Suit Claims Public School Discriminated Against Student Because of His Muslim Religion

Yesterday's New York Post reports on an "incendiary" lawsuit filed in federal district court in Brooklyn claiming that a Brooklyn public school refused to promote 5th grader Abedin Kajoshaj to the 6th grade because of his Muslim religion.  The boy claims he had the grades to move on in PS 180, the SEEALL Academy in Borough Park, but he was ordered to repeat 5th grade. He says this is part of a pattern of discrimination against him based on his religious faith. The suit seeks damages of at least $600,000.

Nondisclosure of Factional Fighting Leads Court To Vacate Approval of Satmar Property Transfer

In Matter of Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar Inc. v Congregation Machneh Rav Tov, (NY Sup Ct Ulster Co., Sept. 27, 2011), a New York trial court vacated an order it had entered last December approving transfer of 8 parcels of property by a Satmar (Hasidic Jewish) religious organization. New York's Religious Corporation Law requires court approval for such real estate transfers.  However, in applying for the court order, those purporting to represent the selling congregation failed to inform the court or the state Attorney General's office of a long-running battle among two factions over which has authority to control the Satmar congregation's board of directors, and thus which faction had authority to initially authorize the property transfer. The court said: "The initial application by the petitioner is the quintessence of non-disclosure, bordering on a fraudulent application before this Court." (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Israel's High Court Again Orders End To Sex Segregated Streets For Sukkot Celebration

Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post report on an order issued Sunday by Israel's High Court of Justice in a clash between women's rights organizations and residents of the extremely traditional Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim.  A little known tradition of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot is the Simchat Beit Hashoeivah (Water Drawing Ceremony), a celebration recalling the the water libation ceremony festivities that took place in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem when it was standing.  In Temple times, women were separated from men to watch this celebration. (Background.) In recent years, residents of Mea Shearim, copying the Temple practice, have erected canvass partitions on neighborhood streets, using private security personnel to make sure that women use separate streets during the celebration period. Last year, two women who are members of Jerusalem's city council obtained an order from the High Court to end the segregated streets. However this year police nevertheless gave permission for the barriers to be put up again, though limited them to 26 meters in length. The High Court on Sunday did not order the barriers removed immediately, but ruled that this is the last year that police may permit them. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State in Israel) for the lead.]

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Abhyuday Bhotika, Status and Role of a Karta – A Critical Study, (October 6, 2011).
• Daniel Kroslak, The Cultural Defense in Germany, (October 9, 2011).
• Abdulla Galadari, Inner Meanings of Islamic Finance: Understanding the Theory Behind All Theories, (5th IIUM International Accounting Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 12-13, 2011).
• Anne Twomey, Changing the Rules of Succession to the Throne, (Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 11/71, Oct 12, 2011).
• Linda Ross Meyer, Book Review: Apology and Sympathy: On the Importance of ‘Training in Moral Discomfort’, (April 9, 2011).
• Christopher C. Lund, The New Victims of the Old Anti-Catholicism, (Connecticut Law Review, 2012).

From SmartCILP:

• Rachel Goldberg and Brian Blancke, God In the Process: Is There a Place for Religion in Conflict Resolution?, [Abstract], 28 Conflict Resolution Quarterly 377-398 (2011).
• Nathan J. McGrath, Reed v. UAW: An Adverse Ruling on Adverse Action, 23 Regent University Law Review 391-402 (2010-2011).
• David Skeel, Making Sense of the New Financial Deal, 5 Liberty University Law Review 181-199 (2011).
• Juan Marco Vaggione, Sexual Rights and religion: Same-sex Marriage and Lawmakers' Catholic Identity in Argentina, [Abstract], 65 University of Miami Law Review 935-954 (2011).
• Rev. Carlton W Veazey and Marjorie Brahms Signer, Religious Perspectives on the Abortion Decision: The Sacredness of Women's Lives, Morality and Values, and Social Justice, 35 N.Y.U. Review of Law and Social Change 281-302 (2011).
• Symposium: Critical Perspectives on the Criminalization of Islamic Philanthropy in the War on Terror. Articles by Jonathan Benthall, Nina J. Crimm, Sally Howell, Erica Caple James, Ramzi Kassem and Khalid Mustafa Medani. 10 UCLA Journal of Islamic & Near Eastern Law 1-137 (2010-2011).

