Omnibus Appropriations Act 2012 -- Provisions On Religious Liberty

On Dec. 23, President Obama signed H.R. 2055, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012. The  lengthy bill contains several provisions of interest to those who follow religious liberty developments (italicized headings are mine):

New Age Belief Employee Training Ban

Title VII of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriation Act, Sec. 714 (at pg. 147):

None of the funds made available in this or any other Act may be obligated or expended for any employee training that— ... (4) contains any methods or content associated with religious or quasi-religious belief systems or "new age" belief systems as defined in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Notice N–915.022, dated September 2, 1988; or (5) is offensive to, or designed to change, participants’ personal values or lifestyle outside the workplace.

Health Care Contraceptive Coverage Exemptions

Title VII of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriation Act, Sec. 727 (at pg. 151):

(a) None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used to enter into or renew a contract which includes a provision providing prescription drug coverage, except where the contract also includes a provision for contraceptive coverage.

(b) Nothing in this section shall apply to a contract with— (1) any of the following religious plans: (A) Personal Care’s HMO; and (B) OSF HealthPlans, Inc.; and (2) any existing or future plan, if the carrier for the plan objects to such coverage on the basis of religious beliefs.

(c) In implementing this section, any plan that enters into or renews a contract under this section may not subject any individual to discrimination on the basis that the individual refuses to prescribe or otherwise provide for contraceptives because such activities would be contrary to the individual’s religious beliefs or moral convictions.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require coverage of abortion or abortion-related services.

Title VIII of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriation Act, Sec. 808 (at pg. 156):

Nothing in this Act may be construed to prevent the Council or Mayor of the District of Columbia from addressing the issue of the provision of contraceptive coverage by health insurance plans, but it is the intent of Congress that any legislation enacted on such issue should include a "conscience clause" which provides exceptions for religious beliefs and moral convictions.

Preservation of Foreign Religious Sites

Title I of the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies Appropriations (at pg. 381):

None of the funds appropriated under this heading may be used for the preservation of religious sites unless the Secretary of State determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such sites are historically, artistically, or culturally significant, that the purpose of the project is neither to advance nor to inhibit the free exercise of religion, and that the project is in the national interest of the United States.

USCIRF

US Commission on International Religious Freedom (at pg. 388): A budget of $3 million is appropriated, to remain available until Sept. 30, 2013. However the section also provides that Section 209 of the International Religious Freedom Act is to be amended to substitute "September 30, 2012" for "September 30, 2011". This provision causes the Commission to terminate in 2012, even though HR 2687, also signed by the President on Dec. 23, extends the Commission's life until Sept. 30, 2014.

Natural Family Planning Grants

Title III of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (at pg. 392):

[I]n awarding grants for natural family planning under section 104 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 no applicant shall be discriminated against because of such applicant’s religious or conscientious commitment to offer only natural family planning....

Reconciliation Programs

Title VII of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (at pg. 465):

Of the funds appropriated by title III of this Act under the headings "Economic Support Fund" and "Development Assistance", $26,000,000 shall be made available to support people-to-people reconciliation programs which bring together individuals of different ethnic, religious and political backgrounds from areas of civil strife and war, of which $10,000,000 shall be made available for such programs in the Middle East

Russian Religious Discrimination

Title VII of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (at pg. 470):

None of the funds appropriated under the heading "Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia" in this Act may be made available for the Government of the Russian Federation, after 180 days from the date of the enactment of this Act, unless the Secretary of State certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of the Russian Federation: (1) has implemented no statute, Executive order, regulation or similar government action that would discriminate, or which has as its principal effect discrimination, against religious groups or religious communities in the Russian Federation in violation of accepted international agreements on human rights and religious freedoms to which the Russian Federation is a party....

