4th Circuit: Qualified Immunity Protects Officers Who Barred Graphic Anti-Abortion Signs

In Lefemine v. Wideman, (4th Cir., March 5, 2012), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Greenwood County Sheriff’s Department officials had qualified immunity as to damage claims against them by an anti-abortion organization, Columbia Christians for Life. The court held that it was not clearly established at the time of the group's 2005 anti-abortion demonstration that  law enforcement officers could not bar the display, even in a traditional public forum, of large graphic photos of aborted fetuses. The court also upheld the district court's refusal to award attorneys' fees to plaintiffs as well as the scope of the district court's injunctive and declaratory relief.

Australian Requirement On Identifying Veiled Women Signing Documents Taking Effect

In the Australian state of New South Wales, on April 30 new laws take effect which will require Muslim women wearing the full face veil to remove it when signing documents that need to be officially witnessed. According to The National yesterday, the law passed last December imposes a fine of 220 dollars Australian on justices of the peace and lawyers who witness documents without checking the identity of the person signing it by asking the person to show her face. Muslim women will generally be able to locate women justices of the peace to witness documents.

Israeli Mail Carriers Object To Delivering New Testaments

In Israel, mail carriers in the city of Ramat Gan are refusing to deliver thousands of copies of the New Testament translated into Hebrew that have been mailed to city residents. According to YNet News today, religious mail carriers are asserting that delivering the books, which they see as missionary material, violates their conscience. They say that delivering the books to Jewish residents violates halacha (Jewish religious law).  They also say that delivering missionary material is illegal under Israeli civil law, though that is unclear. The U.S. State Department Religious Freedom Report says:

Proselytizing is legal in the country, and missionaries of all religious groups are allowed to proselytize all citizens. A 1977 law prohibits any person from offering material benefits as an inducement to conversion. It is also illegal to convert persons under 18 years of age unless one parent is an adherent of the religious group seeking to convert the minor. Despite the legality of proselytism, the government has taken a number of steps that discouraged proselytizing and encouraged the popular perception that it is illegal.

The Israel Postal Company says: "The Israel Postal Company is a governmental company operating in accordance to the Postal Law, which obligates us to distribute any mail it receives. The Israel Postal Company has no right or ability to chose what it can or cannot distribute. Therefore, the mail will be distributed according to the law."

Florida Legislature Passes Bill Authorizing Student-Led Inspirational Messages

Last Thursday, the Florida House of Representatives passed by a vote of 88-27 and sent to the governor for signature SB 98. The bill authorizes school districts to adopt policies allowing inspirational messages to be composed and delivered by students at student assemblies. The bill already passed the state Senate in early February by a vote of 31-8. According to last Thursday's Palm Beach Post News, Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign the bill into law.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Abdulla Galadari, Punishment of a Merciful God: A Qur’anic Explanation of an Apparent Contradiction, (The International Journal of the Humanities, Vol. 9, No. 6, pp. 47-54, 2012).
• Ekaterina Yahyaoui Krivenko, The Islamic Veil and its Discontents: How Do they Undermine Gender Equality, (Religion and Human Rights, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 11-29, 2012).
• Linda Ross Meyer, Love, Law and Sacrifice in 'to Kill a Mockingbird', (December 26, 2011).
• Haider Ala Hamoudi, The American Commercial Religion, (Depaul Business and Commercial Law Journal, Vol. 10, January 26, 2012).
• Nicholas Matich, Forum Domination: Religious Speech in Extremely Limited Public Fora, (Virginia Law Review, Vol. 98, No. 5, 2012).
• Justin McDevitt, Avoiding the Salaam Witch Trials: Lessons the U.S. Should Learn from Europe About Welcoming Muslims, (March 1, 2012).
• Kristen A. Carpenter, Limiting Principles and Empowering Practices in American Indian Religious Freedoms, (March 2, 2012).

SmartCILP:

• Sarah Lunsford Kohen, Religious Freedom in Private Lawsuits: Untangling When RFRA Applies to Suits Involving Only Private Parties, 10 Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal 43-80 (2011).

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Kendrick v. Pope, (8th Cir., March 1, 2012), in a 2-1 decision, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held that an Arkansas inmate had adequately exhausted her administrative remedies relating to confiscation of her Catholic Bible, rosary beads, and other religious materials during a November 2007 cell shakedown. Judge Colloton concurred in part and dissented in part.

