Religion Clause

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Muslim Inmate's Right To Grow Half-Inch Beard

Today in Holt v. Hobbs, (Sup. Ct., Jan 20, 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the Arkansas Department of Corrections policy that prevents a Muslim inmate from growing a one-half inch beard for religious reasons violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. In an opinion by Justice Alito the court held that it is irrelevant for purposes of RLUIPA that an inmate has other means of practicing his religion. While cases invovling prisoners' First Amendment rights invoke that reasoning, RLUIPA provides greater protection. The court went on to reject the state's contention that its no-beard policy is the least restictive means of furthering a compelling state interest. It found unpersuasive the state's arguments regarding contraband and identification of inmates. The Court added that prison officials still have ample ways to maintain security, saying that "in applying RLUIPA’s statutory standard, courts should not blind themselves to the fact that the analysis is conducted in the prison setting."

Justice Ginsburg filed a short concurring opinion, joined by Justice Sotomayor, emphasizing that here, unlike in the Hobby Lobby case, accommodating petitioner's religious beliefs would not detrimentally affect third parties who do not share his beliefs. Justice Sotomayor filed a separate concurring opinion saying: "I do not understand the Court’s opinion to preclude deferring to prison officials’ reasoning when that deference is due—that is, when prison officials offer a plausible explanation for their chosen policy that is supported by whatever evidence is reasonably available to them."

Indiana County Fights Creche Suit By Enacting Open Forum Law

The Batesville (IN) Herald-Tribune reports that last week the Franklin County, Indiana Commissioners passed Ordinance 2015-02 to create a public forum on the county courthouse grounds permitting displays, demonstrations, exhibits, rallies and other expressive activities without regard to viewpoint under a neutral permit process. The action was taken in response to a lawsuit filed against the county last month challenging the constitutionality of a life size Nativity Scene displayed on the courthouse lawn. (See prior posting.)

UPDATE: According to WLWT, on Feb. 10 plaintiffs dropped the lawsuit.

St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese Files For Bankruptcy Reorganization

On Friday, the Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Reorganization. In a letter (full text) announcing the decision, Archbishop John Nienstedt said it "will allow the finite resources of the Archdiocese to be distributed equitably among all victims/ survivors [of clergy sexual abuse]. It will also permit the Archdiocese to provide essential services required to continue its mission within this 12-county district." The Archdiocese has posted the full text of the Voluntary Petition and other legal and financial documents in the case. Reporting on the filing, MPR News points out that it will stop civil trials that were set to begin on Jan. 26.

More Preliminary Details of Pope's September U.S. Visit Emerge

Preliminary details of Pope Francis' itinerary during his September visit to the United States are becoming known. From a report by CBS/AP on the Pope's news conference yesterday and a report by the Washington Times on details disclosed by Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Pontiff's likely schedule so far looks like this:

Washington D.C. Sept. 22-24:

Arrival- evening of Sept. 22
Welcoming ceremony at White House- morning of Sept. 23
Mass at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (for bishops, consecrated and religious men and women, seminarians and representatives from humanitarian and Catholic charitable organizations). At the Mass, the Pope will canonize 17th-century founder of the first Missions in California, Junipero Serra- later on Sept. 23
Address to Joint Session of Congress- Sept. 23 or 24
Leave for New York-afternoon of Sept. 24

New York- Sept. 24-26

Address to United Nations General Assembly (including opening of Post-2015 Sustainable Development Summit, with many heads of state attending)- morning of Sept. 25
Mass in Madison Square Garden
Visit to Ground Zero Memorial
Visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral
Inter-ethnic meeting
Leave for Philadelphia- early morning of Sept. 26

Philadelphia (World Meeting of Families)- Sept. 26-27

Prayer Vigil- Sept. 26
Visit to a children's hospital or juvenile prison
Mass- Sept. 27
Depart for Rome- evening of Sept. 27

Even with this ambitious schedule, there were things that had to be omitted. The Pope said he would have liked to enter the U.S. through the Mexican border "as a sign of brotehrhood and help to the immigrants." But, he joked: ..."going to Mexico without going to visit the Madonna (of Guadalupe) would be a drama. A war could break out!"

