Religion Clause

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Amicus Briefs In Same-Sex Marriage Cases Now Available Online

Numerous amicus briefs have now been filed in the two Supreme Court same-sex marriage cases that will be argued on March 26 and 27. A number of the amici are religiously affiliated organizations. Scotus Blog has links to the full text of all the briefs in Hollingsworth v. Perry and in United States v. Windsor.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Some Rabbis Will Refuse To Comply With NYC Informed Consent Circumcision Rule

As previously reported, a New York federal district court earlier this month refused to issue a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the New York City Health Department's rule requiring that a mohel (Jewish ritual circumciser) obtain a written informed consent form from parents before he performs a circumcision using the oral suction technique (metzitzah b'peh). The Forward reports today that some Orthodox rabbis say they will refuse to comply with the rule. The American Board of Ritual Circumcision says that its members will not have parents sign the waiver forms. Other Orthodox groups however are not necessarily urging civil disobedience.

Florist Sued For Discrimination After Refusing To Deliver Flowers To Winning Establishment Clause Plaintiff

Following up on a right-to-sue letter it obtained from the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights (see prior related posting), the Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a state court lawsuit against a florist who refused to deliver flowers ordered by FFRF for a successful plaintiff in an Establishment Clause case. The complaint (full text) in Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Plowman, (RI Super. Ct., filed 1/25/2013), grows out of FFRF's sending of congratulatory flowers to 16-year old Jessica Ahlquist who successfully challenged a prayer mural that hung in the auditorium of Cranston West High School. (See prior posting.) The florist refused to deliver the order, and defended the decision publicly as the right to free speech, saying that an independent owner can choose his customers. The complaint alleges that the refusal violates RI Gen. Stat. Chap. 11-24, Rhode Island's ban on denial of equal access to public accommodations based on religion, or, in this case, based on non-belief. FFRF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Hare Krishna Priest Sentenced To 3 Years In Visa Fraud Case

Last week, a federal district court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sentenced Hare Krishna priest Sagarsen Haldar to 3 years in prison for bringing sham priests from India to the United States under the religious worker visa program, and extorting money from them. US Indian reports that the priest, also known as Gopal Hari Das, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the government,

Suit Challenges Mall's Restriction On Proselytizing

The Pacific Justice Institute announced last week that it had filed suit in a Tulare County, California state court on behalf of John Vadnais, an elder at a local church, who wants to share his Christian belief with other shoppers at Visala Mall. Mall management has told him that he may not approach strangers in the mall to talk about religion, The suit alleges violation of Vadnais' free speech rights and the public accommodation law.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

House of Commons Passes Bill Allowing Royals to Marry Catholics

In Britain yesterday, the House of Commons completed its action on the Succession to the Crown Bill. Now that Commons passed the bill on its third reading, it goes to the House of Lords for debate and vote. Among other things, the bill removes the disqualification from succession to the Crown of a royal heir who has married a Roman Catholic. The bill also eliminates consideration of gender in determining the order of succession to the throne, and limits to the 6 people in line for the throne the requirement of royal consent to their marriage. CBC News reported yesterday that Prince Charles is concerned about the impact of the bill on the relationship of the Crown to the Church of England. However the Church of England does not oppose the bill.

School Accommodates Muslim Students' Prayer Needs If They Have High Grades

The Washington Post reported yesterday on an interesting method of accommodating Muslim students' religious needs at Prince Georges County, Maryland, Parkdale High School. The suburban Washington D.C. school allows students who are members of the Muslim Students Association and who have parental permission to do so to leave class and pray together for 8 minutes each day so long as the student has high grades. Ten students currently qualify for the daily pass, and another student is working hard to raise his grades so he can join the prayer group.

Texas Legislator Proposes Offsetting State Tax Refund For Contraceptive Coverage Refusal

As reported by Courthouse News Service yesterday, a bill has been introduced in the Texas legislature that would give offsetting state tax refunds or credits to any business that pays a federal fine for refusing on conscience grounds to offer employees a health insurance plan that includes emergency contraception. H.B. 649 provides that a business is entitled to an offsetting refund of sales taxes, state franchise taxes, and any other tax paid if it refused solely because of the religious convictions of its owner, to comply with the contraceptive coverage mandate. The bill was introduced Jan. 23 by Republican representative Jonathan Stickland.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Iran Sentences Pastor To 8 Years In Prison

Reuters reported yesterday that Iranian-American Christian pastor Saeed Abedini has been sentenced to 8 years in prison by an Iranian court after his attorney had only one day to present his defense to charges of threatening Iran's national security through his leadership in Christian house churches. A U.S. State Department spokesman said: "We condemn Iran's continued violation of the universal right of freedom of religion and we call on the Iranian authorities to respect Mr. Abedini's human rights and release him." (See prior related posting.)