Austrian Appeals Court Upholds Conviction For Denigrating Muslim Religious Beliefs

Hudson New York reports on a December 20 ruling by Austrian Provincial Appellate Court in Vienna  upholding the conviction of  Viennese housewife Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff under Section 188 of the Austrian Criminal Code for denigrating the religious beliefs of a legally recognized religion.  Defendant was fined the equivalent of $625. The conviction grew out of a 3-part seminar on Islam that Sabaditsch-Wolff presented in 2009 to a political academy linked to the Austrian Freedom Party, during which she said: "Mohammed had a thing for little girls."

RLUIPA Claim Dismissed On Ripeness Grounds

In Guatay Christian Fellowship v. County of San Diego, (9th Cir., Dec. 23, 2011), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 53-page opinion, dismissed on ripeness grounds a church's RLUIPA land use lawsuit.  Since 1986 the church had held services in a recreation building in a San Diego County trailer park.  In 2008, the county notified the trailer park of numerous land use violations, including illegal conversion of the recreation hall into a church.  The county said that a Modification of Use Permit (MUP) was required to use the building for religious assembly. Without filing for an MUP, the church brought suit alleging violations of RLUIPA as well as violations of the 1st and 14th Amendments.  The 9th Circuit said: "We cannot determine if the Church has suffered a 'substantial burden' under RLUIPA until at least one Use Permit application has been submitted." The court also rejected plaintiffs' constitutional claims.

Washington State Court Stops Autopsy After Religious Objections

On Dec. 16, a Washington state Superior Court judge issued an order barring the Pierce County (WA) medical examiner from conducting an autopsy on the body of an Orthodox Jewish man who was found dead in the snow on Mount Rainier.  The Olympian reported on Friday that 54-year old Brian Grobois died on a solo snowshoe hike.  His body was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center where he was pronounced dead and his cause of death was listed on medical records as hypothermia/ cardiac arrest.  However Pierce County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Clark thought the cause of death was not clear because the body was covered with bruises, and he wanted to perform an autopsy. The family objected, obtained a TRO from a county court commissioner. The county appealed, but Superior Court judge agreed. The episode produced a good deal of celebrity attention and political pressure on behalf of Grobois' family. The Pierce County Jewish community says it will ask the Washington legislature to enact a statutory provision allowing families to object on religious grounds to an autopsy.

In India, Requiring Violators To Swear To Obey Traffic Rules Irks Religious Leaders

In India, Hindu and Sikh religious leaders are angry at the Traffic Police in the city of Gurgaon.  IANS reported last Friday that the Gurgaon police have launched a new Sensible Driving campaign. Truck drivers found violating the rules on expressways are being fined, but then are also being required to take an oath on the holy book of their own religion, swearing to obey traffic rules in the future. Taking an oath in this way violates religious rules of various sorts depending on the religion involved.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Dawinder S. Sidhu, Religious Freedom and Inmate Grooming Standards, (December 18, 2011).
• C. Scott Pryor, C. Scott, The Law of Contracts: A Place to Start, (Journal of Christian Legal Thought, p. 7, Winter 2011).
• Hannibal Travis, On the Original Understanding of the Crime of Genocide, (December 20, 2011).
• Chapin Cimino, Campus Citizenship and Associational Freedom: An Aristotelian Take on the Nondiscrimination Puzzle, (William & Mary Bill of Rights, Vol. 20, p. 533, 2011).

From SmartCILP:

• Kimberly L. Alderman, The Designation of West Bank Mosques as Israeli National Heritage Sites: Using the 1954 Hague Convention To Protect Against In Situ Appropriation of Cultural Sites, 44 Creighton Law Review 799-809 (2011).
• 17th Annual International Law & Religion Symposium. Articles by Thomas B. Griffith, Tahir Mahmood, Rassie Malherbe, Iain McLean, Scot M. Peterson, Rafael Palomino, Vicente Prieto, Jeroen Temperman, Zeng Chuanhui, Zhang Qianfan and Zhu Yingping. 2011 Brigham Young University Law Review 597-818.

