Chicago Faith-Based Foster Care Agencies Could Lose Funding For Refusing To Place Children With Same-Sex Couples

The Windy City Times reported yesterday that the recent passage of a same-sex civil union law by the state of Illinois (see prior posting) complicates the question of whether to permit faith-based foster care agencies that contract with the state to refuse to place foster children with same-sex couples. The civil union law becomes effective on June 1.  Three faith-based agencies in Chicago that receive $40 million each year from contracts with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services currently refuse to place children with LGBT couples.  Lutheran Children and Family Services says it will likely change its policy, but Catholic Charities and the Evangelical Child and Family Agency say they will not.

Report Charges Anti-Islamic Bias In Training of Law Enforcement and Security Personnel

Political Research Associates, a progressive think tank, on Tuesday released a report (executive summary ) titled  Manufacturing the Muslim Menace: Private Firms, Public Servants and the Threat to Rights and Security ( full text).  The lengthy report charges that local, state and federal government agencies fail to adequately monitor the quality of preparedness training provided to their law enforcement and domestic security employees by private vendors.  Focusing on three private organizations that offer anti-terrorism training, the report charges:

public servants are regularly presented with misleading, inflammatory, and dangerous information about the nature of the terror threat through highly politicized seminars, industry conferences, trade publications, and electronic media. In place of sound skills training and intelligence briefings, a vocal and influential sub-group of the private counterterrorism training industry markets conspiracy theories about secret jihadi campaigns to replace the U.S. Constitution with Sharia law, and effectively impugns all of Islam—a world religion with 1.3 billion adherents—as inherently violent and even terroristic.

The report also offers seven recommendations to improve the situation in the future.

Minnesota Trial Court Upholds State's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

On Monday, a Hennepin County, Minnesota state court judge rejected a constitutional challenge to Minnesota's law that bars same-sex marriage. Tuesday's Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the trial court relied on a 1971 Minnesota Supreme Court decision-- Baker v. Nelson -- which rejected a similar challenge, and also relied on Minnesota's Defense of Marriage Act. The case decided this week was brought by three same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses. It claimed that denial of marriage to same-sex couples violated their due process, equal protection, religious freedom and free association rights.

House Hearing on Radicalization of U.S. Muslims Will Stream Live Thursday Morning

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King's controversial hearing on The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response, is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, March 10.  The hearing will be streamed live from this committee website. The list of witnesses has been released. They include 3 members of the House: Michigan's John Dingle, Minnesota's Keith Ellison (the first Muslim member of Congress), and Virginia's Frank Wolf. Others who will testify are: Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser (head of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy); Abdirizak Bihi (Director of the Somali Education and Social Advocacy Center); Melvin Bledsoe; and Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca.

UPDATE: A video of the hearings is archived on C-Span.

Suit Challenges Ban on Student's Distribution of Church Christmas Party Flyer

Last week, a federal court lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Cresco, Pennsylvania 5th grader who was barred by her school's principal from handing out to fellow students flyers inviting them to a Christmas party sponsored by her church.  The complaint (full text) in K.A. v. Pocono Mountain School District, (MD PA, filed 3/4/2011), alleges that plaintiff's 1st and 14th Amendment rights, as well as her rights under Pennsylvania's Religious Freedom Protection Act, were violated by rules that require school approval of materials from special interest groups and bar student speech that seeks to establish the supremacy of a particular religious denomination or point of view.  The suit alleges that the school has imposed a content-based restriction on the student since school district policies permit other students to distribute literature and invitations during non-instructional time and permit community groups to distribute flyers through a take-home flyer forum and a literature distribution table. It also alleges violation of the student's free exercise rights, vagueness and overbreadth of the school policies and establishment clause and equal protection violations. Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Suit Challenges Zoning Denial For Electronic Bible Verse Sign

On Monday a lawsuit was filed in federal district court against Chichester, New Hampshire by a non-profit organization that displays Christian scriptures on road signs on busy commuter streets. The complaint (full text) in Signs for Jesus v. Town of Chichester, (D NH, filed 3/7/2011), challenges the denial by the town's Planning Board of site plan approval for the display of an electronic message sign carrying Bible verses. The lawsuit alleges that the zoning denial violates the 1st and 14th Amendment rights of plaintiff, as well as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Vatican UN Representative Encourages Religious Freedom

Zenit reports on the address on religious freedom given last week at the United Nations Human Rights Council by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, permanent representative of the Holy See to the U.N. offices in Geneva. Citing a study that says 75% of those killed because of religious hatred are Christians, Tomasi urged that states have a responsibility to create an environment that encourages religious freedom. He also said that the practice of religion needs to be defined broadly-- it includes more than just acts of worship.

Canadian Town's Public Schools-- All Catholic-- Do Not Offer Secular Alternative

All the schools in the Canadian town of Morinville, Alberta (near Edmonton) are government supported Catholic schools. Yesterday's Toronto Globe and Mail reports that some parent are complaining about the lack of a secular alternative.  Alberta law permits parents to take their children out of religion classes. However parents say religion permeates the entire curriculum of the schools. Provincial Education Minister Dave Hancock says he will meet with the Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division that runs the schools to encourage them to find a solution so parents that want a secular education for their children can obtain it.