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Today Is International Holocaust Memorial Day

Today is International Holocaust Memorial Day-- so designated by the United Nations which chose the date of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau for the commemoration. (Holocaust Memorial Museum). President Obama issued a statement (full text) saying in part:

On January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we honor the memories of the 6 million Jews and millions of other innocent victims whose lives were tragically taken during the Holocaust over sixty years ago. Those who experienced the horrors of the cattle cars, ghettos, and concentration camps have witnessed humanity at its very worst and know too well the pain of losing loved ones to senseless violence.

But while this is a time for mourning and reflection, it is also the time for action. On this day, we recall the courage, spirit, and determination of those who heroically resisted the Nazis, exemplifying the very best of humanity. And like these courageous individuals, we must commit ourselves to resisting hate and persecution in all its forms.

According to Deutsche Welle German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her weekly online podcast said in part:

Naturally, [Germany has] an everlasting responsibility for the crimes of national-socialism, for the victims of World War II, and above all, for the Holocaust.

Court Rejects Religious Discrimination Claim Against School For Not Passing Student

In Kajoshaj v. City of New York, (ED NY, Jan. 23, 2013), a New York federal district court rejected claims by an Albanian-American Muslim that the New York City schools discriminated against his son on the basis of religion and national origin when Public School 180 kept his son in 5th grade rather than passing him to the 6th grade. The court rejected plaintiff's claim under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, quoting New York courts in saying: "Strong policy considerations militate against the intervention of courts in controversies relating to an educational institution's judgment of a student's academic performance." The court also rejected equal protection, due process and state law challenges.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Davila v. Marshall, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8816 (SD GA, Jan. 23, 2013), a Georgia federal magistrate judge allowed an inmate to proceed with his complaint that prison authorities have not allowed him to have Santeria beads, cowrie shells, or his Bible.

In McBryde v. Thomas, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8492 (D MT, Jan. 22, 2013), a Montana federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185017, Nov. 27, 2012) and permitted an inmate to proceed against various defendants with his complaint that he was required to participate in an AA/NA program with religious content.

In Sampson v. Lee, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8628 (WD VA, Jan. 22, 2013), a Virginia federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185003, Dec. 19, 2012) and dismissed an inmate's complaint that he was removed from a no-pork special diet for 14 days.

In Holmes v. Conway, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8138 (ND GA, Jan. 18, 2013), a Georgia federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184982, Dec. 21, 2012) and dismissed an inmate's complaint that he was denied a Halal diet. Jail officials offered him a vegetarian diet, and the jail does not serve pork.

In Hachmeister v. Kline, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8323 (D KS, Jan. 22, 2013), a Kansas federal district court held that a Muslim inmate's clam for damages of $100 million because of an alleged denial of 8 of his religious meals are completely conclusory and subject to dismissal unless plaintiff files an amended complaint alleging appropriate facts.

In McDaniel v. Fizer, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9622 (D AZ, Jan. 24, 2013), an Arizona federal district court allowed a Muslim inmate to proceed with his complaint against certain of the defendants that authorities denied him a kosher diet for 11 months.

Suit Claims State Cannot Bar Religious Discrimination In Hiring At For-Profit Christian School

California's Fair Employment and Housing Act contains an exemption for non-profit religious associations or corporations. (Govt. Code Sec. 12940(j)(4)(B)). The Ventura County Star reported on Friday that two former teachers at a Christian school in Thousand Oaks, California have threatened to file a lawsuit challenging their firing. They were dismissed after they refused to provide Little Oaks School with a statement of faith and a reference from a pastor. The school is incorporated as a for-profit corporation, but is owned by the non-profit Calvary Chapel of Thousand Oaks. As a pre-emptive measure last Wednesday, the school filed a federal court lawsuit against the two teachers and their law firm attempting to enjoin them from filing a lawsuit in state court. The school argues that the California Fair Employment and Housing Act is unconstitutional insofar as it restricts a religious school's hiring practices, even when the school is incorporated as a for-profit institution.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Court Orders Legion of Christ Documents Unsealed