Russian Court Reverses Extremism Conviction of Jehovah's Witness Leader

In Russia, the Altai Republic Supreme Court on Thursday reversed the religious extremism conviction of a local Jehovah's Witness leader.  RAPSI reports that the Supreme Court cancelled the Gorno-Altaysk City Court's judgment against Alexander Kalistratov, a head of Altai branch of Jehovah's Witnesses who had been sentenced to 100 hours of community service after he published and distributed 48 articles aimed at discrediting other religions.  The Supreme Court said that Kalistratov's actions do not constitute a crime.  The conviction that was under review came only after a second trial. Initially the local court acquitted, the Supreme Court reversed the acquittal and Kalisrtatov was convicted upon retrial. (RAPSI 11/3).

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

Nelson v. Miller, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145431 (SD IL, Dec. 19, 2011), is a case on remand from the 7th Circuit which held that a prison chaplain substantially burdened an inmate's exercise  of religion by requiring that he provide documentation that his religion required a meatless diet, and by denying his requests for such a diet. In this decision, and Illinois federal magistrate judge concluded that defendant did not have qualified immunity and that his actions did not further a legitimate penological interest. The court awarded plaintiff $2980 in damages for violation of his 1st Amendment rights, but found that individual capacity claims under the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act are barred by sovereign immunity.

In Greene v. Shearin, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145499 (D MD, Dec. 19, 2011), a Maryland federal district court rejected an inmate's free exercise claim, finding that his belief in "Good Mental Health" is a secular, not a religious, belief and that he had not shown that his desire to be supervised by African-Americans is a tenet of his religion.

In Sims v. Wegman, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145700 (ED CA, Dec. 19, 2011), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed, with leave to amend, an inmate's complaint that as a member of Nation of Islam he should be entitled to change from a Vegetarian Diet to a Kosher Diet.

In Rodriguez v. Hubbard, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145701 (ED CA, Dec. 19, 2011), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed an inmate's free exercise and retaliation claims but gave him leave to amend to properly assert claims regarding confiscation of his Native American prayer pipe and other religious artifacts, denial or religious services and counseling and retaliation.

In Drumgo v. Brown, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145829 (D DE, Dec. 16, 2011), a Delaware federal district court upheld a prison rule allowing inmates to have only one religious book in their cell, rejecting an inmate's complaint that authorities confiscated a Qur'an and Bible from his cell and returned only the Qur'an. the Bible was held as evidence for the inmate's disciplinary proceeding.

In Buckley v. Alameida, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146233 (ED CA, Dec. 20, 2011), a California federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing complaints by a Black Orthodox Jewish prisoner that his kosher food packages were confiscated, but recommended that he be permitted to proceed with his claim that his menorah and Hanukkah candles were confiscated with intent to discriminate against him on the basis of religion.

In Pittman-Bey v. Clay, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147350 (SD TX, Dec. 22, 2011), a Texas federal magistrate judge permitted an inmate who is member of the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam to proceed with his claim that his free exercise rights were violated by a prison rule that allowed him to receive an after-sunset Ramadan meal only if he attended Friday Jumah services. His beliefs required that he not attend Jumah services while incarcerated.  However money damage claims against certain defendants were dismissed on 11th Amendment grounds, and claims against certain individual defendants were dismissed.

In Hankins v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147067 (WD PA, Dec. 22, 2011), a Pennsylvania federal district court adopted most of the recommendations of a federal magistrate judge (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147478, Nov. 30, 2011) and dismissed an inmate's complaint that he was denied consultation with a religious representative and denied religious materials.

In Cayce v. George, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147907 (MD TN, Dec. 23, 2011), a Tennessee federal district court dismissed a jail inmate's complaint that while in protective custody he was not able to attend religious services because of a lack of volunteers to provide services.

In Stewart v. Beach, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147765 (D KA, Dec. 22, 2011), a Kansas federal district court dismissed on qualified immunity grounds a complaint by a Rastafarian inmate that he was required to cut his dreadlocks in order to transfer prison facilities to be closer to his mother who had been diagnosed with cancer.

