Tuesday, March 08, 2016

Federal Jury Says FLDS Twin Towns Discriminated

Yesterday an Arizona federal district court jury agreed that the towns of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, and their joint water company systematically discriminated, in violation of the Fair Housing Act, against individuals who are not members of the FLDS Church in providing housing, utilities and police services. As reported by Deseret News, even though the jury awarded damages of $2.2 million to six residents, prior to the jury verdict the parties had negotiated a $1.6 million settlement under the Fair Housing Act.  According to a Justice Department press release, the suit was also filed by the government under 42 USC 14141.  The Sec. 14141 civil action does not include the right to a jury trial, so the jury's findings on that portion of the government's suit are advisory:
In its advisory verdict, the jury found that the Colorado City Marshal’s Office, the cities’ joint police department, operated as an arm of the FLDS church in violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment; engaged in discriminatory policing in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the establishment clause; and subjected individuals to unlawful stops, seizures and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
(See prior related posting.)

Monday, March 07, 2016

Supreme Court: Alabama Must Recognize Georgia's Order Granting Same-Sex Spouse Adoption Rights [CORRECTED]

The U.S. Supreme Court today in a summary per curiam opinion reversed the Alabama Supreme Court's refusal to recognize a Georgia court's approval of the adoption of one woman's children by her lesbian partner.  In V.L. v. E.L., (Sup. Ct., March 7 2016), the Supreme Court held that the Constitution's full faith and credit clause requires Alabama courts to recognize the Georgia adoption order.  The Alabama Supreme Court had wrongly concluded that Georgia courts lacked jurisdiction to enter the order.  The issue arose in the context of the adoptive mother seeking visitation rights after the couple separated. New York Times reports on the decision. [Note correction-- an earlier version of this posting incorrectly referred to Louisiana instead of Alabama.]

In Israel, Western Wall Compromise May Be Unraveling

In Israel, the much-heralded compromise approved by Prime Minister Netanyahu's cabinet at the end of January to construct a separate prayer space at the Western Wall for egalitarian prayer now seems to possibly be unraveling.  Jerusalem Post reported yesterday that opposition from the Chief Rabbinate and much of the Orthodox religious establishment is growing.  A meeting between the Prime Minister and Israel's two chief rabbis scheduled for yesterday was canceled as the Prime minister asked the chief rabbis along with the current Orthodox administrator of the Western Wall to submit proposals for changes in the agreement. The Orthodox establishment appears to be particularly opposed to the arrangement that would create a committee to regulate the proposed new prayer space, with the Reform and Conservative (Masorti) movements in Judaism given seats on the committee. Several Israeli Orthodox rabbis have made scathing attacks against the Reform movement in recent weeks. On Saturday, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Shlomo Amar, referring to the Reform and Conservative movements, said:
It is not permitted in any way to give it [the Western Wall] over to disgrace and shame in the hands of those who purport to pray and act with immodesty and clownishness, which is a desecration of that which is holy, and the trampling of the inheritance of Israel throughout the generations in a brazen and cruel manner.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:
From SSRN (Non-U.S. Law):
From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

Sunday, March 06, 2016

Religious Accommodations for Saturday Presidential Caucuses Surveyed

The Campaign Legal Center last week published an interesting survey of the extent to which states that hold Saturday caucuses in Presidential elections provide accommodations for Jews, Seventh Day Adventists and other Saturday Sabbath observers. It concluded in part:
Some state parties make accommodations for those who are unable to caucus in person due to religious observance. However, absentee procedures in these states are limited, not well publicized or conducted through ad hoc mechanisms without clear standards—or even no standards at all.
However the survey pointed to practices of the Democratic Party in Washington state and Wyoming as excellent examples of accommodation that should be used as models.  They allow voters to submit surrogate affidavits if they are unable to caucus in person because of religious observance, military service, disability, illness or work schedule. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Young v. Muhammad, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24711 (CD CA, Feb. 24, 2016), a California federal district court accepted most of a magistrate's recommendations (2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176470, Dec. 22, 2015) and dismissed claims by an inmate who was removed from the Ramadan list and Muslim services for a period of time after he argued over religious theology with other inmates.

