Court Tentatively Holds High School Student Not Liable For Teacher's Attorneys' Fees

While high school student Chad Farnan was found liable for court costs in the aftermath of his lawsuit against his high school history teacher who he accused of making anti-Christian remarks (see prior posting), in a preliminary ruling last Friday a Californa federal court concluded that he is not liable for his teacher's $378,000 of attorneys' fees. According to yesterday's Orange County Register, the court held that Farnan's suit was not a frivolous, baseless or vexatious claim justifying an award of attorneys fees under 42 USC Sec. 1988. (Background.) In the suit, the court found that one remark by the teacher violated the Establishment Clause, but Farnan was entitled to neither damages nor injunctive relief. A hearing was scheduled for yesterday for the parties to respond to the proposed decision on fees before the court finalizes its opinion.

French Busineses Have Concerns Over Accommodating Muslim Religious Practices

Europe News yesterday reports on difficulties faced by companies in France as they are increasingly asked to accommodate religious needs of Muslim employees. Many managers oppose employees wearing head scarves. Larger companies have set up prayer rooms. When significant numbers of employees seek to take time off for Eid, some companies face staffing problems. The most accepted kinds of accommodation involve Ramadan. Often schedules are adjusted, long breaks are provided to break the fast and restaurants remain open later, offering halal soup, milk and fruit. France's anti-discrimination agency has ruled that religious accommodation can be refused only if it would interfere with providing business services.

Federal Magistrate Says Sectarian Invocations Violate Establishment Clause

In Joyner v. Forsyth County, North Carolina, (MD NC, Nov. 9, 2009), a federal magistrate judge recommended that the court issue a declaratory judgment finding that sectarian invocations opening Forsyth County Board of Commissioners meetings violate the Establishment Clause. While the county's official policy called for inviting clergy from all congregations with a presence in the local community, in application invocations referred to Jesus in an overwhelming number of cases. Non-Christian deities were never invoked. The court concluded that while the selection process strives to include a wide variety of speakers from diverse religious faiths, "it is the prayers themselves that the public 'sees and hears,' not the selection policy." ACLU of North Carolina issued a press release saying that it is "pleased today for our clients and all religious minorities in Forsyth County who have felt shut out and alienated by their own government because of its public stance in favor of Christianity." Yesterday's Winston-Salem Journal reported on the decision.

Board Fires Head of "Feed the Children"

The board of the Christian charity, Feed the Children, has terminated its president, Larry Jones, according to a report yesterday in the Christian Post. For the last year, a power struggle has been going on between Jones and the charity's board of directors. Last December Jones removed several directors, including his daughter Lari Sue Jones. They sued and a judge ordered them reinstated. Larry Jones placed microphones in their offices before they returned, though apparently he never obtained recording equipment to use with them. Jones' attorney says the microphones were to record conversations between Jones and the directors who Jones felt in the past had misrepresented him. The board's announcement gave no reasons for Jones' dismissal, but Jones says he believes it is because he obtained a court order this week temporarily barring the directors from using organizational funds to pay for legal fees. Jones plans to file a lawsuit next week challenging his dismissal.

2009 "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign" Launched By Liberty Counsel

Liberty Counsel announced today that it is launching its Seventh Annual "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign." The campaign is designed to encourage government officials, schools and private businesses to explicitly recognize and publicly celebrate Christmas. A page on the group's website features two legal memos, one on public Christmas celebrations and the other on celebrating Christmas in the workplace. It also offers buttons and bumper stickers, sample ads, and links to Liberty Counsel's "Naughty & Nice List". That list names retailers who either celebrate Christmas or, on the other hand, merely use generic "holiday season" references. This year, the Christian Educators Association International is joining in the "Friend or Foe" campaign.

