Amish Get Remand For More Consideration of Religious Freedom Defenses In Permit Case

In Sugar Grove Township v. Byler, (PA Commnwlth. Ct., July 20, 2018), a 7-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court remanded to the trial court a complaint against a member of the Old Order Amish who, it was contended, failed to obtain required permits under the Township's Privy Ordinance, and violated the Sewage Facilities Act and the Uniform Construction Code.  The trial court concluded that community safety concerns override religious objections. The appeals court said:

The trial court substantiates this conclusion by vaguely referencing testimony of an environmental hazard in the nature of high levels of E. coli bacteria being found in the area, without any explanation of how Appellant’s purported violations contributed to or exacerbated this hazard. Moreover, the trial court ignores additional protections provided by the Religious Freedom Protection Act....

The matter is remanded to the trial court to issue a new opinion considering the issue of the religious freedom protections of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, section 3 of the Pennsylvania Constitution as well as the Religious Freedom Protection Act.

AP reports on the decision.

Canadian Court Invalidates Limits On Charities' Lobbying Expenditures

CBC reports on a July 16 decision by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice which invalidated provisions of Canada's Income Tax Act which limit expenditures for political lobbying activities by charities to 10% of its resources. (Background.)  According to CBC:

The decision by Justice Edward Morgan of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice is a reprieve for the tiny Ottawa group that launched the challenge — Canada Without Poverty — which has been under formal notice of losing its charitable status since 2016....

Morgan's decision does not alter the prohibition against charities engaging in partisan activities — that is, supporting particular candidates or political parties. Charities have not challenged that section of the Act....

But he did rule the 10 per cent rule was an arbitrary and unjustified infringement of freedom of expression as guaranteed in Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And he said Canada Without Poverty needs to engage in political activity, such as buttonholing ministers and encouraging Canadians to contact their MPs, to carry out its charitable purpose.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Adam Chodorow, Amicus Curiae Brief of Tax Law Professors in Support of Appellees, (June 22, 2018).
• Luke Beck, A Question of Characterisation: Can the Commonwealth Facilitate the Imposition of Religious Observances?, (Monash University Law Review, Vol 43, No 3, pp. 828-844, 2018).
• Ashwani Malhotra, Personal Laws and the Constitution: Revisiting Narasu Appa Mali, (June 22, 2018).
• Jessica A. Clarke, Explicit Bias, (Northwestern University Law Review, Vol. 113 (2018 Forthcoming)).
• Giri Taufik, Proportionality Test in the 1945 Constitution: Limiting Hizbut Tahrir Freedom of Assembly, (Constitutional Review Journal, Vol. 4, Number 1, May 2018).
• Nicolas Duquette, Top Donors and the Rising Concentration of Giving in the United States, 1960–2012, (June 19, 2018).
• Allison Anna Tait, Keeping Promises and Meeting Needs: Public Charities at a Crossroads, (Minnesota Law Review, Vol. 102, No. 5, 2018).

Neither Side Gets Summary Judgment In Hawaii Religious Zoning Dispute

In Spirit of Aloha Temple v. County of Maui, (D HI, July 20, 2018), a Hawaii federal district court denied summary judgment motions filed by both parties in a RLUIPA lawsuit challenging denial of a special use permit to build a church and hold religious events (particularly weddings) on land zoned for agricultural use. the court held that significant factual questions remain to be resolved as to the Temple's substantial burden claim, religious discrimination and equal terms claims, as well as its 1st and 14th Amendment assertions. The Temple promotes the practice of "Integral Yoga."

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Shepard v. Allison, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117425 (ED CA, July 13, 2018), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed, with leave to file an amended complaint, an inmate's claim that his request to change his name for religious reasons was denied.

In Croghan v. Branion, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117387 (ED CA, July 12, 2018), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed, with leave to file an amended complaint, an inmate's claim that he was not allowed to wear a religious artifact.

In Turner v. Schofield, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117673 (WD TN, July 16, 2018), a Tennessee federal district court dismissed a Muslim inmate's complaint that he was not issued passes to attend religious services when he used his Muslim name rather than his committed name, as well as his complaint about halal meals.