In Dayringer v. Webster, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23771 (WD MO, Feb. 24, 2012), a Missouri federal magistrate judge rejected a Christian Separatist Church Society inmate's free exercise, equal protection and RLUIPA challenges to a Missouri Department of Corrections policy that limited inmates to possessing six books. It also rejected claims that searches of plaintiffs' cells were retaliatory.

In Garrison v. O'Dell, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23905 (ED WA, Feb, 24, 2012), a Washington federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153512, Nov. 18, 2011) and dismissed an inmate's complaint that his rights were infringed when correctional officers tampered with his food; said it looked "Jewishly kosher"; gave food plaintiff refused to other inmates; and mixed kosher and non-kosher foods.

In Trevino v. Martel, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24296 (ND CA, Feb. 24, 2012), a California federal district court permitted a Native American inmate to move ahead with his complaint that prison officials denied him the use of tobacco for religious purposes and retaliated against him for filing grievances regarding tobacco by locking the gate to the religious sweat lodge.

In Saldana v. Borem, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26131 (SD CA, Feb. 24, 2012), a California federal district court, rejecting in part a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153697, Dec. 16, 2011) dismissed, in part with leave to amend, complaints by an inmate who was a member of the Nahuatl/Aztec religion that a drawing with religious significance was seized as pornography.

In Locklear v. Thomas, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25987 (ED NC, Feb. 29, 2012), a North Carolina federal district court dismissed 1st Amendment and  RLUIPA claims regarding treatment of Native American inmates at a religious feast and plaintiff's being barred from attending a prayer circle.

In Easterling v. Pollard, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26728 (ED WI, Feb. 29, 2012), a Wisconsin federal district court dismissed a claim by a Sunni Muslim inmate who insisted that he should observe Ramadan beginning 3 weeks earlier than the date set by the Figh Council of North America on which the Department of Corrections relies.

Report Traces Development of Santorum's Religious Faith

Today's New York Times carries a long front-page story on Rick Santorum's development of his religious faith. Titled From ‘Nominal Catholic’ to Clarion of Faith, the article reports:

Central to Mr. Santorum’s spiritual life is his wife, whom he calls “the rock which I stand upon.” Before marrying, the couple decided to recommit themselves to their Catholic faith — a turnabout for Karen Santorum, who had been romantically involved with a well-known abortion provider in Pittsburgh and had openly supported abortion rights, according to several people who knew her then....

The Santorums’ beliefs are reflected in a succession of lifestyle decisions, including eschewing birth control, home schooling their younger children and sending the older boys to a private academy affiliated with Opus Dei, an influential Catholic movement that emphasizes spiritual holiness....

 Mr. Santorum was elected to the United States Senate in 1994. He likes to say he found God there.... His more spiritual path, he said, was prompted in part by a hallway encounter with Don Nickles, then a Republican senator from Oklahoma, who urged Mr. Santorum to attend a Bible study with fellow senators.... In the Senate, Mr. Santorum started a prayer group and would go on to help convert a fellow senator, Sam Brownback, now the governor of Kansas, to Catholicism....

In a 2002 essay, Mr. Santorum wrote that too many Catholics had been exposed to “uninspired, watered-down versions of our faith” and that it was time for more committed Catholics to reclaim religious institutions, like colleges, schools and hospitals, “for the sake of our souls.”

U.S. Muslim Group Launches Campaign To Explain Shariah

Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) has announced that on Monday it is launching a campaign titled "Defending Religious Freedom" which is designed to create a better understanding of shariah law and to dispel common misunderstandings of it. The Defending Religious Freedom website furnishes extensive resources on shariah and on the progress of anti-shariah bills in numerous state legislatures. According to Religion News Service, the new campaign by ICNA will cost some $3 million and will feature billboards in at least 15 U.S. cities. ICNA will also sponsor "Shariah seminars" on 20 college campuses, as well as town halls and interfaith events in 25 cities.