Muslim Soldiers In US Military Face Complex Situation

In the wake of the shootings at Ft. Hood, Texas by Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, today's New York Times explores the complications facing Muslims serving in the U.S. military. The military has been actively recruiting Muslims with the linguistic skills and cultural understanding needed to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However Muslims in the service face suspicion by some of their officers. Muslim soldiers are concerned about killing fellow Muslims in fighting and they hear condemnations of such killing in their mosques when they return from service. Adding to these issues is the discomfort when fellow soldiers use demeaning anti-Muslim terms to describe the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan.

House Health Care Bill Tracks FICA Exemption For Religious Objectors

The House version of the health care bill passed Saturday, HR 3962, imposes a 2.5% penalty tax on anyone who fails to obtain acceptable health care coverage. (Internal Revenue Code Sec. 59B(a) [pg. 297 of PDF]). However the bill does provide a "conscience exemption" for members of religious sects whose tenets reject insurance benefits. The exemption in Section 501of the bill [IRC Sec. 59B(c)(5) at pg. 299 of PDF] tracks the exemption from payment of social security and self-employment taxes for members of groups such as the Old Order Amish, described in Section 1402(g) of the Internal Revenue Code. (See prior related posting.)

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• See Hoon Peow, History of Islamic Law in Malaysia - A Critical Reconsideration ,(November 1, 2009).
• Andrew F. March, The Uses of Fitra (Human Nature) in the Legal and Political Theory of ‘Allal Al-Fasi: Natural Law or 'Taking People as They Are'?, (November 4, 2009).
• Robert A. Kahn, Flemming Rose, the Danish Cartoon Controversy, and the New European Freedom of Speech, (U of St. Thomas Legal Studies Research Paper No. 09-24 (Oct. 2009)).
• Marci A. Hamilton, The Constitutional Limitations on Congress's Power Over Local Land Use: Why the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act is Unconstitutional, (July 31, 2009).
• Geoffrey P. Miller, Origin of Obligation: Genesis 2:4b-3:24, (NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 09-60 (Oct. 2009)).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• Gregory C. Downs, Religious Liberty That Almost Wasn't: On the Origin of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, 30 University of Arkansas Little Rock Law Review 19-29 (2007).
• Shannon McSheffrey, Sanctuary and the Legal Topography of Pre-Reformation London, 27 Law & History Review 483-514 (2009).
• Najwa Shihab & Yanuar Nugroho, The Ties That Bind: Law, Islamisation and Indonesia's Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), [abstract], 10 Australian Journal of Asian Law 233-267 (2008).
• Karin Carmit Yefet, What's the Constitution Got To Do With It? Regulating Marriage in Pakistan, 16 Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy 347-377 (2009).
• Steven H. Sholk, A Guide To Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations-- 2009 Edition, in PLI Course Handbook for Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Joint Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings (2009).

Some Israeli Marriage Registrars Refuse To Accept Conversions By Chief Rabbinate

YNet News today reports that particularly in the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Rishon LeTzion, marriage registrars employed by Israel's Chief Rabbinate are refusing to recognize the legitimacy of conversions to Judaism performed by the Chief Rabbinate for many immigrants during their military service in the IDF. Apparently at a meeting of chief rabbis of various Israeli cities three months ago, ultra-Orthodox members urged cities to refuse to accept the validity of Orthodox conversions where, subsequently, the individual involved does not observe all aspects of Jewish religious law. Marriage registrars who disagree with the more liberal conversion policy applied by the Chief Rabbinate following the report of the Ne'eman Committee in 1998 are advising couples to register in another city. (See prior related posting.)

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Rider v. Yates, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101009 (ED CA, Oct. 27, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge recommended that an inmate be permitted to move ahead with a free exercise, due process, equal protection and RLUIPA challenge to the destruction of his copy of The Book of Shadows, a sacred Satanist text. However the court found insufficient allegations regarding a discriminatory policy against pagans.

In Collins v. Levenhagen, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101390 (ND IN, Oct. 29, 2009), an Indiana federal district judge rejected an inmate's claim that his free exercise rights and his rights under RLUIPA were infringed when Native American religious services were scheduled on Wednesdays at the same time he voluntarily worked in a prison job.

