Suit Challenges Ban On Distribution of Religious Literature In Schools

Alliance Defense Fund announced Monday that it had filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of "Kids for Christ" against the Owasso, Oklahoma Public Schools challenging school policy that bars religious groups from distributing flyers in the schools, as well as posting signs and making announcement of their events. The school policy provides that: "No literature will be distributed that contains primarily religious, objectionable, or political overtones which may be beneficial to any particular group or business at the expense of others."  The complaint (full text) in Owasso Kids for Christ v. Owasso Public Schools, (D OK, filed 10/24/2011), alleges that the policy violates the group's free speech and free exercise rights, as well as the due process, equal protection and Establishment clauses of the constitution.

NY Town Clerk Challenged In Election Over Marriage License Arrangement

AP reported yesterday that in Ledyard, New York, town clerk Rose Marie Belforti is being challenged in November's election by write-in candidate Ed Easter because of the way that Belforti is handling the issuance of marriage licenses.  Belforti decided that her Christian beliefs precluded her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, so she appointed a deputy clerk to handle marriage licenses for all couples.  Easter says that Belforti is being paid $12,000 per year for her part-time position, and the people should not be asked to pay another person to perform Belforti's duties.  Belforti says it is about accommodating her religious beliefs.

Florida Appeals Court Affirms Use of Sharia Law To Determine Whether Arbitration Is Enforceable

UPI reported yesterday that a Florida state appeals court has affirmed without opinion a decision of a state trial court that Islamic law can be used in deciding whether to enforce an arbitration award between a mosque and certain trustees of the mosque who had been removed from office. The trial court limited use of Sharia law to the question of whether Islamic dispute resolution procedures have been followed in the arbitration.. (See prior posting.)

Church Can Replace School Building-- Planning Board Had No Basis To Refuse Permission

Yesterday's Albany Times Union reports that a state trial court judge has overruled the Albany Planning Board's refusal to allow a Mormon church to tear down a former Catholic middle school building.  The court held that the Planning Board's conclusion that the building is vital to the fabric of the neighborhood lacks a rational basis. The LDS Church wants to replace the school building with a smaller chapel that provides more parking. In basing its decision on a lack of evidence supporting the Planning Board's conclusion, the court avoided ruling on the church's claims under RLUIPA.

UPDATE: Here is the full opinion in Matter of Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sts. v City of Albany, (NY Sup. Ct. Greene Co., Oct. 20, 2011).

In Israel, Group Complains About Ban of Single Women From Mikvehs

In Israel, community Religious Councils, under the jurisdiction of the government Religious Services Ministry, operate mikvehs (ritual baths) in various towns and cities.  YNet News reports today that the Religious Action Center (an organization of the Reform Jewish movement) has complained to the Religious Services Ministry about the policy in many communities that bars unmarried women from using the mikveh. The ban is intended to avoid giving halachic (Jewish religious law) authorization for single women to have sexual relations.  According to the Religious Action Center, the ban violates the Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Services, and Entry into Public Places Law, as well as freedom of religion and conscience and the right to human dignity. The Religious Affairs Ministry says it is looking into the matter.

Human Rights Group Condemns Rape and Forced Conversion In Pakistan

The Asian Human Rights Commission today issued a news release condemning the growing number of instances in Pakistan in which women from minority religious groups (Hindus and Christians) are raped and forced to covert to Islam:

The forced conversion to Islam of women from religious minority groups through rape and abduction has reached an alarming stage which challenges interfaith harmony due to the total collapse of the rule of law and biased attitude of the judicial officers. It appears today that no one, from the judiciary to the police and even the government has the courage to stand up to the threats from Muslim fundamentalist groups. The situation is worse with the police who always side with the Islamic groups and treat minority groups as lowly life forms.

The dark side of the forced conversion to Islam is not restricted only to the religious Muslim groups but also involves the criminal elements who are engage in rape and abduction and then justify their heinous crimes by forcing the victims to convert to Islam. The Muslim fundamentalists are happy to offer these criminals shelter and use the excuse that they are providing a great service to their sacred cause of increasing the population of Muslims.

High School ROTC Member May Not Wear Hijab In Uniform

Fox News reported last week on the case of a 14-year old Muslim high school girl in Brentwood, Tennessee who has quit her high school's Junior ROTC program because she was not permitted to wear a headscarf (hijab) while in uniform in the Homecoming parade. The school says it must follow Army regulations which do not permit religious garb that is exposed or covers the uniform. [Thanks to God and Country blog for the lead.]

