation. This is the fifth time in eleven years that Bardot has been convicted of inciting racial hatred.

California University Lets Quaker Attach Explanation To Loyalty Oath

California State University at Fullerton has agreed to allow a Quaker instructor to attach an addendum to California's requied loyalty oath. Yesterday's Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Wendy Gonaver, a lecturer in American studies who was terminated last fall when she refused to sign the oath, has now reached an agreement with the University after negotiations on her behalf by People for the American Way. The addendum indicates that while Gonaver will abide by the oath, she objects to the compulsion in signing it. It concludes: "as a Quaker, in order to sign the oath in good conscience, I must also state that I do not promise or undertake to bear arms or otherwise engage in violence, and I have been assured by CSU that my oath will not be construed to require me to do so."

A joint press release by the University and PFAW says: "CSU is committed to working with individual employees to accommodate their religious beliefs in order to allow them to sign the oath," so long as the arrangement "does not undermine or qualify the oath." (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Canadian Provincial AG Again Considering Charges Against FLDS

Despite recommendations by two earlier special prosecutors that charges not be filed until the law is clarified, the Canadian Press reported yesterday that British Columbia Attorney General Wally Oppal is appointing yet another special prosecutor to determine whether polygamy and sexual abuse charges should be brought against members of the FLDS community in Bountiful, B.C. One of the children taken into custody by Texas officials after their raid on an FLDS compound was a teen age girl from Bountiful. Attorney Terrence Robertson has been appointed to the special prosecutor position. (See prior related posting.)

Consent Judgment Entered In Louisiana Gideon Bible Case

A Consent Judgment (full text) has been entered by a Louisiana federal district court in Roe v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board, (ED LA, May 28, 2008). The decree concluded that distribution of Gideon Bibles at Loranger Middle School violated the Establishment Clause. It ordered school officials "to refrain from allowing, participating in and/or encouraging the distribution of Bibles, or other religious materials, to elementary school children within the jurisdiction of the Tangipahoa Parish School System, on school property." It also awarded plaintiffs nominal damages and attorneys' fees. Yesterday's Advocate reported on the court's action. The consent decree means that school officials will not appeal to the 5th Circuit to try to overturn the district court's earlier decision finding an Establishment Clause violation. (See prior related posting).

Interview With Head of Saudi Virtue Commission Published

The Arabic International Daily Asharq Alawsat yesterday published a rare interview with Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, head of Saudi Arabia's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Al-Ghaith gave this summary of the Commission's work in 2006:

The presidency of the commission conducted more than 47,500 awareness and guidance programs that consisted of symposiums, panels, and guidance lectures and distributed more than 7,830,000 pamphlets and audio cassettes. Through its various branches and centers, the presidency of the commission arranged more than 60,940 cooperation visits and contacts. All this is within the realm of the first part of the commission's mission; namely, the promotion of virtue.

As for the second part, namely, the prevention of vice, about 416,000 cases were dealt with the number of persons involved in these cases was 434,000 individuals (that is 2% of the population of Saudi Arabia if the number of citizens and residents is over 22 million persons). The unpublicized cases that ended with pledges [not to commit the offense again] in order to protect the reputation of the perpetrator involved about 392,000 individuals, that is, about 90%. About 42,000individuals, that is, about 10% were referred to the quarters concerned. These percentages show very clearly that the purpose of the commission is to reform and correct. This is the approach that all the members of the commission take. No one is referred to the quarters concerned unless we see that such a referral is unavoidable.

The lengthy interview also covers a number of other topics including various complaints about the Commission's operations.

Court Denies Preliminary Injunction To Yoko Ono In Suit Over Anti-Evolution Film

Yesterday in Yoko Ono Lennon v. Premise Media Corp., (SDNY, June 2, 2008), a New York federal district court refused to grant a preliminary injunction to Yoko Ono in her copyright infringement suit over use of a 15-second excerpt from a John Lennon song in the film "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed". Yesterday's International Herald Tribune and Wall Street Journal Law Blog both report on the decision relating to music and lyrics from the song "Imagine". The movie claims academic suppression of supporters of Intelligent Design theory. In denying the preliminary injunction, the court held that defendants are likely to succeed on their "fair use" defense. (See prior related posting.)

Scalia Addresses Orthodox Jewish Group On Church-State Issues

The New York Sun reports on a speech given Sunday night by Justice Antonin Scalia to the annual dinner of the Agudath Israel of America. He said that the Constitution should not be read to "banish the Almighty from the public forum." He also complained about the Supreme Court's recent rulings that government cannot favor religion over non-religion, saying that this does not, represent American tradition. Extensive photos of the event are available on Yeshiva World News. An audio recording of Scalia's full speech is available online from JBlog.Central.