10 Commandments Suit Begins With Skirmishes Over Allowing "John Doe" Plaintiffs

As previously reported, the ACLU of Virginia last month filed suit in federal district court on behalf of a high school student and the student's parent challenging the posting of a Ten Commandments display in Giles County, Virginia's Narrows High School. Now, in preliminary skirmishing in the case, lawyers representing the school board have filed an objection to plaintiffs in the lawsuit being identified only as Doe 1 and Doe 2.  The Roanoke Times reported last week that the school board contends it needs to know the identity of plaintiff so it can determine whether the student in fact attends Narrows High School and whether he or she regularly passes by the Ten Commandments display. Plaintiffs' lawyers say that the pseudonyms are necessary to prevent harassment of the plaintiffs.

Kazakh President Signs Restrictive New Religion Law

Forum 18 reported last week that Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev has signed two new laws on freedom of religion or belief. According to Forum 18:

The Law on Religious Activity and Religious Associations" among other restrictions imposes a complex tiered registration system, bans unregistered religious activity, imposes compulsory religious censorship and requires both central and local government approval to build or open new places of worship. All religious communities will be required to re-register or face liquidation through the courts....

(See prior related posting.)

Church Sues New Jersy City Over Zoning Delay

According to North Jersey's The Record, last week the Harlem-based Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ filed a civil rights lawsuit against Hackensack, New Jersey and 5 city officials over a lengthy delay in approving the church's use of a former school as a school for its clergy.  The complaint in the federal lawsuit claims that the zoning delays were due to antagonistic views of city officials toward the church's teachings and ethnic discrimination against the church's largely Latin American, African American and Native American membership.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Kyles v. Mathy, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115551 (CD IL, Oct. 6, 2011), an Illinois federal district court rejected an inmate's claim that his rights were violated when there was a 39 day delay in his beginning to receive his religious vegan diet.

In Guy v. Mims, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115771 (ED CA, Oct. 6, 2011), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed with leave to amend an inmate's complaints regarding denial of a kosher diet and surrendering his yarmulke.

In Jupiter v. Johnson, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110743 (MD PA, Sept. 28, 2011), a Pennsylvania federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115406, April 26, 2011) and dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies plaintiff's complaint that he was denied a halal vegetarian diet consistent with his Nation of Islam beliefs.

In Johnson v. Hafiz, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115945 (D MD, Oct. 7, 2011), a Maryland federal district court dismissed a complaint by an incarcerated psychiatric patient that his property, including his prayer book, were temporarily taken from him when he was placed in seclusion.

In Ashley v. Oliver, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115852 (ED TX, Oct. 6, 2011), a Texas federal magistrate judge   dismissed a claim by a Native American prisoner seeking to participate in Native American religious ceremonies, such as the Indian war dance and buffalo dance. The court, among other things, relied on mootness and qualified immunity as the basis for its decision.

In Lolley v. Louisiana Correctional Services, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112023 (SD AL, Sept. 29, 2011), an Alabama federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116283, Sept. 9, 2011) and dismissed all but one claim brought by a Native American inmate of a prison housing hiim under contract with the state. His claims regarding desecration of religious items, deprivation of herbs, lack of sweat lodge, and worship services were dismissed. He was permitted to move ahead with his claim regarding lack of ceremonial grounds.

In Bellamy v. Eagleton, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112086 (D SC, Sept. 29, 2011), a South Carolina federal district court adopted in part and rejected in part a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116210, July 21, 2011) and dismissed a claim for injunctive relief, but not a claim for monetary relief, in a suit in which an inmate claimed he was denied access to Buddhist religious books while in solitary confinement for 6 months.

In Hickman-Bey v. Shabazz, (TX App., Oct. 6, 2011), a Texas appeals court dismissed an inmate's claim against a Muslim prison chaplain and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Plaintiff claimed the chaplain wrongfully prevented him from attending Islamic services and programs.

In Kingsley Lajohn Wright v. Medical Mental Prison Reform Group, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116469 (CD CA, Oct. 6, 2011), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed, with leave to amend, an inmate's generalized complaint that "he is 'a very religious man,' but 'was denied the right to religion'."

In Rodriguez v. Schwarzenegger, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116481 (ED CA, Oct. 4, 2011), a California federal district court permitted an inmate to proceed against certain defendants on his claim that he was prevented from practicing his Native American religion by restrictions on his access to tobacco .

In Bonnell v. Burnett, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112323 (ED MI, Sept. 29, 2011), a Michigan federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116555, Aug. 10, 2011) and denied plaintiff summary judgment on his claim that he should be entitled to a kosher diet. The court concluded that questions of fact remained about the sincerity of plaintiff's religious beliefs.