In Dawson v. Beard, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24806 (ED CA, Feb. 26, 2016), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed an inmate's complaint that he was denied access to religious services on numerous occasions, and denied the right to fast.

In Brandon v. Schroyer, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25003 (ND NY, Feb. 26, 2016), a New York federal magistrate judge rejected claims by a Muslim inmate that his free exercise rights were infringed when he was served meals containing pork ten times during a year, and found he had failed to exhaust administrative remedies as to denial of participation in Ramadan and access to congregate religious services.

In Hamilton v. Countant, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25329 (SD NY, March 1, 2016), a New York federal district court dismissed a Rastafarian inmate's complaint that authorities seized religious items from the prison chapel, made alterations to the calendar on which the prison listed recognized religious holidays, and refused to provide the cornbread and grape juice required for him to take communion during the Rastafarian Fasika holiday.

In Jarrett v. Snyder, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25277 (WD MI, Feb. 29, 2016), a Michigan federal district court permitted a Buddhist inmate to move ahead with his complaint that he was wrongfully removed from the vegetarian meal plan. The magistrate's opinion in the case is at 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25844, Jan. 11, 2016.

In Hoeck v. Miklich, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25940 (D CO, March 1, 2016), a Colorado federal district court accepted a magistrate's recommendation (2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176572, Oct. 26, 2015) and dismissed an inmate's claims that requiring him to change linens and move cells on the Sabbath, denying him an appropriate place to worship, and failing to classify Biblical Christianity as an independent religion violated RLUIPA. Plaintiff was however allowed to proceed on his First Amendment and state law challenges to these practices and his RLUIPA challenge to the grooming policy.

In Shaw v. Upton, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26575 (SD GA, March 2, 2016), a Georgia federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing for failure to exhaust administrative remedies an inmate's claim that he was deliberately transferred to another facility to deny him access to a religious vegan diet.

In Tyler v. Lassiter, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27161 (ED NC, March 3, 2016), a North Carolina federal district court held that a Jewish inmate's religious exercise was not substantially burdened when for disciplinary reasons he was placed on a vegetarian nutraloaf diet for one week instead of receiving his kosher meals.

In Johnson v. Lewis, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27169 (WD NC, March 3, 2016), a North Carolina federal district court rejected a Hebrew Israelite inmate's complaints about the kosher diet he was receiving.

In Stiles v. Cook, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27281 (WD NC, March 3, 2016), a North Carolina federal district court dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies a suit by a Native American inmate complaining that his "Indian prayer" materials were confiscated.

Court Enjoins Army From Requiring Special Testing of Sikh Officer

In Singh v. Carter, (D DC, March 3, 2016), the D.C. federal district court, invoking RFRA, granted a preliminary injunction protecting religious rights of an Army officer.  The Army had ordered a decorated Sikh Army captain to undergo costly specialized testing with his helmet and protective mask to assure that his religiously required head covering, beard and uncut hair will not interfere with the functions of the helmet and mask. The court said:
At first blush, the challenged order appears to reflect a reasonably thorough and even benevolent decision by the Army to fulfill its duty of protecting the health and safety of this particular Sikh officer.
Yet, that is far from the complete picture. Thousands of other soldiers are permitted to wear long hair and beards for medical or other reasons, without being subjected to such specialized and costly expert testing of their helmets and gas masks. Moreover, other Sikh soldiers have been permitted to maintain their articles of faith without such specialized testing.
See prior related posting.

Saturday, March 05, 2016

Alabama Supreme Court Narrowly Avoids Confrontation With SCOTUS On Same-Sex Marriage

The Alabama Supreme Court yesterday in Ex parte State of Alabama ex rel. Alabama Policy Institute, (AL Sup. Ct., March 4, 2016), issued a per curiam order dismissing all pending motions and petitions in a suit that sought to require Alabama probate judges to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  However the Order also generated six separate opinions from the 9 justices spanning 170 pages. Three of the opinions were particularly defiant of the U.S. Supreme Court's authority to hand down its Obergefell decision.