Zoning Challenge Dismissed On Younger Abstention Grounds

In Salman v. City of Phoenix, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122387 (D AZ, Oct. 20, 2011), an Arizona federal district court dismissed on Younger v. Harris abstention grounds a challenge to the building code and zoning laws that prevented plaintiffs from using their home and a building on their property for weekly Bible study and prayer sessions with 40 to 50 family and friends.  The city claimed that religious activity within a residence is considered "Church use" and requires the appropriate permits. Pending state court proceedings charging plaintiffs with building code violations, and appeals of other building code and zoning convictions, precluded federal court jurisdiciton over plaintiff's RLUIPA, free exercise, equal protection and other claims.

Libya Assures World It Will Be Moderate Muslim Country

Attempting to calm fears raised in the West after his statement that Libya would look to Islamic law as its main source of legislation, (see prior posting), Libyan National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said yesterday: "I would like to assure the international community that we as Libyans are moderate Muslims." AP reports that meanwhile a London-based spokesman for the National Transitional Council said that Libya would not become a theocracy. It will be a civic and democratic state. At the daily U.S. State Department press briefing yesterday (full text), Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said:

I think we’ve seen various Islamic-based democracies wrestle with the issue of establishing rule of law within an appropriate cultural context. But the number one thing is that universal human rights, rights for women, rights for minorities, right to due process, right to transparency be fully respected.

Herman Cain's Church Affiliation Explored

Today's Atlanta Journal Constitution profiles Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's home church in Atlanta. The article is captioned Church's Pride in Cain Outweighs Differences.  Cain has been a member of the Antioch Baptist Church North for more than 30 years. The article reports:

For church members, Cain’s run for office is a point of pride — chagrin, too. He’s on a national stage, taking aim at President Barack Obama, who overwhelmingly carried the African-American vote in the 2008 election and still enjoys an 85 percent approval rating among blacks.

Post-Revolutionary Libyan Leader Endorses Islam-Based Constitution

In a ceremony in Benghazi, Libya yesterday, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, the chairman of the Transitional National Council, declared that Libya's revolution has now ended, as he endorsed Islamic goals. According to the New York Times, Abdel-Jalil said: "We are an Islamic country. We take the Islamic religion as the core of our new government. The constitution will be based on our Islamic religion." He promised to create Islamic banks in the new Libya.

Recent Articles and Film of Interest

From SSRN:

• Zoe Robinson, Rationalizing Religious Exemptions: A Legislative Process Theory of Statutory Exemptions for Religion, (William & Mary Bill of Rights, Forthcoming).
• Parveen Ara Pathan, Idea of Right of Maintenance of Woman in Islam and Socio Legal Development in India, (October 18, 2011).
• Samuel J. Levine, Jewish Law from Out of the Depths: Tragic Choices in the Holocaust, (Washington University Global Studies Law Review, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2011).
• Jeffrey Shulman, The Siren Song of History: Originalism and the Religion Clauses, (Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 27, p. 101, 2011).

From SmartCILP:

• Edward A. Fallone, Funding Stem Cell Research: The Convergence of Science, Religion & Politics In the Formation of Public Health Policy, 12 Marquette Elder's Advisor 247-293 (2011).
• Marci A. Hamilton, The Endorsement Factor, 43 Arizona State Law Journal 349-387 (2011).
• Anton Schutz, A Quandary Concerning Immanence, [Abstract], 22 Law & Critique 189-203 (2011).
• Symposium in Miniature: Religious Symbols on Government Property. Articles by John Witte, Jr., Nina-Louisa Arold, Andrea Pin and student Adam Linkner. 25 Emory International Law Review 5-149 (2011).

New Film:

• Vic Losick, In God We Teach, (2011).

Hertz Fires Muslim Employees For Refusing To Clock Out For Prayers

AP reported Friday that Hertz, the rental car company, is firing 26 Somali Muslim employees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport because they refuse to clock out for their daily prayer breaks. The Teamsters local union that represents the workers says that the company agreed during negotiations last year that the employees would not need to clock out. Hertz says that the failure of many employees to return promptly after their prayers had created an unfair work environment.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases and Note on New Format

Note to readers: Today my weekly compilation of prisoner free exercise cases appears in an abbreviated format which I plan to use in the future.  The prior format which included summaries had begun to consume far too much of my time for what I perceive the value of the summaries to be. If readers disagree with this assessment of the value of the prior format, please let me know by e-mail.