Suit Against Charter School Over Accommodating Family's Religious Practice Proceeds

In Meadows v. Lesh, (WD NY, Oct. 6, 2011), a parent sued a charter school for religious discrimination alleging that the school principal undercut the request by the mother of a school child that the charter school respect their "familial religious practice" of fasting from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. by excusing the child from the cafeteria during lunch. Apparently the fasting was in observance of Lent. Initially the complaint was dismissed for failure to allege that the charter school was acting under color of state law. (See prior posting.) Now, considering an amended complaint, the New York federal district court allowed the suit to proceed in part, holding that it is unable to conclude as a matter of law that a charter school is not a state actor. The court also found that plaintiff has adequately pleaded the sincerity of her religious beliefs and has adequately set out an equal protection claim. However plaintiff had not alleged an official custom or policy as would be required to hold the governmental entity liable. The court allowed the pro se plaintiff to file a second amended complaint to cure this defect. Finally the court rejected a qualified immunity defense at this point.

9th Circuit Denies En Banc Review of Mt. Soledad Case, Over Dissents

Last January, the 9th Circuit held that the now federally-owned Mt. Soledad Memorial featuring a 43-foot high cross conveys a government message of endorsement of religion that violates the Establishment Clause. (See prior posting.)  On Friday, the 9th Circuit refused to rehear the case and also refused an en banc rehearing. However 5 judges, in an opinion written by Judge Bey, dissented from the denial of an en banc rehearing. In Jewish War Veterans v. City of San Diego, (9th Cir., Oct. 14, 2011), Judge Bey wrote in part:

History is important, in part because things change over time. The Spanish government of the day endorsed the Inquisition until the early years of the 19th Century. Would a reasonable observer therefore consider the edicts of King Ferdinand VII in determining whether today's Socialist government endorses the Inquisition? Of course not. 

The panel concentrated its analysis on the history of the Cross as a religious symbol. Not on how this Cross at Mt. Soledad has been used by this government, but on the cross in general....

The principal defect of the panel's decision is its concentration on facts which occurred between 1913 and 2006. The City of San Diego is no longer the owner of the property. The federal government now owns the property. Thus, the use to which the City of San Diego put the Mt. Soledad Cross from 1954 to 2006, just as the use to which the private group put the Cross from 1913 to 1954, is not relevant as to whether the present use by the government—the precise use which plaintiffs seek to enjoin—constitutes an endorsement of religion.

Article Details Romney's Role As Mormon Church Lay Leader

Today's New York Times carries a lengthy front-page article on presidential candidate Mitt Romney's active role as a lay leader in the Mormon church.  Here is an excerpt:

First as bishop of his own congregation, and later as Boston “stake president,” overseeing a region akin to a Roman Catholic diocese, he operated as clergyman, organization man and defender of the faith, guiding the church through a tumultuous period of rapid growth.

He confronted anti-Mormon sentiment and management challenges, supervising youth programs, the church’s social welfare system, missionary training and outreach to Hispanic, Portuguese and Southeast Asian converts, including Cambodian and Laotian refugees whose teenagers were joining the church in droves.

Later, when his official duties were complete, he contributed handsomely to the construction of the grand — and controversial — Boston Temple, high on a hilltop in Belmont, its steeple topped by a golden angel, just minutes from the Romney home. “Mitt’s Temple,” some local residents called it derisively. 

Some Mormons, like Mr. Clark, found Mr. Romney thoughtful and compassionate; one mother recalled his kindness to her dying son. Others, including a group of Mormon feminists demanding a greater role for women, found him condescending, doctrinaire or just plain bossy.

Sudan Leader Says Country Will Adopt Islamic Constitution

According to Reuters, in a speech last Wednesday Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir told students that Sudan will move ahead with its plans to adopt an Islamic constitution now that South Sudan with its largely non-Muslim population has gained independence.  Bashir said: "Ninety eight percent of the people are Muslims and the new constitution will reflect this. The official religion will be Islam and Islamic law the main source (of the constitution)."  The move carries out promises made last December by Bashir. (See prior posting.)

Egyptian Military Rulers Issue Anti-Discrimination Decree

AP reported yesterday that Egypt's transitional military government has issued a decree prohibiting all forms of discrimination, including religious discrimination. The move comes in the wake of the killing of 26 people in violence between the military and protesters objecting to the burning of a Coptic church. (See prior posting.) Violation of the anti-discrimination ban can lead to up to 3 months in prison and a fine of up to 100,000 Egyptian pounds (approx. $17.000).