In Dauray v. Estate of Mee, (RI Super. Ct., Jan. 23, 2013), a Rhode Island Superior Court permitted the AP, the New York Times, the Providence Journal and the Catholic Reporter to intervene to challenge a protective order that had been entered by a probate judge sealing documents that had been produced during discovery by the scandal-ridden Legion of Christ. Plaintiff, who attempted to claim that her aunt was improperly induced to leave the Legion $60 million in her will, also challenged the protective order. The court held:

The Moving Parties ... clearly ... have a right of access to the exhibits filed with the Motion for Summary Judgment because the Court relied on those documents as part of its adjudicating function.... Additionally ... the Moving Parties have a right of access to discovery motions and their related exhibits..... The public has a great interest in the openness of its courts.... [P]ublic scrutiny of the courts provides a check on the judiciary and ―diminishes the possibilities for injustice, incompetence, perjury and fraud.

AP reports on the lifting of the protective order and says that the Legion immediately filed a motion to block release of the documents. In an earlier decision, the court held that the niece lacked standing to bring the challenge to her aunt's will. (See prior posting.)

Friday, January 25, 2013

Milwaukee Archdiocese Approaching Insolvency In Reorganization

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported yesterday that the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee is approaching administrative insolvency in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. It has filed a motion asking the bankruptcy court to suspend most of its payments to attorneys and consultants. Otherwise, by April it will have a cash shortfall of $488,000. If it falls into administrative insolvency, the bankruptcy judge could appoint a trustee to manage the Archdiocese's day-to-day affairs, or could totally dismiss the case which would allow creditors to sue in state court. The Archdiocese will continue to use funds from its insurers to pay lawyers to oppose sex abuse claims.

Plea Deal Reached In Church Youth Group Mock Kidnapping Case

A church in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania and its pastor have reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in connection with charges growing out of a church youth group activity that went awry. The Harrisburg Patriot-News reported yesterday on the assault and false imprisonment charges that were brought against Glad Tidings Assembly of God of Lower Swatara Township and youth pastor Andrew Jordan who staged a mock kidnapping at a youth group meeting to dramatize the dangers faced by missionaries in some countries. A mother of a 14-year old girl who was frightened by the kidnapping complained to authorities. Under the plea agreement, the church will pay a $10,000 fine, and the youth pastor will avoid a criminal record through the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program. He will pay a $500 penalty, serve up to a year of probation and do 50 hours of community service. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Carl H. Silverman for the lead.]

Another Small Business Challenge To ACA Mandate Filed

Another for-profit closely-held business has joined the stream of those suing to challenge the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage mandate on the ground that it violates the religious beliefs of the company owners. The complaint (full text) in Gilardi v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (D DC, filed 1/24/2013) challenges the application of the mandate to two related corporations, Freshway Foods and Fresway Logistics, Inc., which process, pack and ship fresh produce. One of the companies has 340 full-time employees, while the other has 55. The two individual plaintiffs, who each own 50% of the shares of each company, are Catholics who believe in the Catholic Church's teachings on abortion, sterilization and contraception. The complaint alleges RFRA, free exercise, free speech and Administrative Procedure Act violations. American Center for Law and Justice issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Contraceptive Mandate Challenge By Pennsylvania Diocese Dismissed On Ripeness Grounds

In Persico v. Sebelius, (WD PA, Jan. 22, 2013), a Pennsylvania federal district court dismissed on ripeness grounds a challenge to the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate brought by the Catholic Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania and two organizations affiliated with Pennsylvania Catholic Charities. As have most other courts that have dealt with challenges to the ACA mandate by religious non-profit employers, the court concluded:

Under the "safe harbor" provisions established by current regulations, Plaintiffs are protected from any potential enforcement action relative to the Mandate until at least January 1, 2014. In addition, the Defendants have repeatedly stated their intent to amend the Mandate, well before January 1, 2014, for the express purpose of accommodating the Plaintiffs' religiously motivated objections to the regulation.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Fundamentalist Pastor Changes Name of Radio Show To Settle Infringement Suit

The Denver Post reported last week on the settlement of a lawsuit filed in New York federal district court last November by National Public Radio's Science Friday against fundamentalist Christian pastor Bob Enyart. The suit charged Enyart with trademark infringement and cybersquatting. Enyart used the name "Real Science Friday" for his radio show that was devoted to challenging mainstream science reporting on the age of the earth and evolution. The NPR program was concerned that people searching for it would be confused and go to Enyart's program. A confidential settlement was confirmed by a court order issued in December. As part of the settlement, Enyart changed the name of his broadcasts to Real Science Radio. [Thanks to John Kulesz for the lead.]