Group Promotes Options For Prayer At Graduation Ceremonies

Liberty Counsel yesterday announced its Ninth Annual "Friend or Foe" Graduation Prayer Campaign designed to "educate and, if necessary, litigate to ensure that prayer and religious viewpoints are not suppressed during graduation ceremonies." A legal memo that the group has produced says:

Prayer can still be conducted at public school graduations if school officials use secular criteria to invite the speaker, and once there, the speaker voluntarily prays. A valedictorian, salutatorian, or class officer can also voluntarily pray as part of the ceremony. The student body can elect a class chaplain or elect a class representative for the specific purpose of prayer. Part of the school program can be given over to the students and therefore be student-led and student-initiated. A parent and/or student committee can create and conduct part of the ceremony and, therefore, avoid state involvement. The ceremony can be conducted off the school premises by private individuals, and therefore no state involvement would occur. The school may also adopt a free speech policy which allows the senior class an opportunity to devote a few minutes of the ceremony to uncensored student speech that can be secular or sacred. Finally, private individuals can sponsor public school graduations on or off the public campus.

Moldova Registers Muslim Group

Radio Free Europe yesterday reported on reaction to the decision by Moldova's Justice Ministry last month to officially register the Islamic League as an NGO representing Moldova's Muslims.The head of the Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Vladimir, called the recognition "a humiliation" for the country's Christians.  Opposition to the recognition has become an issue used by the county's conservative Communist Party to consolidate its base in advance of June's local elections.

4th Circuit Oral Arguments In County Commissioners' Prayer Case Now Available

The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals now has posted online a recording of the oral arguments in Joyner v. Forsyth County, North Carolina. In the case, a federal district court ruled that the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners' invocation policy, as implemented, violates the Establishment Clause because they advance one particular faith and have the effect of affiliating the Board with that faith. (See prior posting.) Last week's Christian Post reports on the oral arguments. Don Byrd also has transcribed excerpts from the arguments.

Fired Church Bookkeeper's Suit Dismissed; Involves Church Discipline of Priests

The Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal reports that a Jefferson County (KY) state court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a former bookkeeper at Louisville's St. Therese Catholic Church who claims she was fired for objecting to the fact that a priest who was on probation for sexually abusing a teenager was residing on parish property in violation of Archdiocese policy. (See prior posting.)  The court said in part:

The plaintiff's claims … all stem from their disagreement with how the Archdiocese of Louisville has dealt with priests who have either been convicted of, or accused of sexual misconduct.… State civil courts do not have authority to decide these disputes.

Pakistan Court Orders Shrine To Open At Night For Observance

In Pakistan, authorities have been closing Lahore's Shrine of Hazrat Bibi Pak Daman for security reasons after 8:00 p.m. each night.  Yesterday's Daily Times of Pakistan reports that a lawsuit has been filed challenging the closure as a violation of religious freedom because Muslims have the obligation to recite the Qur'an and offer prayers during the night. Yesterday the Lahore High Court issued an interim order granting partial relief. It ordered authorities to keep the shrine open all night on the annual urs-- the death anniversary of the saint honored by the shrine.

Civil Rights Commission Holds Hearing on Bullying as Colorado Governor Signs New Law

Last Friday, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held a briefing on the federal response to Peer-to-Peer Violence and Bullying. According to the release announcing the briefing, it was to concentrate on bullying where students are targeted due to their race, national origin, religion, disability, gender, or LGBT-status. A two-hour long video of testimony by numerous witnesses at the briefing has been posted online by the Commission. Meanwhile, on Friday Colorado became the 12th state to enact anti-bullying legislation as Gov. John Hickenlooper signed HB 1254 that focuses on bullying, including cyber-bullying, of students. The new law defines bullying broadly, but provides that it is not intended to prevent the expression of religious, political or philosophical views. Fox31 News and Passport Magazine both report on the new law. [Thanks to Michael Lieberman for the lead.]

Vatican Gives Bishops One Year To Develop Guidelines To Deal With Sex Abuse

Zenit reported yesterday that the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has instructed each country's Conference of Bishops to develop guidelines for dealing with sexual abuse of minors by clergy or members of religious orders.  In order to assist, the Vatican has released a Circular Letter that sets out suggested principles that should be reflected in these guidelines. An Introduction to the Abuse Guidelines by Cardinal Levada gives Bishops a May 2012 deadline for the submitting their guidelines to the Vatican. A summary of the Vatican's actions was also released by the Vatican Press Office. The Circular Letter suggests in part, the following principles:

The Church, in the person of the Bishop or his delegate, should be prepared to listen to the victims and their families, and to be committed to their spiritual and psychological assistance....

The accused cleric is presumed innocent until the contrary is proven.