British Tribunal Rules Anti-Hunting Beliefs Protected Under Employment Discrimination Regulations

Britain's  Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 (Sec. 2) include "philosophical belief" in the definition of religion or belief. Yesterday's London Telegraph reports that an employment tribunal judge has ruled that the anti-hunting view of activist Joe Hashman are protected under the law's employment discrimination prohibitions.  Hashman secretly filmed celebrity chef Clarissa Dickson Wright attending an illegal rabbit hunting event. He was fired by the owners of the garden center at which he worked. The owners are hunting fans.  Hashman sued and an employment tribunal judge ruled that Hashman's deeply held beliefs about the environment, animal rights, veganism and opposition to hunting are protected as under the religion or belief regulations. Hashman's employers claim he was fired for other reasons. (See prior related posting.)

Kentucky Appeals Court Upholds Billboard Limits Applied To Religious Messages

In Harston v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, (KY App., March 4, 2011), the Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the application of the permit requirements of Kentucky's Billboard Advertising Act to several billboards carrying religious messages that were placed within 660 feet of an Interstate highway. The court rejected the argument that the signs come under the statute's exception for advertising of on-premise activities.  Petitioners contended that the exception applies "because the signs promote Christianity which is occurring on the family farms where the signs are located." The court also rejected petitioners' challenge under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, finding that the Act promotes a compelling governmental interest using the least restrictive means. (See prior related posting.)

EEOC Sues Over Failure To Accommodate Sabbath Observance of Job Applicant

The EEOC announced last week that it has filed a Title VII employment discrimination suit against Convergys Corp. ewhich refused to hire a member of the Hebrew Israelite faith who was unable to work on his Sabbath.  The EEOC says the company should be able to accommodate applicant Shannon Fantroy's request not to work from sunup to sundown on Saturday since he would be woking at a large call center. An EEOC regional attorney said: "Refusing to hire a person in this situation without even discussing a possible accommodation for his religion is unlawful discrimination."

Suit Charges University of California With Tolerating Dangerous Anti-Semitic Climate

Today's Daily Californian reports on a lawsuit filed in a California federal district court by a UC Berkeley graduate against Berkeley and the University system over a series of anti-Semitic incidents.  The lawsuit was filed by Jessica Felber who was co-president of Tikvah, the campus Zionist group. The suit says she was assaulted last year by Husam Zakharia, a Berkeley alumnus who was a member of Students for Justice in Palestine.  Zakharia was arrested but never charged in the incident. Felber's complaint says that a number of incidents over the past ten years have led to a dangerous anti-Semitic climate on UC campuses and that the UC system has failed to adopt policies to address the problem.  UC says the charges are unfounded while Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) call the suit an assault on free speech. The suit comes as SJP begins its "Israel Apartheid Week" on campus.

UPDATE: Here is the First Amended Complaint in the case, filed May 19, 2011.

Students Protest Removal of 10 Commandments From Schools

In response to the decision taken last month by the Giles County, Virginia school board to remove copies of the Ten Commandments that had hung in the county's schools for many years (see prior posting), 200 high school students staged a protest.  WDBJ News reports that yesterday the students marched out of Giles High School where they were met by parents and community leaders. Together the group prayed for a return of the Ten Commandment displays. One students said: "This is America and we can have our Ten Commandments and if they don't like it, they can get out." Another protested: "It's our choice to have the Ten Commandments. It's not the law's choice or anything, it's not the state’s choice or anything. It’s Giles County’s choice. It’s the kid’s choice." Freedom from Religion Foundation which had originally complained about the displays responded: "It is not only unconstitutional to post one religion's edicts on the walls of public schools, but it is bad manners."

Cert. Denied In Challenge To "In God We Trust" Motto

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied review in Newdow v. Lefevre, (Docket No. 10-893, cert. denied 3/7/2011). (Order List.) In the case, the 9th Circuit rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to the inscription of "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins and currency. It also rejected rejected on standing grounds plaintiff Michael Newdow's broader claim that the mere adoption of "In God We Trust" as the national motto was unconstitutional. (See prior posting.) The San Francisco Chronicle, reporting on the Supreme Court's action, quoted plaintiff Michael Newdow who said he would now refile the suit elsewhere.

Supreme Court Denies Review In Student Organization Funding Case

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied certiorari in Walsh v. Badger Catholic, Inc., (Docket No. 10-731, cert. denied 3/7/2011). (Order List). In the case, the 7th Circuit in a 2-1 decision invalidated a University of Wisconsin policy that withheld student activity fee funding for worship, proselytizing or religious instruction by recognized student groups. (See prior posting.)

In a related development, last month Indiana University changed its policy that denied Student Association funding for religiously based student groups. The Indiana Daily Student last week reported that the change in policy came in connection with an application by Impact Movement for funds for its members to attend a national conference which would involve religious proselytizing and sectarian activities.