Here are recent decisions in which federal or state prisoners seek relief-- usually asserting free exercise and/or RLUIPA claims-- regarding conditions of confinement or other issues they perceive to infringe their religious exercise.  These cases often involve access to religious diets, materials or services while incarcerated:

Williams v. Sibbett, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 21103 (10th Cir., Oct. 18, 2011)

Jackson v. Goord, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117539 (WD NY, Oct. 11, 2011)

McKissick v. Owens, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118237 (MD GA, Oct. 13, 2011)

Somie v. GEO Group, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118546 (ED NC, Oct. 12, 2011)

Rupe v. Cate, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118414 (ED CA, Oct. 11, 2011)

Fitch v. City of Leitchfield, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118696 (WD KY, Oct. 11, 2011)

Cooper v. Evans, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117991 (SD IL, Aug. 3, 2011), adopted by 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114891 (Oct. 5, 2011)

McKenzie v. Ellis, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118373 (S.D. Cal. July 18, 2011), adopted by 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112222, (Sept. 29, 2011)

Turner-Bey v. Maynard, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118883 (D MD, Oct. 13, 2011).

Walton v. Sing, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119798 (ED CA, Oct. 17, 2011).

McChesney v. Hogan, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119690 (ND NY, Aug. 2, 2011), accepted in part and rejected in part by 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112525 (Sept. 30, 2011).

Egyptian Court Sentences Facebook Poster To 3 Years For Insulting Islam

AFP reports that in Egypt yesterday, a court sentenced Ayman Yusef Mansur to 3 years in prison at hard labor for Facebook postings that "intentionally insulted the dignity of the Islamic religion and attacked it with insults and ridicule."

Default Judgments Totaling $3M Entered Against Former Priest

According to the Boston Globe, yesterday a Massachusetts state trial court awarded two clergy sex abuse victims damages of $2 million and $1 million respectively after former Catholic priest John Dority failed to appear in court or respond to a lawsuit filed against him.  The 70-year old Dority, now a registered sex offender living in Connecticut, earlier told reporters that he did not respond to the lawsuit because he could not afford an attorney. He has admitted molesting the two victims and says he is very sorry.

Is Washington Anti-Discrimination Exemption for Religious Organizations Constitutional?

In Donelson v. Providence Health Services, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119194 (ED WA, Oct. 14, 2011), a former employee of a Catholic sponsored skilled nursing facility sued claiming she was wrongfully terminated because of an injury. In response to plaintiff's claim under the Washington Law Against Discrimination, the nursing facility invoked the exemption in the statute for non-profit religious organizations.  Plaintiff argued that insofar as that statutory exemption allowed sectarian organizations to discriminate on grounds other than religion, it violates Sec. 11 of the Washington Constitution "because it grants religious organizations broad license to discriminate on grounds such as disability, gender, and race, thereby improperly favoring religion over non-religion." In response, the federal court asked to parties to file briefs on whether the federal court should certify the question to the Washington Supreme Court.

8th Circuit Enjoins Nebraska Funeral Picketing Law

In Phelps-Roper v. Troutman, (8th Cir., Oct. 20, 2011), a 3-judge panel of the 8th Circuit held that the district court should have granted a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the Nebraska Funeral Picketing Law against members of the Westboro Baptist Church-- a group that pickets military funerals, among other places, protesting tolerance of homosexuality in the United States.  The court was bound by a 2008 decision by the 8th Circuit which enjoined enforcement of a similar statute on free speech grounds. However in separate opinions the judges questioned the correctness of that 2008 precedent. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports on the decision.

Bus Line In New York Hasidic Neighborhoods Segregates Sexes

The New York World reported earlier this week on an unusual arrangement for bus service in Brooklyn, New York on a line that runs between the Hasidic Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Borough Park.  A private company pays the city to allow it to provide public bus service on the route, and the company in turn collects fares from passengers. The buses-- at the behest of a board of consulting rabbis-- require men to sit an the front and women to sit in the back in order to prevent physical contact between members of the opposite sex.  The city Department of Transportation however says that the bus line-- as a public service-- is subject to anti-discrimination laws, and it is asking the company about the situation. [Thanks to Jean Dudley via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Revised Plan To Transfer Land To Catholic School Still Violates Establishment Clause

In Wirtz v. City of South Bend, Indiana, (ND IN, Oct. 19, 2011), and Indiana federal district court rejected a revised plan by South Bend to transfer land for use by a Catholic high school for construction of athletic facilities.  Last month the court held that the proposed transfer violates the Establishment Clause. (See prior posting.) In this decision, the court likewise rejected a new plan that called for sale of the land to the highest bidder, but with discretion to reject the high bid in favor of a lower one that promises to use the land to promote development of St. Joseph High School. The court said: "given the recent history of the City’s acquisition and attempt to convey the parcel here at issue, the City can’t do so with its stated criteria for selecting among bidders without sending a message of endorsement of the Catholic faith."  A press release from Americans United announced the decision. [Thanks to Don Byrd for the lead.]