Nonetheless the bishop is always able to limit the exercise of the cleric’s ministry until the accusations are clarified. If the case so warrants, whatever measures can be taken to rehabilitate the good name of a cleric wrongly accused should be done

.... Sexual abuse of minors is not just a canonical delict but also a crime prosecuted by civil law. Although relations with civil authority will differ in various countries, nevertheless it is important to cooperate with such authority within their responsibilities. Specifically, without prejudice to the sacramental internal forum, the prescriptions of civil law regarding the reporting of such crimes to the designated authority should always be followed. This collaboration, moreover, not only concerns cases of abuse committed by clerics, but also those cases which involve religious or lay persons who function in ecclesiastical structures.

Church's Challenge To Exclusion From Jail's Treatment Programs Is Dismissed

The Santa Rosa (FL) Press Gazette reports that last week a Florida federal district court dismissed a civil rights lawsuit that had been brought against the Santa Rosa County (FL) Sheriff's Office by a church and its pastor. The First Apostolic Church of Milton and its pastor Larry Webb claimed that the county jail's Interfaith Ministries Board and Sheriff Wendell Hall had excluded the church's substance abuse treatment program from the jail because of doctrinal differences over proper baptism rites. (See prior posting.) The jail's chaplain, however, says that the Church refused to permit anyone from the Interfaith Ministries Board to work with the program. Only members of the First Apostolic Church could run the classes. The jail changed treatment programs when the church stopped furnishing class rosters to the jail.

Cert. Denied In Challenge To Oath At Presidential Inauguration

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Newdow v. Roberts, (Docket No. 10-757, 5/16/2011). (Order List.) In the case, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an Establishment Clause challenge to prayer and the use of "so help me God" by the Chief Justice in administering the oath at Presidential inauguration ceremonies. Two Circuit court judges voted to dismiss on mootness and standing grounds, while the third voted to dismiss on the merits. (See prior posting.) Chief Justice Roberts, who was one of the defendants in the case, did not take part in the Supreme Court's decision to deny review. The Christian Science Monitor reports on the decision. [Thanks to Bob Ritter for the lead.]

Cert. Granted In Case That May Impact Prisoner Free Exercise Claims

Today the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Minneci v. Pollard, (Docket No. 10-1104) (Order List) to determine the extent to which prisoners may bring Bivens actions for violation of their constitutional rights against employees of private companies that contract with the federal government to operate federal prisons where the company employees have no direct employment relationship with the government. (Petition for certiorari.)  The 9th Circuit held that an action could be brought by an inmate against guards employed by the private contractor who failed to take account of plaintiff's injured arm in their treatment of him. (Background from SCOTUS Blog.) While the case does not directly raise prisoner free exercise issues, many prisoner free exercise claims involve religious diets in prisons where the food service is handled by outside contractors. The availability of a free exercise claim against these employees may well be impacted by the court's ultimate decision in Minneci. However, separately, damage claims in these free exercise cases are significantly limited by the provision in 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e) that precludes a prisoner from bringing an action for mental or emotional injury without a showing of physical injury as well.

Students Offered Prayer Before Public School Tests At Church

Atlanta's WSBTV last week reported on concerns of some parents about activities of members of Lilburn, Georgia's Mountain Park First Baptist Church.  Gwinnett County's Parkview High School was using the church building on Wednesday and Thursday for Advanced Placement testing because of space and crowding concerns at the school. As students entered the church building, church volunteers approached them offering to pray with them.  School officials asked the church to stop the practice, but apparently it continued on Thursday. The church's pastor said: "We never thought that would be an issue. We thought being able to help anybody particularly on a testing would be helpful to them."

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Robin Bradley Kar, The Two Faces of Morality: How Evolutionary Theory Can Both Vindicate and Debunk Morality (with a Special Nod to the Growing Importance of Law), (Nomos: Evolution and Morality, New York University Press, 2012).
• William P. Marshall, Smith, Christian Legal Society, and Speech-Based Claims for Religious Exemptions from Neutral Laws of General Applicability, (Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 32, No. 5, 2011).
• Laura Underkuffler, Odious Discrimination and the Religious Exemption Question, (Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 32, No. 5, 2011).
• Andrew M. M. Koppelman, How Shall I Praise Thee? Brian Leiter on Respect for Religion, (San Diego Law Review, Vol. 47, No. 4, 2010).
• Matthew L. M. Fletcher and Peter S. Vicaire, Indian Wars: Old and New, (MSU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 09-11, May 4, 2011).
• Christopher C. Lund, Exploring Free Exercise Doctrine: Equal Liberty and Religious Exemptions, (Tennessee Law Review, Vol. 77, p. 351, 2010).
• Jessie Hill, Whose Body? Whose Soul? Medical Decision-Making on Behalf of Children and the Free Exercise Clause Before and After Employment Division v. Smith, (Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 32, p. 1857, 2011).
• Marci A. Hamilton, Employment Division v. Smith at the Supreme Court: The Justices, the Litigants, and the Doctrinal Discourse, (Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 32, No. 5, 2011).
• Austin Caster, 'Charitable' Discrimination: Why Taxpayers Should Not Have to Fund 501(c)(3) Organizations that Discriminate Against LGBT Employees, (May 7, 2011).

