Cert. Denied In Ministerial Exception Case

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied certiorari in Linklater v. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (Docket No. 11-793) and its companion case Prince of Peace Lutheran Church v. Linklater (Docket No. 11-923), cert. denied 4/16/2012. (Order List.) In the case, Maryland's s highest appellate court, held that the ministerial exception doctrine did not bar a state law sexual harassment claim by a former music director of a church.  The church did not claim that there was any doctrinal reason for the alleged harassment, and the congregation's parent body has promulgated a strong policy against sexual harassment. However certain of plaintiff's constructive discharge and breach of contract claims found to be barred by the ministerial exception doctrine. (See prior posting.) The Gaithersburg (MD) Gazette reports on the Supreme Court's denial of review.

Religion Clause Is 7 Years Old Today!

Religion Clause is 7 years old today! To long-time readers, as well as to those who have discovered the blog more recently, thank you for your interest and loyalty. Increasingly readers are accessing Religion Clause through Twitter and Facebook. In total, Religion Clause has had over 1.2 million visits since 2005. Please continue to recommend the blog to colleagues and friends who may find it useful.

The impact of religion in the public, legal and political spheres has taken on new urgency in recent months. The importance of following parallel developments throughout the world has become increasingly clear. I continue to try to provide a wide spectrum of postings covering all aspects of church-state and religious liberty issues, across religious traditions.  Many who are professionally involved in these issues tell me that the blog has become a basic resource for following developments.

I have had approaches seeking to incorporate the blog into broader portals and websites.  After much consideration, I have continued to keep it independent so it can occupy a unique niche in the blogosphere.  In today's highly-politicized world of information, Religion Clause is committed to religiously and ideologically neutral reporting of legal and public policy developments surrounding religion.

My goal is to keep the posts reasonably short, but provide extensive links, particularly to primary source material. I welcome your e-mails on leads for blog posts. I also urge you to e-mail me with any corrections that are called for in postings-- accuracy is an important goal on Religion Clause and readers' input is invaluable in this regard. You can reach me at religionclause@gmail.com. I plan to maintain the same format for the blog in the upcoming year.  I welcome e-mails from all of you regarding Religion Clause and suggesting changes or different directions you would find useful or interesting. I hope you will all remain loyal readers over the coming year.

Late Motion To Intervene In School Prayer Mural Case Is Frivolous

In January, a Rhode Island federal district court ordered Cranston West High School to remove a prayer mural that had hung for many years in the school auditorium. (See prior posting.) The school complied, the Cranston School Committee decided not to appeal the decision, the parties agreed on attorneys' fees and on March 7 the court signed the final judgment in the case. On that same day, a group of seven individuals moved to intervene in the case, asking the court to stay and reconsider its decision.  In Ahlquist v. City of Cranston, (D RI, April 12, 2012), the court refused, finding the motion to intervene untimely and holding that movants had made no showing they have standing in the matter. The court wrote:

As Alexander Pope, an English poet and essayist, once wrote, "A little learning is a dangerous thing." In essence, Movants argue that, not just this Court's January 2012 ruling, but virtually all Supreme Court rulings on the Establishment Clause dating back to the Supreme Court's [1947] decision in Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing Township... have been wrongly decided.... In particular Movants cite "the Aitken act of 1872 authorizing the use of bibles in all schools in America." ....

The Court characterizes this argument as frivolous because Movants concede ... that this Court's decision is in line with a half-century of Supreme Court precedent. This Court is not merely guided, but is bound, by Supreme Court precedent. 

German Politicians Criticize Salafist Distribution of Qur'ans

In Germany, many politicians are condemning efforts by a group of Salafist Muslims calling themselves "The True Religion" that is distributing 25 million copies of the Qur'an translated into German. The books are being handed out on the streets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland and through the Internet, all in an attempt to convert non-Muslims. AFP reported last week that Volker Kauder, a parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, charged that the distribution was a cover for jihadist recruiting. Germany's Central Council of Muslims criticized the Salafist activity, saying the Qur'an is "not a PR brochure." Under pressure, the publisher involved has stopped printing the Qura'ns, at least temporarily. Security sources and some members of Parliament, however, emphasize that distributing the Qur'ans is protected religious activity.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Marie Ashe, Women's Wrongs, Religions' Rights: Women, Free Exercise, and Establishment in American Law, (21 Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review 163, Fall 2011).
• Mary S. Holland, Compulsory Vaccination, the Constitution, and the Hepatitis B Mandate for Infants and Young Children, (Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics, Vol. 12, No. 1, p. 39, 2012).
• Sarah Sternlieb, When the Eyes and Ears Become an Arm of the State: The Dangers of Privatization Through Government Funding of Insular Religious Groups, (Emory Law Journal, Forthcoming).