Trial Judge Orders FLDS Children Released, Subject to Restrictions

In San Angelo, Texas, Judge Barbara Walther signed an order this morning allowing mothers of around 450 FLDS children to take the children back from shelters across the state at which they were being held in state custody. Today's San Angelo Standard-Times reports that the order places substantial restrictions on the parents and children while the Department of Family and Protective Services carries out an investigation of alleged sexual abuse on the YFZ Ranch. The order prohibits the children from leaving the state, requires parents to keep DFPS informed of their address and permits state officials to make unannounced visits any day between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The court also granted an emergency stay of its order as to a 16-year old girl who is the daughter of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. A separate arrangement with tighter restrictions is being negotiated in her case.

UPDATE: The full text of Judge Walther's order is now available online. Also today, according to the Standard-Times, FLDS spokesman Willie Jessop said that FLDS policy will now be to bar any girl from marrying who is not of the legal consent age in the state where she lives. The group will counsel members against such marriages.

Danish Embassy In Pakistan Bombed, Apparently Over Muhammad Cartoons

AFP reports that today a suicide bomber blew up a car outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 8 and wounding 30. While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, authorities say it was likely linked to caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that were originally published in Danish newspapers in 2005. Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri have urged attacks on Danish targets in retaliation for the cartoons.

5th Circuit Rules In Favor of Odinist Prisoner

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last week reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment and remanded the free exercise and RLUIPA claims of a Texas prisoner who practices the Odinist/Asatru faith. In Mayfield v. Texas Department of Criminal Justice, (5th Cir., May 30, 2008), the court first held that the 11th Amendment does not bar declaratory and injunctive relief against prison officials. The court then concluded that disputed issues of fact remain that could lead to plaintiff''s successful challenge of TDCJ's policy that prevents Odinists from assembling for religious services in the absence of an outside volunteer and its policy that prevents Odinists from personally possessing runestones and accessing rune literature .

Recent Articles Of Interest

From SSRN:

• Ran Hirschl, The Theocratic Challenge to Constitution Drafting in Post-Conflict States, (William & Mary Law Review, Vol. 49, No. 4, 2008 ).
• Catherine J. Ross, Children and Religious Expression in School: A Comparative Treatment of the Veil and Other Religious Symbols in Western Democracies, (May 25, 2008).
• Vincent Martin Bonventre, The Fall of Free Exercise: From 'No Law' to Compelling Interests to Any Law Otherwise Valid, (Albany Law Review, Vol. 70, No. 4, 2007).
• Thom Brooks, The Capabilities Approach, Religious Practices, and the Importance of Recognition, (May 27, 2008).
• Samuel Moyn, Jacques Maritain, Christian New Order, and the Birth of Human Rights, (May 1, 2008).
• John E. Taylor, Why Student Religious Speech is Speech, (West Virginia Law Review, Vol. 110, No. 1, 2007).

From SmartCILP:

• Phillip C. Aka, Assessing the Constitutionality of President George W. Bush's Faith-Based Initiatives, 9 Journal of Law In Society 53-110 (2008).
• Symposium. Fifteenth Annual Society of Catholic Social Scientists Meeting. 47 Journal of Catholic Legal Studies 1-190 (2008).

Christian Students' Suit Against Washington School Settled

Alliance Defense Fund announced last Thursday that it had reached a settlement with Washington state's East Valley School District in a suit ADF had filed in March challenging East Valley High School's refusal to allow a group of Christian students to meet in an empty room during lunch hour. (See prior posting.) The Notice of Voluntary Dismissal says that school officials have decided to allow the students to meet on the same terms as other groups. The school also changed its policy that prohibited “[r]eligious services, programs or assemblies . . . in school facilities” so that it clearly applies only to school-sponsored religious programs not to private religious speech.

Preachers Told Not To Proselytize In Muslim Area of British City

London's Daily Mail today reports that two Christian preachers say the West Midlands Police in the British city of Birmingham violated their freedom of expression protected by the Human Rights Act. A Muslim police community support officer ordered the preachers to stop handing out Bible extracts in a Muslim area of the city. He told Americans Arthur Cunningham and Joseph Abraham that it was a hate crime to try to convert Muslims to Christianity. The preachers are demanding an apology and compensation, or else they threaten to sue. West Midlands police say the officer acted with good intentions in diffusing a heated argument between two groups of men. The incident arises as some are expressing increased concern over supposed Islamic "no-go areas."