In Treesh v. Leha Bobb-Itt, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147837 (SD OH, Dec. 21, 2011), an Ohio federal magistrate judge denied a motion for reconsideration made by a Native American inmate in a case in which he complained that his free exercise rights were violated when he was not allowed to wear a feather in his hair on a daily basis. His motion was based on the denial of DNA testing to show he was a Native American, though that was not the basis on which authorities did not permit his wearing of a feather.

No Free Exercise or Title VI Claims Shown In Campus Anti-Israel Activity

In Felber v. Yudof, (ND CA, Dec. 22, 2011), a California federal district court rejected claims by a Jewish student and a recent Jewish graduate of the University of California Berkeley that university officials have permitted "a dangerous anti-Semitic climate" to develop on University of California campuses.  Plaintiffs claim that officials have failed to adopt policies and procedures to protect Jewish students from threats and harassment by two student groups, the Muslim Student Association and Students for Justice in Palestine. In particular, the complaint focuses on harassment by these student groups during the anti-Israel "Apartheid Week" in 2010.  Rejecting plaintiffs' free exercise claim, the court held that even if anti-Semitic acts can be deemed an interference with the free exercise of religion, University officials have no constitutional obligation to prevent private parties from interfering with the constitutional rights of others.  The court also rejected plaintiffs' claims under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. While Title VI might obligate the University to regulate the conduct of other students, to succeed plaintiffs would need to show conduct that is, “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it denies its victims the equal access to education.”  Here much of the conduct was political speech; much of it took place outside the presence of plaintiffs; and plaintiffs have not alleged denials of access to the University's educational services in any meaningful sense. Finally plaintiffs have not alleged that University officials acted with deliberate indifference. In dismissing the Title VI claims, the court gave plaintiffs' the right to file an amended Title VI complaint against the Regents and the individual defendants.

By deciding the case on these grounds, the court largely avoided having to deal with two other difficult legal issues that might be posed: (1) When does anti-Israel activity become anti-Semitism?; and (2) Does the prohibition in Title VI against racial (but not religious) discrimination in access to federally funded educational programs cover anti-Semitic denials? (See prior related posting.)

The University issued a release on the decision, saying in part: "UC Berkeley is committed to maintaining an inclusive and respectful campus environment that is safe and welcoming for everyone, without regard to religion, race, ethnicity or ideology. The university is also committed to enforcing the law and protecting the rights of free expression for every single member of the campus community, and we are pleased that the suit has recognized our efforts in this area."

Protesters In Maldives Want Stricter Islamic Limitations

AP reports that over 3,000 people-- at the call of the opposition Justice Party and other groups-- protested in the capital of the Maldives on Friday, calling on the government to end "anti-Islamic" activities.  Protesters want an end to the sale of alcohol, the closing of brothels operating as massage parlors, destruction of monuments (seen as idols) presented by other countries to the Maldives last month for a South Asian summit (see prior posting), and scrapping of proposed direct flights to Israel. Maldives President Mohammad Nasheed however said he supports the moderate brand of Islam that has traditionally been practiced in the country.  He said: "We can't achieve development by going backwards to the stone age or being ignorant."

Court OK's Proposed Nevada Fetal Personhood Initiative After A Rewrite

In Chen v. Nevada Prolife Coalition, (NV Dist. Ct., Dec. 19, 2011), a Nevada state trial court allowed an advocacy group to move ahead with attempts to obtain enough signatures to place a proposed fetal personhood constitutional amendment on the 2012 ballot. The proposed amendment reads:

The intentional taking of a prenatal person's life shall never be allowed in this State.... [T]he term "prenatal person includes every human being at all stages of biological development before birth.

The court rejected a claim that the proposed amendment is invalid because it embraces more than one subject. However the court did require that the petition language describing the effect of the amendment be rewritten before petitions are circulated.  The court set out the language that must be used in the new description. It reads in part:

All person are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights including the right to life. This initiative proposes to add a new section to the Nevada Constitution to protect a prenatal person's right to life.... The initiative would ... prevent all abortions even in the case of rape, incest or serious threats to the woman's health or life.... The initiative will impact some rights Nevada women currently have to utilize some forms of birth control, including the "pill;" and to access certain fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization. The initiative will affect embryonic stem cell research, which offers potential for treating diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease and others.