From SmartCILP:

• Haider Ala Hamoudi, Present at the Resurrection: Islamic Finance and Islamic Law, [Abstract], 26 American University International Law Review 1107-1123 (2011).

One Defendant Dismissed In Establishment Clause Challenge To Library Internet Filtering Policy

In Hunter v. City of Salem, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50782 (ED MO, April 11, 2011), a Missouri federal district court dismissed as to one defendant a free expression and and Establishment Clause challenge to the Internet filtering policies of the Salem, Missouri public library.  Plaintiff, who was attempting to conduct research on Native American spirituality and on the Wiccan Church claimed that the library's policy of blocking religious websites categorized as 'occult' or 'criminal skills' while allowing access to the websites of more mainstream religions" was a content and viewpoint-based restriction on speech and has the effect favoring one religious viewpoint over another in violation of the Establishment Clause. The court dismissed the city as a defendant finding that the city retained no control or oversight over the library that was governed by a separate Library Board. The suit however will move forward against the Library Board and the library's director. (See prior related posting.)

Required Parochial School Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse Clarified By New York

Failed Messiah reports that New York State last week updated its guidelines for Mandated Reporters of  Child Abuse and Neglect as they apply to non-public schools. (Full text of April 9 revisions.) The revisions make it clear that parochial school staff is not to delay reporting in order to ask permission of the person in charge of the school, even if that person is a member of the clergy. The changes are apparently in response to suggestions by some Orthodox rabbis that teachers, social workers and other professionals who are mandated by state law to promptly report suspected cases of sexual abuse should first consult a rabbi. (See prior posting.) The New York reporting requirements apply to suspected abuse of children by their parents or guardians, or by workers in day care programs or residential facilities. It generally does not apply to abuse inflicted on a child on non-public school property by another school employee.

In a related development, in Villarin v Rabbi Haskel Lookstein School, (NY App. Div., April 12, 2012), a New York appellate court in a 2-1 decision held that a school nurse in a Jewish school has a cause of action under the state's Whistleblower Law (Labor Law Sec. 740) when she was fired because she reported a father's injury of his son to New York's State Child Abuse and Maltreatment Register. JTA reports on the decision.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Jones v. Hobbs, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48134 (ED AR, April 5, 2012), an Arkansas federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations and refused to grant summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity in a case in which a Christian inmate was, for 16 months, denied a vegan diet that he requested for religious reasons. UPDATE: The magistrate's recommendations are at 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57080, Feb. 21, 2012.

In Mitchell v. Cate, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49111 (ED CA, April 6, 2012), a California federal magistrate judge held that a Muslim inmate may proceed with his claims against certain defendants alleging a denial of his requests for a Halal diet, or may file an amended complaint to also cure defects in pleadings as to claims against other defendants.

In Hightower v. Tilton, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50362 (ED CA, April 9, 2012), a California federal district court permitted an inmate to proceed with his claim against the Aeministrative Segregation property officer that his Bible was confiscated for the time he was in Ad-Seg, and his claim against several defendants that his classification after being released from Ad-Seg resulted in restrictions that denied him access to religious services and group prayer services.

In Al-Amin v. TDOC Commissioner, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51442 (MD TN, April 11, 2012), a Tennessee federal district court allowed a Muslim inmate to proceed with his claim that defendant deprived him of foods that he would have been able to eat during Ramadan. However the court dismissed a number of other claims involving refusal to recognize his name change, being refused a "no-meat tray," a corrections officer stepping on his prayer rug, and being told a corrections officer would like to burn any Qur'an he sees.