Monday, January 19, 2015

Employee Who Objected To Biometric Scanning As Mark of the Beast Wins $150,000 Verdict

The Clarksburg Exponent Telegram reports that a jury in a West Virginia federal district court last Thursday awarded $150,000 in compensatory damages to a former employee of Consol Energy (the mining operation of Consolidation Coal Co.) in a Title VII suit charging failure to accommodate his Evangelical Christian religious beliefs. Beverly R. Butcher Jr., a laborer at the mine, objected to biometric hand scanning to track time and attendance, believing that it involves the Mark of the Beast forbidden in the Book of Revelation. The company however relied on a letter from the manufacturer of the hand scanner assuring that it does not assign the Mark of the Beast, and suggesting that objecting employees scan their left, instead of their right, hand. The company refused other accommodations suggested by Butcher, and the EEOC sued on his behalf. (See prior posting.) In addition to the jury's damage award, the judge will still determine back and forward pay. Defendants plan an appeal.

UPDATE: The 4th Circuit affirmed the district court's award of damages in U.S. Equal employment Opportunity Commission v. Consol Energy, Inc., (4th Cir., June 12, 2017).

Today Is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, celebrating the birthday of the famous civil rights leader. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March and of the resulting 1965 Voting Rights Act. Dr. King was, of course, a Christian minister as well as a civil right leader. His 1963 Letter From A Birmingham Jail addressed fellow clergy who criticized his tactics and set out his vision of the role of churches in influencing public policy, saying in part:

I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states. On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at the South's beautiful churches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlines of her massive religious education buildings. Over and over I have found myself asking: "What kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred?...

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.... By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Welcome To Law and Religion Australia

Join me in welcoming Law and Religion Australia blog to the Religion Clause sidebar. Law and Religion Australia entered the blogosphere on January 1. It is authored by Neil Foster, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Newcastle, who also describes himself as an Evangelical Christian. The new entry is particularly welcome as several blogs in area of law and religon have gone dormant in recent months. I have removed from the sidebar those that have no posts for the last 6 months. A few others are coming close to that period of dormancy. So, welcome aboard.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Jones v. Foster, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3289 (D NV, Jan. 12, 2015), a Nevada federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180081, Dec. 23, 2014) and denied a preliminary injunction to a Muslim inmate who complained that he was receiving the Common Fare Meal instead of a separate halal or kosher diet.

In Thierry v. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3726 (D AZ, Jan. 13, 2015), an Arizona federal district court dismissed with leave to amend a complaint by a Jehovah's Witness inmate seeking a New World Holy Scriptures Bible and complaining that there are no Jehovah's Witness bible studies or meetings, and that only six inmates per pod are permitted to attend church.

In Williams v. Cox, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4621 (SD GA, Jan. 13, 2015), a Georgia federal magistrate judge allowed an inmate to move ahead with his claim that he was denied a requested work proscription in observance of the Feast of Shavout.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Illinois Bible Colleges Sue Over Rules On Granting Degrees

AP reports that a lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal district court yesterday by the Illinois Bible Colleges Association challenging Illinois Board of Higher Education rules that prevent Bible colleges from awarding full-fledged "degrees" to their graduates. They can only award "diplomas" or "certificates" since the religious schools do not offer full collegiate curriculums. The schools say that the state is violating their free exercise and speech rights, as well as ignoring the Establishment Clause, by imposing the regulations on them.

Newest Charlie Hebdo Cover Generates Demonstrations-- Some Violent

Voice of America reports that the newest issue of Charlie Hebdo depicting a weeping Muhammad on the cover in response to the Paris terrorist attacks generated new demonstrations yesterday in much of Muslim Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The most violent of the demonstrations was in Niger where four people were killed and demonstrators set fire to a French cultural center and Christian churches, and attacked Christian shops. (Daily Mail reports five were killed.) Violent demonstrations also occurred in Pakistan, while peaceful demonstrations took place in many other countries. Islamic law prohibits physical representations of the Prophet Muhammad and other prophets as well. (See prior related posting.)

Meanwhile, as reported in Sunday's The Independent, British Prime Minister David Cameron has criticized remarks made made by Pope Francis at a press conference on Thursday (full text of Pope's press conference). The Pope said that people who make fun of, or make others' religion into toys, provoke and may find that "a punch awaits" them.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Supreme Court Grants Review In 6th Circuit Same-Sex Marriage Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court today granted certiorari in four same-sex marriage cases from the Sixth Circuit: Obergefell v. James (Ohio); Tanco v. Haslam (Tennessee); DeBoer v. Snyder (Michigan); and Bourke v. Beshear (Kentucky). (Order List). In a consolidated opinion, the 6th Circuit in a 2-1 decision upheld the same-sex marriage bans in the four states. (See prior posting.) In granting review, the Supreme Court defined the questions to be argued:

The cases are consolidated and the petitions for writs of certiorari are granted limited to the following questions: 1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? 2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?

