Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
New York's Hate Crime Provisions Upheld In Recently Released Opinion
Scientology and Its Leaders In France Go On Trial For Fraud
The indictment by the investigating magistrate charges Scientology is a commercial business that runs a deliberately manipulative system which exploits vulnerable people. Scientology's lawyer says: "It's a trial for heresy: this could only happen in France..." If convicted, the individual defendants each face a possible 1 million Euro fine 10 years in prison. The Celebrity Centre and bookshop could be fined $5 million Euros and closed down in France.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Memorial Day Proclaimed As Day of Prayer For Veterans and Peace
(1) calling on the people of the United States to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace;On Friday, President Obama issued a Proclamation, "Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2009" (full text), providing in part:
(2) designating a period of time on Memorial Day during which the people may unite in prayer for a permanent peace;
(3) calling on the people of the United States to unite in prayer at that time; and
(4) calling on the media to join in observing Memorial Day and the period of prayer.
As we remember the selfless service of our fallen heroes, we pray for God's grace upon them. We also pray for all of our military personnel and veterans, their families, and all those who have lost loved ones in the defense of our freedom and safety....
I ... do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 25, 2009, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time to unite in prayer.
Episcopal Church and Break-Away Diocese Litigate Over Retainer Paid To Counsel
Back in 2007, the Diocesan Council paid $500,000 as an advance on legal fees to its law firm, Wild, Carter & Tipton of Fresno, California, in anticipation of litigation that might be filed over property ownership. After the break-off, ECUSA appointed new officials to continue as the Episcopal diocese. They sued the law firm for declaratory relief and to recover the advanced attorneys' fees, invoking several theories of wrongful transfer. The court dismissed most of them, invoking the rule that an agent cannot conspire with its own principal. The court concluded, however, that the claim the transfer was a fraudulent conveyance could succeed, but only if ECUSA is able to prove its allegation that the transfer of funds was undertaken with the intent to injure ECUSA and that the Diocese did not receive reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the fund transfer.
Recent Articles of Interest
- Zachary R. Calo, The Internationalization of Church-State Issues, (Church and State Issues in America Today, 3 Volumes, Ann W. Duncan & Steven L. Jones, eds., Praeger Publishers, 2008).
- Eric Segall, Mired in the Marsh: Legislative Prayers, Moments of Silence, and the Establishment Clause, (Forthcoming, University of Miami Law Review, 2009).
- Zachary R. Calo, 'The New Internationals': Human Rights and American Evangelicalism, (Is the Good Book Enough?, David K. Ryden, ed, Forthcoming).
- Jeffrey R. Baker, Whom Would Jesus Cover? A Biblical, Ethical Lens for the Contemporary American Health Care Debate, (Journal of Law & Health, Vol. 23, Fall 2009).
From SmartCILP:
- Darshan Brach, Logic for the Magic of Mindful Negotiation, 24 Negotiation Journal 25-44 (2008).
- Samuel J. Levine, Louis Marshall, Julius Henry Cohen, Benjamin Cardozo, and the New York Emergency Rent Laws of 1920: A Case Study in the Role of Jewish Lawyers and Jewish Law in Early Twentieth Century Public Interest Litigation, 33 Journal of the Legal Profession 1-29 (2008).
- Robert Steinbuch, Kidneys, Cash, and Kashrut: A Legal, Economic, and Religious Analysis of Selling Kidneys, 45 Houston Law Review 1529-1607 (2009).
- Adrien Katherine Wing, International Law, Secularism, and the Islamic World, 24 American University International Law Review 407-428 (2009).
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Somalia Moves Toward Sufi vs. Shabab Warfare
Court Upholds Montana Law School's Refusal To Fund Christian Legal Society
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Florer v. Johnson, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41960 (WD WA, May 4, 2009), a Washington federal magistrate judge granted plaintiff leave to amend his complaint to allege that that the 2004, 2006 and 2008 kosher and mainline dietary menus offered by the Washington Department of Corrections were nutritionally and religiously inadequate. It rejected defendants' claims that the amended complaints were barred by res judicata.
In Trotter v. Schwarzennegger, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41554 (ED CA, May 5, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed a prisoner's complaint alleging a lack of religious programs at his prison.
Objections To Religious References At Trial of Juvenile Not Preserved For Appeal
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Wisconsin Jury Convicts Mother Who Relied on Faith Healing of Homicide
Connecticut High Court Orders Release of Documents In Clergy Abuse Cases
Defendant Sentenced To 10 Years For Pot Farm; Religious Defense Found Insincere
In Greece, Young Muslims Violently Protest Ripping of Quran By Policeman
Inspector General Reports on 2004 IRS Exams of Non-Profit Political Activities
For the 2004 Initiative, the IRS opened 110 examinations.... Examinations most often were initiated after referrals were received from sources external to the IRS and were almost evenly distributed between churches and charities. The examinations mainly concerned tax-exempt organizations that had allegedly been involved in a single instance of potentially prohibited political intervention and involved issues/campaigns at the national level slightly more than at the State and local level. In addition, examinations involved a wide array of issues, such as distribution of printed and electronic information, as well as verbal statements and direct political contributions....
As of November 2008, the IRS' inventory system showed that the IRS had substantiated prohibited political activity in 76 (71 percent) of the 107 examinations it had completed. While reviewing case information, we found that this number was overstated. Based on our review of case files, the IRS incorrectly coded 14 cases as involving violations of the political intervention prohibition when no violations occurred. While the data still shows that a majority of examinations resulted in the IRS determining that tax-exempt organizations had violated the prohibition, it is important that this information be accurate because it is reported to external stakeholders. We determined that the incorrect coding was due to confusion over how to classify case results on the inventory system.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Liberty University Revokes Recognition of College Democrats
"That club still has the right to exist," Falwell said, although it cannot use the university’s name in its activities. "They still can meet on campus," in certain rooms, he said. "There is absolutely no animosity at all toward any of these kids. They are good, Christian kids who sit with me at ball games. I just hope they find a pro-life family organization to affiliate with so they can be endorsed by Liberty again."Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine issued a statement on Democratic national Committee letterhead urging the University to reverse its decision. [Thanks to both Don Byrd and Bob Ritter for the lead.]
Senate Passes Resolution Remembering M.S. St. Louis Anniversary
California Law Protects Closed Church From Landmarking
Court Refuses To Decide RLUIPA Claim On Ripeness Grounds
Over ten years have passed since the City denied plaintiff's CUP application, and the Congregation has recently filed a second application, which the City is currently considering. This second CUP application presents the first opportunity for the City to consider the Congregation's request in light of RLUIPA..... [G]ranting of the second CUP application would moot the instant action. Furthermore, it does not appear that the Congregation will be immediately harmed by the Court's decision to dismiss the instant action on ripeness grounds. The City has not taken any action to date to enforce the original denial of the CUP.... [T]he threat of hardship to the Congregation remains speculative.