House Resolution Condemns Iran's Persecution of Religious Minorities And Sentencing of Christian Convert

On Thursday, by a vote of 417-1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 556 condemning Iran's persecution of religious minorities and calling for the release of Youcef Nadarkhani as well as all others held or charged on account of their religion. Nadarkhani is a Muslim convert to Christianity who has been sentenced to death for apostasy and refusing to recant his new faith. (See prior related posting.) The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that the single "no" vote on the House Resolution by Louisiana representative Lois Capps was cast by mistake. She in fact strongly supports the resolution.

Egyptian Court Dismisses Blasphemy Suit For Plaintiff's Lack of Standing

In Egypt yesterday, a court dismissed a second lawsuit charging businessman Naguib Sawiris with blasphemy for a cartoon of Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie Mouse in a veil which he tweeted last June. The court ruled that Ali Dergham, the conservative Salafi lawyer who brought the suit, lacked standing because he was not injured. The court sent the case to the prosecutor's office for further investigation. AP's report on the case reviews the rise in blasphemy cases filed by Salafi lawyers in recent months as their Al-Nour party has become the second most powerful in Egypt's new parliament. Last week a court dismissed another similar case against Sawiris on the same ground. (See prior posting.)

Suit Filed Over Library's Room Use Policy

The religious education and advocacy organization, Liberty Counsel, last month filed a federal lawsuit against the Seaside, Oregon public library after being denied use of a library meeting room for a planned program on educating children from a Biblical perspective.  The complaint (full text) in Liberty Counsel, Inc. v. Seaside Public Library Board of Trustees, (D OR, filed 2/9/2012), alleges that the library's room-use policy violates the 1st Amendment's free expression and establishment clauses, as well as the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Under the library's rules, rooms are available for non-profit groups to use, but use for religious services or proselytizing is not permitted. The Astoria (OR) Daily Astorian reports on the lawsuit.

Pennsylvania Church Loses Zoning Challenge

In First Korean Church of New York v. Cheltenham Township Zoning Hearing Board, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25968 (ED PA, Feb. 29, 2012), a Pennsylvania federal district court granted summary judgment to defendants in a lawsuit by First Korean Church that had been prevented by township zoning ordinances from using a 33.8 acre property for a church and seminary. The property, purchased by the church at a sheriff's sale, formerly housed another seminary. Plaintiff argues that a series of zoning actions and amendments since 1998 violated RLUIPA as well as the 1st and 14th Amendments. The court disagreed.

2nd Circuit Blinks In Bronx Household of Faith Temporary Injunction

In the battle between the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals and New York federal district judge Loretta Preska over the scope of a preliminary injunction in Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York, it appears that the Second Circuit has blinked.  As previously reported, Judge Preska defied the Second Circuit and on Feb. 24 extended to all schools her temporary injunction against enforcement of a New York rule barring churches from using school buildings after hours for worship services. The Second Circuit had said the temporary injunction should extend only to Bronx Household of Faith's use of a school building. The New York Law Journal reports that on Feb. 29, the Second Circuit refused the schools' request to stay Judge Preska's Feb 24 injunction. However the Second Circuit asked Judge Preska to hand down an opinion in the case by mid-June so that the dispute can be resolved by the start of school in the Fall. On that basis, the Second Circuit said that while the harm suffered by the schools "is real and significant," it "consists only in the continuation for the short balance of this school year of a status quo that has been in effect for almost a decade." AP reports on the latest developments.

"Jesus Christ Superstar" Cancelled In Belarus

The Christian Post and RIA Novosti report that further performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar have been cancelled in Belarus. A tour of the show in the country was scheduled by the St.Petersburg-based theater Rock Opera. The tour began in Brest, but opposition by leaders of the Orthodox Church and outraged audiences who saw the show as blasphemous led to performances being cancelled in Gomel, Mogilyov, and Minsk. [corrected]. It is unclear whether the government ordered the cancellations, or whether Rock Opera decided on its own to cancel it to avoid further strife. Apparently the faithful were particularly offended by a performance scheduled for the first day of Lent.