Some Scientology Zoning Challenges Survive Motion To Dismiss

Church of Scientology of Georgia, Inc. v. City of Sandy Springs, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116945 (ND GA, Sept. 30, 2011), involves "a zoning dispute over the Church of Scientology's desire to convert a 32,053 square foot office building into a roughly 44,000 square foot Church....  The City of Sandy Springs approved the use of the subject property for a church but limited the size of the building to the existing 32,053 square feet based on a lack of sufficient on-site parking." In a lengthy opinion, the court dismissed plaintiff's RLUIPA  discrimination, equal terms and exclusion claims, as well as its equal protection and due process allegations. However the court held that triable issues of fact remain on plaintiff's First Amendment claims and its RLUIPA claim that the city's action posed a substantial burden on its religious exercise.

Suit Dropped Challenging Faith-Based DC Homeless Shelter After Revised Arrangements

In a press release on Thursday, the ACLU and Americans United announced that they are dropping a lawsuit filed in 2008 (see prior posting) challenging a proposed D.C. arrangement with a religiously-sponsored homeless shelter:

The organizations filed the lawsuit ... after D.C. officials proposed giving the Central Union Mission approximately $7 million in cash, as well as a $9 million property called the Gales School, in exchange for property worth about $4 million.... At the time, the Mission required homeless men to attend Christian religious services as a condition of getting food and shelter....

[Under new arrangements] the Mission will lease the Gales School for $1 per year... and will rebuild and maintain the Gales School at its own expense. The lease prohibits the Mission from “requir[ing] any individual seeking [the Mission’s] services to participate in religious services or religious studies as a condition to receiving any service at the Leased Premises,” though the Mission will be allowed to use the Gales School for voluntary religious activities. The ACLU and Americans United will monitor the new developments to make sure the lease arrangement meets constitutional requirements.

School Board Settles Justice Department Suit On Refusal To Accommodate Hajj Trip

The Justice Department announced on Thursday that it has entered into a consent decree with the Berkeley, Illinois Board of Education in a Title VII religious discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of Safoorah Khan, a Muslim middle school teacher who was denied an unpaid leave that she requested so she could perform the Hajj. (See prior posting.) The suit was the first growing out of a program of enhanced cooperation between the EEOC and Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Under the consent decree, which must still be approved by the court, the school district will pay $75,000 to Khan for lost back pay, compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees, will develop a religious accommodation policy and will provide mandatory training on religious accommodation various personnel.

Bishop and Diocese Indicted For Delay In Reporting Sexual Offender To Authorities

The New York Times yesterday reported that a Missouri grand jury has indicted both Catholic bishop Robert W. Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph on misdemeanor charges growing out of their delay in reporting evidence of a suspected sex-offender priest to authorities. Bishop Finn knew last December that a priest, Father Shawn Ratigan, might subject children to sexual abuse, discovering hundreds of pornographic photos of girls on the priest's laptop. However the photos were not turned over to police until May. During that time, Ratigan continued to attend church events at which children were present, and took lewd photos of another young girl.  This is the first time that a criminal indictment has been brought against a diocese and its leader in connection with actions of a priest in the diocese. If convicted, Finn faces a possible fine of $1000 and up to one year in jail, while the diocese faces a possible fine of up to $5000. In a statement on the diocese website, Bishop Finn denied criminal wrongdoing.

Annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents In US Released

Last week, the Anti-Defamation League released its 2010 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, detailing anti-Jewish assaults, harassment and vandalism in the U.S.  The study showed a 2.3% increase over 2009. Of the 1239 incidents reported in 2010, California accounted for 297 of them and New York for 205. Nationwide, over 70% of the incidents involved harassment. Less than 2% involved assaults.

Illinois County Imposes New Zoning Limits On Houses of Worship

According to yesterday's Chicago Tribune, the DuPage County (IL) Board has approved a zoning law amendment that will limit new houses of worship and other places of assembly in residential areas. Under the new rules, residential buildings used as places of assembly must have access on an arterial street and must use public sewer and water service, or else receive a variance from the county. The limitation came after 5 applications for new mosques in residential areas had come to the county board-- three of which have been approved.  Opponents of the change say that single-family homes have been the primary starting point for new religious congregations.

Group Asks IRS To Investigate Alleged Political Endorsement By Church

Americans United announced yesterday that it has sent a letter (full text) to the Internal Revenue Service asking it to investigate the First Baptist Church of Dallas (TX) for violating the tax code's ban on non-profits endorsing political candidates.  The church's pastor, Robert Jeffress, introduced candidate Rick Perry at the Value Voters Summit last week end. (See prior posting.) Jeffress then posted a video of the introduction and of his appearance on MSNBC on the church's website. AU says that Jeffress has not avoided church endorsement of Perry by merely placing a disclaimer on the video clips saying they do not constitute an endorsement by the church.