Bowen v. Florida Parole Commission, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102880 (MD FL, Oct. 20, 2009), was a habeas corpus action brought by an inmate who was re-imprisoned for violating the conditions of his early release. A Florida federal district judge held that the habeas action was not the proper mode for considering plaintiff's claim that his free exercise rights had been violated by the requirement that he use no alcohol or intoxicants. Plaintiff, a Catholic, argued that this prevented him from taking wine during communion. Plaintiff's rearrest was not based on a violation of this condition, but instead on violations of other conditions of his release.

In Pappas v. Oakland County, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102946 (ED MI, Nov. 5, 2009), a Michigan federal district court accepted the recommendation of a federal magistrate judge (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102951, Oct. 15, 2009), to dismiss a claim against the county by an inmate who alleged that while in a special jail unit for at-risk inmates, he was denied the opportunity to attend church services.

Abuse Victims Agree To Delay In Trials Against Delaware Catholic Parishes

On Friday, according to AP, attorneys in 78 clergy abuse lawsuits that have been filed in Delaware agreed to delay going to trial. The suits name the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and various parishes. The Diocese recently filed for bankruptcy (see prior posting) and a stay was placed on litigation against it. However the bankruptcy filing did not cover parishes that were named as co-defendants. Friday's agreement extends the delay in litigation to them as well, though not to five cases in which the diocese is not a co-defendant. In exchange, the diocese agreed to furnish plaintiffs with the personnel files of a dozen suspected priests, and to disclose information on liability insurance coverage. The agreement will allow the diocese to focus on the bankruptcy proceedings. Plaintiffs will be allowed to take depositions from seven of the accused priests in January, and the trial in a suit by one gravely ill victim is proceeding.

House Passes Health Care Bill With Anti-Abortion Funding Amendment

In an historic vote tonight, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act by a vote of 220-215. (New York Times.) Paving the way for the favorable vote was the passage of the Stupak-Ellsworth-Pitts-Kaptur-Dahlkemper-Lipinski-Smith Amendment (full text) by a vote of 240-194. (Christian Science Monitor background.) That amendment assures that federal funds will not be used to pay for abortions (except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother). Abortion coverage will be available through non-subsidized private health plans. Supplemental policies may be purchased with an individual's own funds or with state or local funds other than state or local matching Medicaid funds. Any private company offering an unsubsidized plan through the insurance Exchange that covers abortion must also offer an identical plan that excludes abortion coverage. In letters to members of Congress today, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly supported the amendment. [Updated.]

New Book Suggests British Catholic Royals Would Have Place to Pray

According to Friday's London Telegraph, a forthcoming book has created a stir in Britain by arguing that Queen's Chapel, built between 1623 and 1625 as part of St. James Palace, is still legally available for use as a Catholic church by any member of the Royal Family that should desire to do so, despite the 1701 Act of Settlement that bars a British monarch from being a member of the Catholic Church or marrying a Catholic. Author David Baldwin argues in his book, Royal Prayer, that the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1661 is still in force. Negotiated in anticipation of the marriage of Charles II to Catherine of Braganza , the treaty provides: "Her Majesty and whole Family shall enjoy the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, and to that purpose shall have a Chapel, or some other place, set apart for the exercise thereof."

Christian Group Lacks Standing To Vacate Florida School's Consent Decree

A Florida federal district judge has largely rejected an attempt by the Christian Educators Association International to challenge the high profile and contentious consent decree entered into in March by the Santa Rosa County Florida school board to settle litigation brought by the ACLU challenging religious practices in the county's schools. (See prior posting.) In Minor Doe I v. School Board for Santa Rosa County, Florida, (ND FL, Oct 30, 2009), the court held that Christian Educators lacks standing to seek to totally vacate the consent decree because neither the organization nor its members suffered a legal injury that would be remedied by permitting the schools to again violate the Establishment Clause. The court postponed for a hearing next month the question of whether the organization could show it has standing to seek a modification of the consent decree on the ground that it impacts the free speech or free exercise rights of teachers or employees. Today's Pensacola News-Journal reports on the court's decision.