Pakistan Arrests Men Who Assaulted Woman Charged With Apostasy

Today's Pakistan Express Tribune reports that in the northeastern Pakistani city of Gujranwala, some 25 men have been arrested for assaulting a woman-- identified as Sana-- whom they accused of apostasy. Sana had converted from Christianity to Islam six months ago and had moved to the village with her two sons. However villagers accused her of still seeing her Christian husband. Sana denies that allegation and says that the villagers were stirred up by one of her attackers whose proposal of marriage she had turned down. The men who attacked her, shaved her head, required her to put on a garland made of shoes and paraded her through the village. The men will appear in an anti-terrorism court in Gujranwala today, charged with violating Sec. 354 of the Pakistan Penal Code (Assault to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and Sec. 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

2012 White House Easter Egg Roll Announced; Lottery For Tickets Opens

The White House announced yesterday that the134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll will be held on April 9.  This year's theme is "Let's Go, Let's Play, Let's Move." Starting yesterday and until March 5, children 13 years old and younger, along with their families, can enter an online lottery through which tickets to attend will be distributed. Elementary and Middle School students are also invited to enter a poster contest for the 2012 Easter Egg Roll.

Senate Tables Proposed Broad Conscience Exemption To Required Health Care Coverage

The Washington Post reports that the Senate today tabled-- and thus effectively killed-- a proposed amendment (full text) to a federal highway bill offered by Sen. Toy Blunt (R-Mo) that would have provided a broad conscience exemption from any otherwise required coverage by health insurance plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The exemption would not have been limited to religiously affiliated organizations. The vote to table was 51-48, largely along party lines. However one Republican voted to table, while 3 Democrats voted against the motion to table.

Egyptian Court Sentences Christian For Insulting Prophet; Separate Case Dismissed

BikyaMasr reports today that a court in the southern Egyptian province of Assiut has sentenced Makram Diab, a Christian, to 6 years in prison for showing contempt of religion and insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Diab, a school employee, made remarks that infuriated his Muslim co-workers who went on strike until he was arrested and prosecuted.  Earlier this week, according to AP, a court in Cairo threw out a lawsuit against telecommunications mogul Naguib Sawiris, also a Christian, who angered Muslims by sending out via Twitter a cartoon showing Mickey Mouse in a beard and Minnie Mouse in a veil. (See prior posting.) The court held that plaintiffs were not eligible to bring a religious defamation lawsuit. But two other suits against Sawiris based on the same cartoons are still pending in Egyptian courts.

Scottish Court Limits Conscientious Objections Of Midwives

A Scottish court has rejected the claim by two midwives employed at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital that because of their conscientious objection they should not be required to delegate to, supervise or support staff on the labor ward who are directly involved with patients undergoing termination of pregnancy. In In re Petition of Doogan, (CSOH, Feb. 29, 2012), the Court of Session (Outer House) held that the conscientious objection provisions of the Abortion Act 1967 only excuse medical personnel from participating in the treatment of a patient, not from activities further removed than that.The court also rejected petitioners' claim that the Human Rights Act 1998 protects them. The court held: "Here, the petitioners are being protected from having any direct involvement with the procedure to which they object. Nothing they have to do as part of their duties terminates a woman's pregnancy. They are sufficiently removed from direct involvement as, it seems to me, to afford appropriate respect for and accommodation of their beliefs." Today's Scotsman reports on the decision.

Democratic-Leaning Catholic Group Issues 2012 Voter Guide

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good-- described by USA Today as a group of Democratic-leaning Catholics-- yesterday released its 2012 Voter Guide. The Guide says in part:

In our country, a long series of social and political achievements give testimony to the thirst for justice and human dignity that are at the core of the Church’s social teaching....

Sadly, in America today, our nation’s political, social and economic debate has been assaulted in recent years by a different understanding of the human vocation, one in which there is no room for Christ and no room for Christian love. This different understanding, exemplified by the Tea Party, is rooted in explicitly anti-Christian teachings, it celebrates a hyper-individualism that specifically denies the possibility of a Common Good, and is dedicated to a form of social Darwinism in which the poor and vulnerable are despised and only the achievements and wealth of the strong merit political protection. In order to protect exorbitant tax cuts for the super-rich, some advocate terminating social programs that promote the poor and middle class, both at home and abroad, often in ways that are profoundly anti-life. Many have sought to deny the basic rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain. In the strongest possible terms, we denounce this new ideology as un-Christian, un-Catholic, and, indeed, as a perversion of America’s own best traditions.