From SmartCILP:

• Nicole McLaughlin, Spectrum of Defamation of Religion Laws and the Possibility of a Universal International Standard, 32 Loyola Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 395-426 (2010).

Recent Books:

• Syed Iqbal Zaheer (ed.), An Educational Encyclopedia of Islam, (East West Educational Tools, 2010), reviewed in OnIslam.
• Leila Ahmed, A Quiet Revolution--The Veil’s Resurgence, from the Middle East to America, (Yale Univ. Press, April 2011).

Court Rejects Challenge To Religious Workers Visa Rules

In Ruiz-Diaz v. United States, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50433 (WD WA, May 10, 2011), a Washington federal district court rejected a challenge to immigration rules that treat religious workers applying to adjust their immigration status to become permanent residents differently from those in various other employment-based preference categories. Special immigrant visa holders, including religious workers, are precluded from filing their own form I-485 application until U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has approved their employer's Form I-360 petition on their behalf.  This creates a risk of the alien being treated as unlawfully present in the country-- a designation that is triggered if the I-485 is not on file before the alien's original 5-year visa period expires. Other aliens may file a Form I-485 concurrently with an employer's Form I-360. The court rejected plaintiffs' class action RFRA and Free Exercise claims, finding that plaintiffs had not shown a substantial burden on their free exercise of religion. It rejected plaintiffs' equal protection claim, finding that the rule was rationally related to deterring fraud. The court also rejected plaintiffs' due process challenge.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Mack v. Yost, (3d Cir., May 6, 2011), the 3rd Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of Muslim prisoner Charles Mack's free exercise and RLUIPA claims. Mack, who worked in the prison commissary, alleged that a corrections officer placed a sign reading "I Love Bacon" on Mack's back, and two days later said to Mack that "there is no good Muslim, except a dead Muslim." Mack alleged he was fired from his commissary job for complaining about the officer's actions. AP reports on the decision.

In Thomas v. Croft, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48442 (SD OH, May 4, 2011), an Ohio federal magistrate judge recommended denial of a motion for summary judgment filed by plaintiff, a Seventh Day Adventist prisoner, because there are genuine issues of material fact as to whether a corrections officer who field a misconduct report was aware that plaintiff's religious beliefs conflicted with his working after sunset on Friday and because it is unclear whether plaintiff was actually denied a religious accommodation.

In Massenburg v. Adams, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48633 (ED VA, May 5, 2011), a Virginia federal magistrate judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Hebrew Israelite prisoner who sought damages of over $2 million per defendant, claiming that he was required to work on July 22, 2006, the Sabbath of his religion.

In Johnson v. Bradford, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48719 (D NJ, May 5, 2011), a New Jersey federal district court dismissed a claim by a Muslim prisoner that his free exercise and RLUIPA rights were violated when the coordinator of the prison's NuWay Program made mocking remarks about Islam and mimicked an Arabic prayer.

In Hall v. Hedgpeth, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48588 (ND CA, May 4, 2011), a California federal district court allowed an inmate to move ahead with his claim against the prison chaplain and resource manager seeking religious services, religious materials and chapel study time for members of the Reformed Christian or Calvinist religion separate from the non-denominated Protestant services and study. The case was referred to the Pro Se Prisoner Settlement Program.

In Saldana v. Borem, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48624 (SD CA, May 3, 2011), a California federal district court permitted an inmate to move ahead with his complaint that authorities had confiscated his "cultural/ religious art."

In Handy v. Diggins, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48784 (D CO, May 6, 2011), a Colorado federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48780, March 23, 2011), and permitted a Muslim inmate who sought kosher meals in jail where he was previously held to move ahead with his punitive damage claim and permitted him to file some amendments to his complaint.  A number of his claims-- including those for compensatory damages and injunctive relief-- were dismissed.

In St. Clair v. Moon, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48941 (WD WA, May 6, 2011), a Washington federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49089, March 29, 2011) and dismissed a former inmate's claim that his religious rights were violated when he was transferred to another unit for refusing on religious grounds to participate in a Treatment Community for mentally ill offenders. He raised religious issues only after he was cited for other infractions of TC rules.