Pennsylvania County Plans To Tax Closed Church Builidings

Today's Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times-Leader reports that Luzerne (PA) County officials are likely to follow the lead of several other Pennsylvania counties and remove the property tax exemption from closed churches and religious schools. Pennsylvania's tax code allows exemptions only for "actual places of regularly stated religious worship." (72 P.S. § 5453.202 [LEXIS link]). The new policy will primarily impact the Catholic Diocese of Scranton which is closing 45 churches plus some schools in the county. The move will likely lead to disagreements over the value of the closed buildings. After Northampton and Carbon counties took similar steps, the Diocese of Allentown filed suit claiming that the buildings remain exempt under a provision exempting owned by institutions of public charity.

Teacher Sues Arguing Fingerprint Requirement Violates Her Free Exercise Rights

A kindergarten teacher in Dallardsville, Texas, has filed suit challenging a provision added to the Texas Education Code in 2007 (S.B. 9) requiring school teachers to submit their fingerprint so that a criminal background check can be run on them. The complaint (full text) in McLaurin v. Texas Education Agency, (ED TX, filed 10/30/2009), alleges that teacher Pam McLaurin, who has been teaching for over 20 years, is a devout Christian and believes that submitting a fingerprint is barred by verses in the Book of Revelations that caution against receiving the mark of the beast. Plaintiff claims that the requirement is unconstitutional under the free exercise and due process clauses, and violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Courthouse News reports on the case. [Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw for the lead.]

UPDATE: The Nov. 17 Lufkin Daily News reported that the court issued a temporary injunction restoring Pam McLaurin's teaching credentials pending the court's decision on the merits of the case. A hearing on the merits is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2010.

Required Immunization of School Children Does Not Infringe Free Exercise

In Workman v. Mingo County Schools, (SD WV, Nov. 3, 2009), a West Virginia federal district court upheld West Virginia's compulsory vaccination program for school children. In the case, a mother of two school-age children asserted free exercise, equal protection and due process challenges. The court concluded that the free exercise clause does not require states to provide a religious exemption form the immunization requirements.

After Ft. Hood Massacre, Shooter's Religious Background Explored

Today's Washington Post reports that Army psychiatrist Major Nidal M. Hasan, who opened fire yesterday at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 and wounding 30 was a devout Muslim. (Details of shootings.) The Washington Post also reports on the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, where Hasan prayed regularly when he was stationed in Washington, DC. The mosque's chairman, Arshad Qureshi, fielded many phone calls, emphasizing that the Center stands for peace. It has been active in offering community services, such as an extensive medical clinic for the uninsured operated by volunteers. The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement yesterday condemning the Ft. Hood shootings.

First Conviction From Raid on FLDS Texas Ranch Is Handed Down

Yesterday, a jury in a state court in Texas convicted FLDS Church leader Raymond Jessop of sexually assaulting a 16-year old who he had taken as one of his nine wives. The New York Times and Salt Lake Tribune report on the conviction, the first resulting from the raid by Texas authorities of the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch. During the trial, the defense argued that the raid on the FLDS compound which produced documents crucial to Jessop's conviction were illegally seized. The raid was triggered by a phone call that later was found to be a hoax. Jessop will be sentenced after a hearing before the jury on Monday. He faces up to 20 years in prison. (See prior related posting.)

9th Circuit Will Rehear Catholic League's Suit Againt San Francisco En Banc

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday granted an en banc rehearing in Catholic League for Religious and Civil and Rights v. City and County of San Francisco (full text of order). In June, a 3-judge panel handed down an opinion in the case rejecting an Establishment Clause challenge to a strongly worded resolution passed by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. The resolution criticized a directive from Catholic Cardinal William Levada instructing Catholic social service agencies to not place children in need of adoption with same-sex couples. (See prior posting.) The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the 9th Circuit's action.