According to a report from the American Independent, proponents must obtain 72.352 valid signatures by June. Last year, a Nevada state court struck down attempts to circulate petitions for a different version of a personhood amendment (see prior posting) and the state Supreme Court dismissed an appeal as moot (see prior posting).

FLDS Members May Be Evicted If They Refuse To Pay Taxes On Trust Property

While the federal courts are deciding whether Utah courts acted constitutionally in issuing orders to reform the United Effort Plan Trust of the FLDS Church (see prior posting), a Utah state court last week ruled that the court-appointed fiduciary for the trust can evict residents who have not paid property taxes and occupancy fees on homes owned by the Trust which they occupy.  Around 143 of the 176 parcels in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. have some back taxes due on them. Thursday's Salt Lake Tribune reports that court-appointed fiduciary Bruce Wissan fears that if action is not taken, some of the properties will go up for tax sales within 18 months.  He says that rather than losing the properties, he will allocate them to other individuals who will pay taxes and fees. The tax situation is complicated by the fact that some parcels contain several homes, so that a delinquency by one places the entire parcel in arrears.  Also, residents hesitate to pay the back taxes because if a federal court decision invalidating Utah's reformation of the Trust is upheld, particularly the non-FLDS members who have been allocated homes may lose them when Trust administration is returned to the Church. (See prior related posting.)

Canadian Court Says Botched Ritual Circumcision Was Aggravated Assault

In Regina v. D.J.W., (B.C. Ct. App., Dec. 22, 2011), the British Columbia Court of Appeal held that a father who botched an attempt at home to perform a religious circumcision on his 4-year old son should have been convicted of assault with a weapon and aggravated assault instead of "criminal negligence causing bodily harm".   (See prior posting.) Defendant performed the circumcision after doctors refused on the ground that a general anesthesia would be necessary and could not be justified for a 4-year old. Defendant raised a religious freedom defense, but the court responded:

The religious views of the accused are not impeded by the provisions of the Criminal Code in issue in this case. The accused’s religion did not demand that the circumcision be performed by the accused himself, nor did the trial judge find that religious necessity dictated that the circumcision be performed immediately so that the accused was left with no alternative but to perform the operation himself. Thus, it is not the accused’s religious beliefs that are at issue, but the rights and best interests of D.J. with respect to whether he should have been subjected to an attempted circumcision by his father in the circumstances and conditions under which it was attempted.

Canadian Press reports on the decision.

Junior ROTC Cadets Can Now Wear Religious Head Coverings

The Department of Defense has agreed to change its Army Junior ROTC uniform policy to permit Cadets to request to wear religious head coverings, such as the Sikh turban or Muslim hijab. The policy change comes after a 14-year old high school student in Tennessee was forced to transfer out of her JROTC class because her commanding officers refused to allow her to wear her hijab while marching in the September homecoming parade. A CAIR press release yesterday quotes a letter from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army announcing the new policy.

Suit Seeks Placement Of Winter Solstice Anti-Religion Sign Next To Creche

The Freedom From Religion Foundation yesterday announced the filing of a federal court lawsuit against the city of Warren, Michigan in an attempt to require the city to place an FFRF Winter Solstice sign next to a nativity scene that is already on display in the Warren Civic Center. The sandwich-board sign reads in part: "Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."  The full text of the complaint, motion for preliminary injunction and brief in support of the motion in Freedom from Religion Foundation, Inc. v. City of Warren, Michigan, (ED MI, filed 12/22/2011), recounts FFRF's efforts to have its sign displayed.  The mayor of Warren refused FFRF's request to display the sign, saying that it "is clearly anti-religion and meant to counter the religious tone of the Nativity Scene, which could lead to confrontations and a disruption of city hall." The complaint alleges that the Nativity Scene violates the Establishment Clause; and that refusal to display FFRF's sign violates the free speech clause of the 1st Amendment as well as the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