Carson To Become First Muslim On House Intelligence Committee

According to Politico, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi shortly will name Indiana Rep. André Carson to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Carson will be the first Muslim to serve on the Intelligence Committee. He currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee and worked for the Department of Homeland Security’s Fusion Center.

Suit Against India's PM Over Role In Anti-Muslim Riots Dismissed

In American Justice Center (AJC), Inc. v. Modi, (SD NY, Jan. 14, 2015), a New York federal district court dismissed on immunity grounds a suit that was brought against the current prime minister of India over his actions as Chief Minister of Gujarat during anti-Muslim rioting in 2002. The suit was brought under the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Alien Tort Statute. (See prior posting.) The court accepted the U.S. government's contention that Modi enjoys immunity from suit as a sitting head of a foreign government. The Hindu reports on the decision.

Michigan Must Recognize Same-Sex Mariages Entered Before Stay of District Court's Order

In Caspar v. Snyder, (ED MI, Jan 15, 2015), a Michigan federal district court issued a preliminary injunction requiring Michigan to recognize some 300 same-sex marriages of couples who married in the less 24 hours between a district court's striking down of Michigan's same-sex marriage ban and the 6th Circuit's stay of the order. In a 47-page opinion, the court held that:

once a marriage has been solemnized pursuant to a validly issued marriage license, the authorizing state cannot withdraw the status that it has awarded, even if the couples had no right to demand to be married in the first place.

The court however stayed the effectiveness of its injunction for 21 days to allow an appeal to the 6th Circuit. Christian Science Monitor reports on the decision.

Canadian FLDS Leader Agrees To Court Order Barring Use of LDS Name

Last year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the mainline Mormon Church) filed suit in Canada against Winston Blackmore, leader of a polygamous Mormon sect headquartered in Bountiful, British Columbia for misappropriation of the trademarked name, identity and reputation of the mainline Church. (See prior posting.) The National Post now reports that earlier this week Blackmore consented to a decree enjoining him from using any variation of the name "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" for his organization and from interfering with the mainline Church's use of the word Mormon. Under the order he is also to change the corporate name of his Canadian branch of the FLDS to "Church of Jesus Christ (Original Doctrine) Inc."

Suit Alleges That Drug Treatment Center Is Front For Scientology Indoctrination

MLive reports that a lawsuit was filed in a Michigan federal district court on Wednesday against Narconon Freedom Center in Albion, Michigan, alleging that the Center's drug rehabilitation program is used "to introduce Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard's 'technology' to unwitting patients." The suit, seeking $75,000 in damages, was brought by Lauren Prevec, a former patient at the Center.

Today Is Religious Freedom Day

Today is Religious Freedom Day, the anniversary of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786. Each year the President issues a Proclamation marking the day, and presumably this year's Proclamation will appear sometime today on the White House website. Americans United has urged that greater attention be given to the day. UPDATE: Here is the full text of this year's Presidential Proclamation-- Religious Freedom Day 2015.

Meanwhile, according to CNS News, the Orange County, Florida public schools announced that they are suspending, at least temporarily, the traditional passive distribution of Bibles from World Changers of Florida on Religious Freedom Day. The decision came after last year the Freedom For Religion Foundation won the right to distribute its own atheist litereature, including a pamphlet titled "Sex and Obscenity in the Bible," and this year the Satanic Temple indicated it would distribute material as well. The school district says that it is reworking its policy on outside distribution of materials to students.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

8th Circuit Dismisses Factional Dispute Over Control of Hutterite Colony

In Hutterville Hutterian Brethren, Inc. v. Sveen, (8th Cir., Jan. 13, 2015), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit growing out of the long dispute between two factions over control of a South Dakota Hutterite colony. State courts refused to resolve the issue of control, finding that to do so would require civil courts to decide issue of religious doctrine. A federal court action was then filed on behalf of the colony (a non-profit corporation) by the Waldner faction. The suit was brought against the attorneys representing the colony charging, among other things, breach of fiduciary and ethical duties in creating a sham legal dispute that allowed them to side with the competing Wipf faction. The 8th Circuit held that since the Waldners in the state court proceedings convinced the courts that they should not decide the case because it involved issues of religious doctrine, they are now estopped from claiming that the religious questions involved are a sham.

EEOC Sues Over Refusal To Accommodate Rastafarian Employee's Beliefs

The EEOC has announced that on Tuesday it filed a federal lawsuit against Raleigh, North Carolina-based Triangle Catering, LLC for failing to accommodate a new employee's religious beliefs. The company refused to permit Michael Reddick, Jr., a practicing Rastafarian, to wear a small cap while working as a delivery truck driver. Reddick was eventually fired for insisting on wearing the religious head covering.