Court Dismisses Free Exercise Claims Against Private Actors

In Palm v. Sisters of Charity Health System, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42287 (D ME, May 29, 2008), a Maine federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of a claim that doctors were discriminating against believers in the "Bible Code" when they involuntarily committed plaintiff to a private hospital. The court said that claims of a conspiracy to violate free exercise rights brought under 42 U.S.C. 1985(3) and 42 U.S.C. 1986, as well as civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983, should be dismissed because defendants are not state actors.

Kuwait MPs Protest Women Cabinet Members Not Wearing Headscarves

AP reported yesterday that nine Islamic members of Kuwait's newly-elected Parliament walked out in protest when two women Cabinet members being sworn in were not wearing headscarves or the long dresses that Islamists say are religiously required. The nine men returned after Modhi al-Homoud and Nouria al-Subeih took their oaths of office. Now 24 of the 50 members of Kuwait's Parliament are religious hard liners.

Saudi Law Could Sentence Man To Death For Profanity

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, a Turkish barber who cuts hair in the city has been in jail for 13 months for using a profanity that takes God's name in vain. Sabri Bogday cursed during an argument with a neighbor. The neighbor reported Bogday to the police. While Turkey's president Abdullah Gul has sought Bogday's release, some Saudi judges consider his offense to be heresy and infidelity, punishable by death. Other judges however treat this merely as disbelief which allows the offender to obtain release by retracting what he has said and repenting.

UPDATE: A different Turkish barber, Ersin Taze, who was arrested by Saudi authorities over a month ago for slandering the Prophet Muhammad, has been released. M&C (June 5) reports that the Turkish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Naci Koru, said that a Saudi court dismissed the case for lack of evidence.

Times Public Editor Says Columnist Was Wrong On Obama As Apostate

Today's New York Times carries a piece by Public Editor Clark Hoyt criticizing a May 12 op-ed by Edward N. Luttwak titled President Apostate? The Public Editor wrote:

ON May 12, The Times published an Op-Ed article by Edward N. Luttwak, a military historian, who argued that any hopes that a President Barack Obama might improve relations with the Muslim world were unrealistic because Muslims would be “horrified” once they learned that Obama had abandoned the Islam of his father and embraced Christianity as a young adult.

Under “Muslim law as it is universally understood,” Luttwak wrote, Obama was born a Muslim, and his “conversion” to Christianity was an act of apostasy, a capital offense and “the worst of all crimes that a Muslim can commit.”

..... Did Luttwak cross the line from fair argument to falsehood? Did Times editors fail to adequately check his facts before publishing his article? Did The Times owe readers a contrasting point of view?

I interviewed five Islamic scholars, at five American universities, recommended by a variety of sources as experts in the field. All of them said that Luttwak’s interpretation of Islamic law was wrong.

Yuma Church Sues Over Zoning Denial

Last week in Yuma, Arizona, a federal lawsuit was filed challenging the denial of a conditional use permit to Centro Familiar Cristiano Buenos Nuevas Christian Church that wished to operate in the city's Old Town Historic Zoning District. Last Thursday's Yuma Sun reports that the permit was denied after opponents expressed concern about the impact the church would have on the redevelopment of the area. The complaint (full text) alleges: "The City of Yuma Planning & Zoning Commission denied the application because the Church, as a religious assembly, did not fit within its concept of a use that would promote economic growth in the downtown area. The Plaintiffs have brought this suit because Yuma’s denial violates the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, several provisions of the federal Constitution, and Arizona’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act." In a release on the case, Alliance Defense Fund says :"The zoning code at issue allows membership groups and theaters to locate in the district while specifically excluding religious organizations."

US Marine Removed After Proselytizing Muslims In Fallujah

The AP reported yesterday that a Marine in Iraq was removed from duty after it was disclosed that he had passed out coins promoting Christianity to Sunni Muslims in the strongly religious city of Fallujah. One side of the coin read: "Where will you spend eternity?" The other side read: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16." The incident could heighten tensions over a proposed long-term security agreement between the U.S. and Iraq. Sheik Abdul-Rahman al-Zubaie criticized the Marine's actions, saying: "This event did not happen by chance, but it was planned and done intentionally. The Sunni population cannot accept and endure such a thing. I might not be able to control people's reactions if such incidents keep happening." [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]