Chief Justice Roy Moore who has been in the lead in resisting same-sex marriage in Alabama (see prior posting) wrote the longest and most defiant opinion.  He actually submitted two opinions totaling 106 pages-- one an opinion on why he now decided not to recuse himself, even though he had done so at earlier stages of the case, and the second longer opinion attacking the U.S. Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision. Explaining why he was willing to concur in the dismissal of the suit, Moore said:
Today this Court by order dismisses all pending motions and petitions and issues the certificate of judgment in this case. That action does not disturb the existing March orders in this case or the Court's holding therein that the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment, art. I, § 36.03, Ala. Const. 1901, and the Alabama Marriage Protection Act, § 30-1-9, Ala. Code 1975, are constitutional.
In perhaps his most radical attack, Moore said (at pp. 87-88):
The general principle of blind adherence to United States Supreme Court opinions as "the law of the land" is a dangerous fallacy that is inconsistent with the United States Constitution. Labeling such opinions as "the rule of law" confuses the law itself -- the Constitution -- with an opinion that purports to interpret that document.
Article VI, by its plain terms, binds "the judges in every state" to obedience to the Constitution itself, not to unconstitutional and illegitimate opinions of the United States Supreme Court. Just as the little boy in Hans Christian Andersen's tale pointed out that the Emperor, contrary to the assertions of his courtiers, was actually stark naked, so also the "judges in every state" are entitled to examine Supreme Court opinions to see if they are clothed in the majesty of the law of the Constitution itself rather than in naked propositions of men with no cognizable covering from that document.
Moore also emphasized religious liberty in his attack on the Obergefell majority, saying in part (at pg. 58):
The Obergefell majority, conspicuously overlooking the "essential and historic significance" of the connection between religious liberty and "supreme allegiance to the will of God," failed to appreciate the seriousness of imposing a new sexual-revolution mandate that requires Alabama public officials to disobey the will of God.
Justices Parker and Murdock also wrote defiant concurring opinions, while Justice Shaw's concurring opinion was highly critical of Chief Justice Moore's approach.

Justice Bolin's somewhat temperate concurrence is of particular interest. He said in part:
Although I have many times not agreed with a decision of the United States Supreme Court, or a decision of the Alabama Supreme Court for that matter, I have never criticized an opinion from any court in the manner in which I regrettably do so today. I am, however, able to count to five--and I know that five votes trump four; and, although that does not make it right, it does make it a majority opinion....
The foregoing being said, I am further compelled to concur specially to express my concern, which remains to be determined in future cases, that the Obergefell decision may have emasculated this State's entire statutory licensing scheme governing "marriage" to the point of rendering it incapable of being enforced prospectively.
Al.com reports at length on the decision.

Church of Cannabis Leader Sues Former Police Chief For Defamation

According to a report yesterday from WKYC News, in Indianapolis, Indiana, the founder of the First Church of Cannabis has filed a defamation against the city's former police chief Rick Hite.  At a police news conference shortly before the church's inaugural service, the police chief warned that anyone smoking marijuana at the church would be prosecuted.  Referring to the Church's leader Bill Levin, the police chief said: "As Jim Jones once did within our state, he led a group of people into a place of no return. We don't want that to happen again in this state."

8th Circuit: Westboro Church Challenge To Picketing Law Should Be Dismissed As Moot

In 2014, a Missouri federal district court rejected a vagueness challenge mounted by the Westboro Baptist Church to Missouri statutes that banned protest activities within three hundred feet of a funeral. (See prior posting.)  However, while a motion to amend the judgment was still pending, the Missouri legislature repealed the statutes at issue.  In Phelps-Roper v. Koster, (8th Cir., March 4, 2016), the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held that when the statutes were repealed, the district court should have vacated its judgment and dismissed the case as moot. It also held that the district court had improperly computed the amount of attorneys' fees that should be awarded to plaintiff.