Montana Supreme Court Stays Order Requiring Surgery Over Woman's Religious Objections

The Montana Supreme Court last week ordered a stay and expedited appeal of a trial court's order that a woman with cancer undergo surgery despite her religious objections. In Office of State Public Defender on Behalf of L.K. v. Montana Fourth Judicial District Court, (MT Sup. Ct., March 2, 2011), the Supreme Court explained:

During a hearing conducted on March 1, 2011, the District Court determined that L.K. is not competent to make her own medical decisions and directed that she undergo a radical hysterectomy on March 3, 2011, against her desires. L.K. objects to the surgery on religious grounds, and expert testimony admitted at the hearing indicated that her religious objections are delusional.

Reporting on the case today, the Helena Independent Record says that at trial a doctor and a psychiatrist testified that L.K. believed that God had cured her.  Doctors say the woman's cancer could kill her within three years. L.K. testified however that she understands she had been diagnosed with cancer and understands the risks of death if she does not have the surgery. The appeal will argue that the trial court's order violates L.K.'s constitutionally protected rights of personal autonomy and religious freedom.

White House Advisor Reassures US Muslims In Advance of Congressional Hearing on Radicalization

In advance of Thursday's scheduled hearings by the House Homeland Security Committee chairman Pete King (R-NY) on radicalization of American Muslims (see prior posting), the White House is seeking to reassure Muslims.  The New York Times reports that Dennis McDonough, White House deputy national security adviser, yesterday delivered an important speech at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (the Adams Center) in Sterling, Virginia. McDonough spoke out against stigmatizing an entire community because of the actions of a few and said: "In the United States, we don't practice guilt by association." He told the audience: "When it comes to preventing violent extremism and terrorism in the United States, Muslim Americans are not part of the problem, you’re part of the solution." While angry about the hearings, leaders of mainstream mosques plan to participate to testify about their cooperation with law enforcement officials. Minnesota Rep. Kieth Ellison, the only Muslim in Congress, said he would testify even though he thinks it wrong for Congress to investigate a particular religious group.

Recent Articles Of Interest

From SSRN:

• Rafael Palomino, Legal Dimensions of Secularism: Challenges and Problems, (17th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, October 3-5, 2010).
• Adam Farra, Theories of Discrimination and Gay Marriage, (Maryland Law Review Endnotes, Vol. 69, p. 1, 2010).
• Amin George Forji , Just Laws Versus Unjust Laws: Asserting the Morality of Civil Disobedience, (Journal of Politics and Law, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 156-170, 2010).
• Ihasan Yilmaz, Radical Muslim Politics from Comparative Perspective: Theological Deprivation as the Major Source of Hizb Ut-Tahrir’s Influence, (Uluslararası Hukuk ve Politika Cilt 6, Sayı: 23 ss. 99-117, 2010).
• Mohammad Omar Farooq, Islam and Democracy: Perceptions and Misperceptions, (February 28, 2011).

From Bepress:

• Whiting, Amanda J. Whiting, Secularism, the Islamic State and the Malaysian Legal Profession, (Asian Journal of Comparative Law: Vol. 5 : Iss. 1, Article 10, 2010).

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Brown v. Secretary, Department of Corrections, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19207 (MD FL, Feb. 25, 2011), a Florida federal district court rejected an inmate's free exercise and equal protection challenges to the failure to provide services for Nation of Islam inmates separate from Muslim services.

In Paliotta v. Brooks, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19381 (D NV., Feb. 25, 2011), a Nevada federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18943, Feb. 3, 2011) and dismissed on claim preclusion grounds an inmate's complaint that those housed in administrative segregation do not have equal access to religious services and religious property.

In Robinson v. Delgado, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21218 (ND CA, Feb. 17, 2011), a California federal magistrate judge ordered the award of $220,791 in attorneys' fees and $47,482 in costs in a case in which an inmate who had become a member of the House of Yahweh Yadhaim obtained an injunction ordering prison authorities to permit him to participate in the prison's Jewish kosher meal program-- even though he is not Jewish.  The kosher meals satisfied plaintiff's religious dietary requirements.

2011 White House Easter Egg Roll Set

The White House announced Friday that this year's White House Easter Egg Roll will be held on April 25.  The theme will be "Get Up and Go!"  Activities will encourage children to lead a healthy and active life style. Tickets will be distributed through an online lottery system to children 12 and under and their families. According to Recreation.gov:

Originally young children in Washington, D.C. would flock to Capitol Hill every Monday after Easter for egg rolling and a day of activities. Members of Congress grew tired of the growing crowds and passed an Act of Congress which prohibited egg rolling on the Capitol grounds. The event was moved to the White House in 1878 after President Hayes was approached by young children to use his backyard to roll eggs. Nearly every Easter since, the White House has invited young children to roll eggs on the White House lawn. Today, the Easter Egg Roll is the largest public event held at the White House.