Muslim Groups Oppose Senate Republicans' Recent USCIRF Appointee

On Thursday, over 60 Muslim organizations sent a letter (full text) to three key U.S. Senators urging them to rescind the nomination of Dr. Zudhi Jasser as a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Commissioners are appointed separately by the President and by House and Senate leaders of each political party. Jasser was appointed by Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell. (See prior posting.) The groups' letter was addressed to McConnell, to Senate president-pro-tem Daniel Inouye and to Sen. Richard Durbin, Chairman of the Senate Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights Committee. The letter argues that Jasser has demonstrated "consistent support for measures that threaten and diminish religious freedoms within the United States." It cited in particular his positions on the Oklahoma anti-Shariah ballot initiative, the Manhattan Park 51 controversy, and his support of religious profiling by law enforcement. It also pointed out that he accepted an award from an anti-Muslim think tank. The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee issued a press release announcing the letter.

Suit Charges Mistreatment of Muslim-Americans At U.S. Canadian Border

The Detroit News reported Friday that four Muslim-Americans have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government alleging that they have at various times been detained, handcuffed, subjected to humiliating questioning and invasive body searches when crossing the Canadian-American border. They allege that the treatment is based on their religion and ethnic background. The suit, filed by CAIR and a Detroit area attorney, says that plaintiffs have been questioned about which mosque they attend and about their religious practices.

Former Employee of Library of Congress Sues Claiming Anti-Gay Religious Harassment

WRC reported Thursday that a former Library of Congress management analyst has filed suit after he was fired on Friday. He had been on leave without pay since October.  Plaintiff, Peter TerVeer, who is gay, alleges he was harassed for more than a year by a supervisor who repeatedly cited Bible passages condemning homosexuality.  In 2009, his supervisor sent him an e-mail reading: "Jesus ... prohibited sexual immorality, including homosexuality, adultery and pre-marital sex." TerVeer says he is now out of money and has recently been evicted.

Tennessee Governor Signs Bill On Religion In Schools

As reported by CBN, on April 10 Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslem signed HB 3266 into law. The bill makes two changes in Tennessee law regarding religion in schools. In reaction to Cheatham County's 2010 settlement of a lawsuit involving religious activities in schools (ACLU summary), the bill prohibits local education agencies and school administrators from taking any action that would infringe the rights or freedoms of students, teachers or staff without their written consent.An amendment to the bill that also passed provides that:

LEAs [Local Education Agencies] and school administrators may not prohibit personnel from participating in religious activities on school grounds that are initiated by students at reasonable times before or after the instructional day so long as such activities are voluntary for all parties and do not conflict with the responsibilities or assignments of such personnel.

SEC Files Suit In Affinity Fraud Aimed At Socially Conscious Church-Goers

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that it had filed a federal lawsuit in Atlanta against Ephren W. Taylor, II, the operator of an $11 million Ponzi scheme that targeted socially conscious African-American church-goers.  The complaint (full text) in Securities and Exchange Commission v. City Capital Corp., (ND GA, filed 4/12/2012) alleged in part:

Taylor strenuously cultivated an image of a highly successful and socially conscious entrepreneur. Marketing himself as "The Social Capitalist," he touted equally his status as the youngest black CEO of a public company and the son of a Christian minister who understands the importance of "giving back.".... Taylor conducted a multi-city "Building Wealth Tour," on which he spoke to church congregations – including Atlanta’s New Birth Church – or at wealth management seminars featuring other speakers.

Christian Post reports on the case.

Student's Rights Not Infringed By Bus Driver's Lecture On Tolerance

In R.Z. v. Carmel Clay Schools, (SD IN, April 11, 2012), an Indiana federal district court granted summary judgment to defendants in a case in which parents challenged a lecture given by a public-school bus driver in 2008 to students on the bus. Her remarks were triggered by anti-gay and religious statements the parents' eighth-grade daughter had made. The bus driver (whose lengthy statements were recorded by school bus surveillance equipment) said in part:

This week we had a very historic election. Okay. It’s called diversity in this country. The diversity here – we’ve got kids on this bus who are Jewish, Catholic, I’ve had Muslims, I’ve had Buddhists, Sikhs, fine. That’s why we are what we are. I don’t care if you’re gay. I don’t care what you are. All those diverse things are what make this country what it is. I don’t care if you are evangelical. What I will not tolerate is your own personal views being espoused on this bus that you are going to go to hell if you don’t do it the way I do it. We’ve had this conversation before, we’ve had it for three years. We’re not going to have it again. If you can’t believe in tolerance towards one another, you don’t belong here. You belong in a parochial church school. I don’t want to hear one more word about anybody going to hell if they are gay or if they’re Buddhist or whatever, cause it is none of your damn business.