In Calderon-Silva v. Uribe, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49266 (CD CA, May 4, 2011), a California federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49270, March 10, 2011) and  dismissed a prisoner's claim that he was required, in violation of the Establishment Clause, to attend a faith-based AA and NA program as a condition of parole.

In Rivera v. Hartley, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50028 (ED CA, May 9, 2011), a California federal magistrate judge recommended denying an inmate's claim in a habeas corpus proceeding that he was required by state officials to participate in a faith-based AA/NA program as a condition of parole.

Boehner Addresses Catholic University's Commencement Without Mentioning Protest Letter From Catholic Faculty

CNN reports that House Speaker John Boehner delivered the commencement speech at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. yesterday without mentioning a protest letter sent to him earlier last week by 70 faculty members from Catholic University and other Catholic colleges around the country.  The letter (full text) criticizes cuts in aid for the poor in the 2012 budget passed by the House with Boehner's support. It reads in part:

It is good for Catholic universities to host and engage the thoughts of powerful public figures, even Catholics such as yourself who fail to recognize (whether out of a lack of awareness or dissent) important aspects of Catholic teaching. We write in the hope that this visit will reawaken your familiarity with the teachings of your Church on matters of faith and morals as they relate to governance.

Mr. Speaker, your voting record is at variance from one of the Church’s most ancient moral teachings. From the apostles to the present, the Magisterium of the Church has insisted that those in power are morally obliged to preference the needs of the poor. Your record in support of legislation to address the desperate needs of the poor is among the worst in Congress. This fundamental concern should have great urgency for Catholic policy makers. Yet, even now, you work in opposition to it.

The 2012 budget you shepherded to passage in the House of Representatives guts long-established protections for the most vulnerable members of society.

Florida Imam Arrested On Terrorism Charges As He Ends Prayers In His Mosque

The Miami Herald describes Saturday's arrest of a 76-year old imam at Miami, Florida's Flagler Mosque on charges of conspiring to transfer funds to supporters of the Pakistani Taliban-- a designated foreign terrorist organization operating in Pakistan. An indictment (full text) handed down May 12 charges Hafiz Muhammad Sher Ali Khan with conspiring with four family members and a fifth Pakistani man to funnel money through U.S. banks and wire transfer services to the Taliban to use to purchase guns and sustain militants and their families. It also charges that Khan founded a madrassa in Pakistan that shelters Pakistani Taliban. (Justice Dept. Press Release). In arresting Khan, FBI agents surrounded his mosque. The agents, who had removed their shoes, waited for morning prayers to end before entering the mosque and making the arrest.

Huckabee Will Not Seek Republican Presidential Nomination

The New York Times reports that former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee announced on his Fox News program tonight that he will not seek the Republican nomination for President. (Video of Huckabee's announcement.) Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, said that his decision was ultimately a spiritual one, and that it was unthinkable for him to undertake a run "apart from an inner confidence that I was undertaking it with God’s full blessing." According to the Times report: "Had Mr. Huckabee entered the race, he would have been filling a perceptible void in the Republican field by becoming the presumed candidate of evangelicals, whose social issues have been largely swept aside as both parties focus most acutely on the economy and government spending."

White House Issues New Guide on Opportunities For Faith-Based Groups

The White House announced last Wednesday that its Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has produced a new publication, Partnerships for the Common Good: A Partnership Guide for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Organizations. The new 74-page Guide is intended to give local faith-based organizations and community leaders a list of opportunities they can pursue in partnering with governmental agencies to meet a variety of local needs.

Two Arrested In Plot To Bomb New York Synagogues

In New York City yesterday, the District Attorney's Office for New York County announced the arrest of two men charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism and with weapons and hate crimes offenses in a plot to bomb synagogues in Manhattan. According to the press release, the defendants: "discussed learning to make bombs and planned visits to Manhattan’s largest synagogues, intending to disguise themselves as Jewish worshippers, attend services at a synagogue and, while pretending to pray, leave a bomb in the synagogue." The complaint (full text) outlines the six-month under cover operation targeting the two who were immigrants from Algeria and Morocco respectively.

Bangladesh Supreme Court Allows Fatwas, But Excludes Enforcement Measures

Bangladesh's Supreme Court yesterday reversed a lower court's ruling that had banned the issuance of fatwas (religious edicts) by village councils (shalish). (See prior related posting.) However the Supreme Court's decision severely limits the issuance and enforcement of fatwas.  As reported by AFP, Gulf News and The Financial Express, the Supreme Court, in a split opinion, ruled that fatwas may be issued only by those who are properly educated, and  "no punishment, including physical violence and/or mental torture in any form" may be used to enforce a fatwa. This precludes the practice of caning and beating women to enforce religious rulings-- a practice that had prevailed in some villages. The court also ruled that no fatwa can infringe individual rights that are protected by civil law.