Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Friday, July 09, 2010
California Episcopal Diocese Sues Another Break-Away Parish
Russian Art Museum Curators On Trial For Inciting Religious Hatred
Village May Not Charge For Legal Advice To Zoning Applicant
29 State AG's File Amicus Brief Supporting National Day of Prayer
UPDATE: On July 8, sixty-seven members of the US House of Representatives also filed an amicus brief (full text) seeking reversal of the trial court's decision. (ACLJ Release.)
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Massachusetts Federal District Court Strikes Down DOMA
Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, (D MA, July 8, 2010), is a suit brought by same-sex couples and survivors of deceased same-sex spouses who were denied various federal marriage-based benefits available to heterosexual couples. The court held that DOMA violates the equal protection clause. It held that it need not decide whether to apply strict scrutiny because the statute lacks a rational basis to support it. In the court's view: "Congress undertook this classification for the one purpose that lies entirely outside of legislative bounds, to disadvantage a group of which it disapproves."
Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (D MA, July 8, 2010), was brought by Massachusetts-- which recognizes same-sex marriage-- contending that DOMA violates the 10th Amendment by intruding on areas of exclusive state authority. It also argued that the law exceeds Congress' Spending Clause powers by forcing the state to discriminate against its own citizens in order to receive federal funds. The court agreed with the challenge holding that DOMA imposes an unconstitutional condition on the receipt of federal funds, impermissibly interferes with state domestic relations laws, and regulates Massachusetts "as a state," interfering with its ability to structure its traditional functions. The New York Times reports on today's decisions.
Washington State Pharmacy Board Backs Down On Rules In Pre-Trial Compromise
Egypt's Constitutional Court Freezes Ruling Requiring Coptic Church To Remarry Divorced Men
11th Circuit Upholds Limits on Feeding Large Groups In Parks
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
State In India Wants To End Prohibition; Ignores Baptist Church In Its Plans
Hawaii Governor Vetoes Civil Unions Bill; Litigation Planned
Lawsuit Says Public Utilities In Arizona Town Discriminated Against FLDS Apostates
German Magazine Says Catholic Church Is Following Conservatives In Reactions To Abuse Cases
Cath News today however reports that Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is about to release a set of changes to the Church's internal rules for disciplining priests that will extend the canon law statute of limitations for bringing charges against an abusive priest from 10 years after the victim's 18th birthday to 20 years after. It will also for the first time define child pornography as a grave offense subject to the Congregation's jurisdiction.This spring, it looked as though the Catholic Church was finally going to confront charges of sexual abuse head on. Following recent police raids in Belgium, however, the Vatican has once again closed ranks....
The conservatives in the church state see the zero-tolerance policy of US bishops as a means of curtailing the rights of accused priests. By contrast, liberal spirits are pushing to rapidly investigate and refer cases to secular authorities. It currently looks as if the conservatives have regained the upper hand....
German bishops Robert Zollitsch and Reinhard Marx were ... given a dressing down. Benedict reproaches them for not being tender enough with their fellow bishop Walter Mixa when he came under fire amid allegations of violence towards children in his care.
The Holy Father has clearly shown how to treat, in the true Christian spirit, those brothers who have strayed from the flock. He announced that, "following a period of healing and reconciliation," Bishop Mixa, like other retired bishops, would again be available for pastoral duties.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
5th Circuit Upholds Neutrality Policy For Texas Education Agency Staff
we find it hard to imagine circumstances in which a TEA employee's inability to publicly speak out for or against a potential subject for the Texas curriculum would be construed or perceived as the State's endorsement of a particular religion.(See prior related posting.)
Iranian Ministry Sets Acceptable Islamic Male Hair Styles
7th Circuit En Banc Interprets Equal Terms Provision of RLUIPA
Report Focuses On Restrictions Limiting Feeding of Homeless
The report argues that targeting churches, service providers and volunteers by placing restrictions on providing food to homeless people is part of a broader trend toward criminalizing homelessness.The report focuses on areas such as zoning restrictions, limits on use of public property, food safety laws, and police harassment. The report then sets out examples of innovative food programs and proposes various local, state and national legislative actions to help alleviate hunger.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Two Women Appointed Syariah Judges In Malaysia
Concern Expressed Over Obama Administration's Use of Term "Freedom of Worship"
ACLU Says Catholic Hospitals Violate Law By Refusing Abortions To Save Mothers' Lives
Recent Articles of Interest
- J. Thomas Oldham, Book Review: 'Almighty God Created the Races' by Fay Botham, (Journal of Law and Religion, Forthcoming).
- Intisar A. Rabb, Islamic Legal Maxims as Substantive Canons of Construction: Ḥudūd-Avoidance in Cases of Doubt, (Islamic Law and Society, Vol. 17, pp. 63-125, 2010).
From SmartCILP:
- Roberta Rosenthal Kwall, Intellectual Property Law and Jewish Law: A Comparative Perspective on Absolutism (Reviewing David L. Lange and H. Jefferson Powell, No Law: Intellectual Property in the Image of an Absolute First Amendment), 22 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 143-170 (2010).