The court rejected claims that the student's free expression, free exercise and equal protection rights had been infringed.

American Nazi Party Deploys Registered Lobbyist For First Time

For the first time, the American Nazi Party has a registered lobbyist in Washington, D.C.  Michigan resident John Bowles has filed a Lobbying Registration form (full text) with Congress, listing his client as "ANP". Haaretz reported today that 55-year old Bowles, an American Nazi Party member told ABC that lobbying was  something that the Party wanted to "try out for the first time and see if it flies." The American Nazi Party's has created a new website devoted to its lobbying activities.

Catholic Bishops Issue New Statement On Challenges To Religious Liberty

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Thursday issued a new call to action to defend religious liberty.  In a document titled Our First Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty, the bishops said:

As Catholic bishops and American citizens, we address an urgent summons to our fellow Catholics and fellow Americans to be on guard, for religious liberty is under attack, both at home and abroad.

The statement cites 7 specific areas of concern to the bishops: the HHS mandate on contraceptive coverage in health insurance policies; state immigration laws that threaten pastoral outreach to illegal immigrants; a Connecticut bill that would have forced restructuring of parish governance; Hastings College of Law denial of recognition to the Christian Legal Society because of religious limits on who could be leaders; governmental refusals to fund Catholic foster care and adoption services that refuse to place children with same-sex couples; New York City's rule against churches renting out space in school buildings on weekends; and disqualifying USCCB from administering human trafficking grants because it will not provide or refer for contraceptive or abortion services. (See prior related posting.)  [Thanks to Marty Lederman via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Kentucky Governor Signs Into Law Bill Giving Amish Alternatives For Buggy Signage

AP reports that on Wednesday, Kentucky governor, Steve Beshear, signed SB 75 into law. The bill gives Amish horse-drawn buggies the alternative to use lanterns and white reflective tape instead of the orange triangle -- the standard slow-moving vehicle symbol-- to which Amish have religious objections. (See prior posting.)

Tennessee Governor Lets Bill On Science Teaching Become Law Without His Signature

The Tennessean reports that Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam on Tuesday returned HB 368 to the legislature without either vetoing or signing it. The bill on teaching of controversial scientific topics, including evolution, global warming, the origins of life and human cloning, will thus become law without his signature. The bill (which passed the legislature by large majorities) encourages schools to help students "respond appropriately and respectfully to differences of opinion about scientific subjects required to be taught under the curriculum framework developed by the state board of education." It goes on to provide that "teachers shall be permitted to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught within the curriculum framework developed by the state board of education." (See prior posting.) The governor said that the bill creates confusion, explaining:

I do not believe that this legislation changes the scientific standards that are taught in our schools or the curriculum that is used by our teachers. However, I also don’t believe that it accomplishes anything that isn’t already acceptable in our schools.

No Basis For Removing State Charges To Ecclesiastical Court

In Prather v. Governor of Washington, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49810 (WD WA, April 9, 2012), a Washington federal district court dismissed a civil rights lawsuit in which plaintiff claimed that state criminal proceedings against him alleging domestic violence and drug charges should have been removed to an ecclesiastical court.  Vincent Prather argued that "[t]he Bible forbids Christians from asserting or defending their rights in a secular court."  The court said that religious convictions do not exempt an individual from laws that are generally applied to all citizens.

Tunisia's President Condemns Violence Against Jews At Ceremony Marking Synagogue Bombing

Moncef Marzouki, a human rights activist who was elected Tunisia's interim president last December following the country's "Arab Spring" demonstrations, yesterday reached out to Tunisia's 2600-year old Jewish community.  According to Tunisia Alive, Marzouki attended a ceremony at the El Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba to commemorate the 2002 Al-Qaeda truck bombing of the synagogue that killed 21 people.  In his remarks at the ceremony, Marzouki said that "any vandalism or violence against the Tunisian Jewish people, their property or their holy sites is totally unacceptable."  In three demonstrations by conservative Salafist Muslims in recent months, demonstrators have called for Muslims to kill or wage war against Jews.