Friday, March 04, 2016

Supreme Court Preserves Abortion Status Quo In Louisiana While It Considers Similar Case

Th U.S. Supreme Court today issued an order preserving the status quo in Louisiana while the Court considers Whole Woman's Health, the abortion case from Texas that was argued this week. (See prior posting.) The 5th Circuit had stayed a district court's preliminary injunction against enforcement of a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The 5th Circuit's stay had the effect of allowing Louisiana's contested law to go into effect. Today in June Medical Services LLC v. Gee the U.S. Supreme Court issued the following order:
Consistent with the Court’s action granting a stay in Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, No. 14A1288 (June 29, 2015), the application to vacate the stay entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on February 24, 2016, presented to Justice Thomas and by him referred to the Court, is granted and the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the district court’s injunction is vacated.
Justice Thomas would deny the application.
This order was in response to June Medical's Emergency Application to Vacate Stay of Preliminary Injunction Pending Appeal (full text).

Georgia's Republican Governor Opposes "Religious Freedom" Bill on Biblical Grounds

As a number of state legislatures consider enacting religious freedom bills to protect opponents of same-sex marriage, one of the most contentious of the bills has been Georgia's HB 757 which among other things would bar government from taking any adverse action against any person or faith-based organization based wholly or in part on the person or organization believing, speaking or acting in accordance with their belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman and sexual relations should be reserved to such a union.  The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported yesterday that Georgia's Republican Governor Nathan Deal took a surprisingly strong stand against the legislation:
Amid a growing outcry from powerful corporations over Georgia’s “religious liberty” proposal, Gov. Nathan Deal issued his strongest warning yet to lawmakers who are debating controversial legislation seen as a conservative answer to the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling.
In stark terms, the Republican said he would reject any measure that “allows discrimination in our state in order to protect people of faith,” and urged religious conservatives not to feel threatened by the ruling....
Standing in the lobby of a government building after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, he laid out a lengthy condemnation of the measure from a biblical perspective, first noting that he is a Southern Baptist who took religion courses at Mercer University.
“What the New Testament teaches us is that Jesus reached out to those who were considered the outcasts, the ones that did not conform to the religious societies’ view of the world … We do not have a belief in my way of looking at religion that says we have to discriminate against anybody. If you were to apply those standards to the teaching of Jesus, I don’t think they fit.”

India Effectively Denies Visas To USCIRF Delegation

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in a press release yesterday that the government of India has effectively denied visas to a USCIRF delegation that was to visit India to assess religious freedom conditions in that country. India failed to issue requested visas in time for the delegation's scheduled departure today.

Australian Report On Laws That Encroach On Traditional Freedoms

On Wednesday, the Australian Law Reform Commission released  its report titled Traditional Rights and Freedoms—Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws. Chapter 5 of the report deals with Australian laws that may be seen as interfering with freedom of religion, including anti-discrimination laws. Law and Religion Australia blog has more on the report.

2nd Circuit: MTA Rule Change Makes Challenge To Rejection of Anti-Muslim Ad Moot

In American Freedom Defense Initiative v. Metropolitan Transit Authority, (2d Cir., March 3, 2016), the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal on mootness grounds of a suit against the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority challenging the MTA's refusal to accept an anti-Islamic ad that a pro-Israel group wished to run on the back of MTA buses.  The ad which portrayed a menacing‐looking man with his face mostly covered by a head scarf included the quote:  "Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah." Then beneath the quote, the ad stated:  "That’s His Jihad.  What’s yours?"  While the case was pending, the MTA changed its property from a designated public forum
to a limited public forum and barred any ad that is "political in nature." (See prior related posting.) New York Post reports on the decision.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Dunn v. Catoe, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22252 (ED TX, Feb. 23, 2016), a Texas federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23148, Jan. 15, 2016) and dismissed a Muslim inmate's complaints about policies requiring an outside volunteer at religious services, gang members infiltrating Muslim religious meetings, insufficient food when lock downs occur during Ramadan, and denial of the right to wear a beard.

In Vincent v. Stewart, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23304 (WD WA, Feb. 25, 2016), a Washington federal magistrate judge held that unless a proper amendment is filed, she would dismiss a complaint by a Hare Krshna inmate that he has been unable to obtain fresh milk as part of his diet as required by his religious beliefs.

In Todd v. California Department of Corrections, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23338 (ED CA, Feb. 24, 2016), a California federal magistrate judge recommended that an inmate be permitted to proceed with free exercise, Establishment Clause and equal protection claims stemming from refusal to recognize Creativity as a religion, denial of a religious diet and banning of the Holy Books of Creativity.