Settlement Is Reached In Suit By Nurses Asserting Conscience Rights In Assisting On Abortions

AP reports that a settlement has been reached in Danquah v. University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, a suit filed last month by a group of nurses who claim that the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has demanded that they assist in abortions in violation of their religious objections. (See prior posting.)  Under the settlement which was mediated by U.S. District Judge Jose Linares, 12 nurses in the same-day surgery unit will retain their current positions and, with a limited exception, will not be required to assist in any part of an abortion procedure. If there is a life-threatening emergency and no non-objecting staff members are available, then the nurses will be required to assist, but only until another staff member can be brought in.

Christian College Sues Over Health Care Mandate To Cover Contraceptives and Sterilization

The Becket Fund announced this week the filing of a lawsuit by Colorado Christian University (CCU) challenging on free exercise, free expression and other grounds regulations issued under the Affordable Care Act that require health care plans to cover all FDA-approved contraceptive methods and sterilization procedures. The plans must also cover related education and counseling.  While the regulations contain an exemption for certain religious employers (see prior posting), the exemption is too narrow to cover universities whose purpose is not limited to the inculcation of religious values. The complaint (full text) in Colorado Christian University v. Sebelius, (D CO, filed 12/22/2011), seeks a declaration that enforcement of the regulations against CCU violates the 1st Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and that the regulations were issued in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. It also seeks an injunction against enforcement of the regulations against religious organizations that object to providing insurance coverage for contraceptives (including  abortifacient contraceptives) and sterilization. A similar lawsuit was filed last month by a Benedictine Catholic University (see prior posting); however CCU is the first interdenominational Christian college to bring such a suit.

Court Lacks Authority To Order Husband To Give Jewish Divorce Document

In Lowy v. Lowy, (NJ App., Dec. 21, 2011), a New Jersey appeals court held that a trial judge lacked authority to order defendant husband to give a get (Jewish divorce document) to his wife where the husband was under no contractual obligation to do so. While the parties had submitted their dispute to a Jewish religious court (Bais Din), that religious arbitration panel did not order the husband to give his wife a get. The court held:

Once the Bais Din decree is eliminated as a source of authority for the judge's August 27, 2010 enforcement order -- as it must be -- the order cannot be sustained because it constitutes impermissible judicial involvement in a matter of religious practice.

Under Jewish religious law, a get can only be issued with the cooperation of the husband, and the wife may not remarry in a traditional Jewish religious ceremony if she has not received a get. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Court Again Rules For Seventh Day Adventist Church In Zoning Dispute

In Reaching Hearts International, Inc. v. Prince George's County, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146495 (D MD, Dec. 21, 2011), a Maryland federal district court ordered Prince George's County (MD) Council to reconsider its partial denial of a water and sewer service category change for a church building that a Seventh Day Adventist organization wished to construct.  As reported by the Washington Examiner this week, plaintiffs already won a $3.7 million religious discrimination judgement against the county in 2008 for its actions that prevented the church from obtaining clearance to build. Apparently the refusal was motivated at least in part by the views of one Council member who believed that no more churches were needed in the area. (See prior posting.) In its decision this week, the court said: "The reasons given by the County for its initial denial of RHI's 2010 Application closely mirror the reasons previously given for all of its actions at issue in the 2008 trial which were rejected by the jury's verdict and this Court's order."

2d Circuit: Res Judicata Bars Relitigation of Moorish Officers Dismissal

In Bey v. City of New York, (2d Cir., Dec. 19, 2011), the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed on res judicata grounds a suit by two New York City correctional officers who were members of the Moorish American Religion-- which teaches that Moors are exempt from taxes.  Appellants were dismissed from their Department of Corrections positions for filing false tax documents with the intent to defraud.  The Court concluded that a prior lawsuit which plaintiffs lost was based on the same series of transactions that give rise to the constitutional challenge to plaintiffs' suspension and termination in this case.