In Fernandez-Torres v. Watts, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23964 (SD GA, Feb. 26. 2016), a Georgia federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing an inmate's complaint that he was not allowed to have Santeria Bead Necklaces sent to him by his "spiritual family," and could only obtain them from an approved vendor.

In Thody v. Ives, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24092 (CD CA, Feb. 25, 2016), a California federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24095, Jan. 5, 2016) and dismissed as not congnizable in a habeas corpus action an inmate's complaint that members of their non-Judaist, Messianic, Sabbitarian, Zionist belief group have been denied the right to assemble, teach and practice their religion.

In Schlemm v. Wall, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24332 (WD WI, Feb. 29, 2016), a Wisconsin federal district court held that because of disputed issues of material fact, the case should proceed to trial on claims that an inmate's RLUIPA rights were infringed when he not permitted to serve venison during the annual Native American Ghost Feast; and was prevented from wearing a multicolored bandana while praying or meditating in his cell and during group religious ceremonies.

In Monroe v. Walker, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24475 (D NV, Feb. 26, 2016), a Nevada federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24474, Jan. 11, 2016) and allowed a Muslim inmate to proceed against one of the defendants on his complaint that he was admonished for wearing his religiously approved Kufi and was treated differently than similarly situated Jewish inmates.

Thursday, March 03, 2016

Minnesota Federal Judge Creating Innovative Deradicalization Program Aimed At ISIL Recruits

The Minneapolis Star Tribune and MPR News reported yesterday that Minnesota federal district judge Michael J. Davis is setting up an innovative Terrorism Disengagement and Deradicalization Program aimed at deradicalizing defendants convicted of plotting to join ISIS.  Davis has presided over most of the terrorism trials of young Somali-Americans in Minnesota. In court papers filed in the case of four men who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support and resources to ISIL, the court says it plans to have the U.S. Probation Office work with a consultant from the German Institute on Radicalization and Deradicalization Studies to recommend an individualized intervention program tailored to each defendant's circumstances and underlying radicalization factors.  The U.S. Attorney's Office is fully supportive of the new initiative.  Defense attorneys have not yet decided whether to accept the plan.

Suit Challenges Cross Decals On Sheriff's Office Patrol Cars

The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit yesterday against a Texas sheriff who placed 8-inch tall Latin cross decals on six county law enforcement vehicles.  The complaint (full text) in Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Brewster County, Texas, (WD TX, filed 3/2/2016), says that Sheriff Ronny Dodson placed the decals on patrol vehicles because he "wanted God’s protection over his deputies."  The suit contends that this violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause as well as Art. I, Sec. 6 of the Texas Constitution.  FFRF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

IRS Releases Financial Data On Charities From 2012 Returns

The Internal Revenue Service in its recently-released Statistics of Income (Winter 2016) discloses extensive financial data regarding Nonprofit Charitable Organizations and Donor-Advised Funds. The data was compiled from Forms 990 and 990-EZ filed for tax year 2012. Non-profit charitable organizations had assets of $3.3 trillion. They received over $1.7 trillion in total revenue (nearly 75% of which came from program services). Charities holding $10 million or more in assets filed only 8% of the tax returns, but accounted for 92% of overall charitable assets.

Church Wins In RLUIPA "Equal Terms" Challenge To Redevelopment Zone Limits

In Summit Church v. Randolph County Development Authority, (ND WV, March 2, 2016), a West Virginia federal district court held that the Randolph County (WV) Development Authority violated the "equal terms" provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act when it refused to sell property in a redevelopment project to a church.  The property was part of a former rail yard being redeveloped for mixed commercial use, reflecting the "the history and culture of the site." The court said in part:
The defendants wholly fail to attempt to define what they believe the “history and culture of the site” even is. It was a railyard.... Therefore, an operating train, a railroad museum or railroad-themed restaurant – which do exist in the current Elkins Railyard – theoretically make sense under the RCDA’s vision. The other existing establishments are nothing more than “medical tenants.... The northern portion of the Railyard... is morphing into something more akin to a medical park. The defendants have not shown, however, how a church would harm the Covenants’ objectives any more than the other permitted uses.