In Dorman v. Aronofsky, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118161 (SD FL, July 13, 2018), a Florida federal magistrate judge recommended that a Jewish inmate be permitted to move ahead with his complaint for an injunction growing out of his inability to sign up for and participate in Passover diet and services.

In Jones v. West, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118633 (ED WI, July 17, 2018), a Wisconsin federal district court allowed a Muslim inmate to move ahead with his complaint about a policy change that limited dissemination of notice about multi-day religious meal accommodation and congregate meal dates, and his complaint about being denied inclusion on the Ramadan bagged meal program.

In Young v. Smith, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119068 (SD GA, July 17, 2018), a Georgia federal magistrate judge held that a Native American inmate should be permitted to move ahead with his complaint that he was prohibited from smoking kinninnick in his weekly prayer ceremonies, that previously approved sacred items were confiscated, that his prayer practices were interfered with, that he was only allowed a Bible or Qur'an (not Native American sacred books) while in Tier II confinement, and his complaint of religious retaliation.

Israel's First Enforcement of Law Barring Jewish Weddings Outside Official Rabbinate

Haaretz reports that for the first time Israeli police have attempted to enforce a 2013 law that prohibits rabbis from performing Jewish weddings other than through the official Rabbinate.  Offenses carry a sentence of up to 6 months for conducting the ceremony and up to two years in prison for failing to register it.  Israeli police on Thursday booked Rabbi Dov Haiyun of Moriah Congregation in Haifa who was ordained by the Conservative movement, on charges of conducting a marriage ceremony of a person who is not eligible to be married under Jewish law. The complaint against him was filed by the Haifa Rabbinical Court.

UPDATE: Times of Israel (July 22) reports that the attorney general’s office, responding to widespread criticism of the detention, has now instructed police to cancel the summons against Rabbi Haiyun.

Suit Challenges Restriction On Farm's Use For Religious Activities

Yesterday's Sewickley Herald reports on a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania federal district court on Wednesday by owners of an historic farm who are using their property to host Bible study, a worship night, religious retreats and fundraisers.  Last October, Sewickley Heights served a cease and desist order on the farm's owners, claiming that they need a zoning variance in order to host the religious activities.  The owners claim that the cease and desist order violates their rights under the First Amendment and RLUIPA.  Sewickley Heights is a small upscale residential community of estates built on rolling hills and meadows.

No Free Exercise Violation In Refusal To Adjourn Trial For Defendant's Holy Day

In an opinion which sets out few of the facts involved, a New York state appeals court held that the Free Exercise rights of a robbery defendant were not infringed when the trial court denied his request to adjourn court proceedings from Thursday until Monday to accommodate his religious beliefs and practices.  The unanimous decision or the Appellate Division is People v. Webb, (NY App., July 18, 2018).

Israel Passes Watered-Down Version of Controversial Jewish Nation-State Bill

As reported by Haaretz, Israel's Knesset yesterday passed a watered-down version of the controversial Jewish Nation-State Bill (full text).  The Bill, passed as a Basic Law, will have quasi-constitutional status. The new law defines Israel as "the national home of the Jewish people."  A provision that originally was aimed at allowing the creation of Jewish-only communities in Israel was modified to read:

The state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation.

In a provision which apparently attempts to prevent government encouragement of Reform and Conservative branches of Judaism within Israel, the law provides:

The state shall act within the Diaspora to strengthen the affinity between the state and members of the Jewish people.

Among various other provisions, the bill establishes the Sabbath and Jewish festivals as days of rest in the country.

Australian Court Bans Niqab In Spectator's Gallery

In Australia, a judge in the Victoria Supreme Court has refused to allow the wife of a terrorism defendant to wear a niqab (a full-face veil) in the court's public spectator gallery during her husband's trial.  In The Queen v. Chaarani, (VSC, July 18, 2018), the court said in part:

... Australia is obviously a multicultural society and I agree that religious dress should be accommodated as much as possible, but the right of religious freedom and the right to participate in public life are not absolutes....

Criminal proceedings in the trial division of the Supreme Court are often highly stressful experiences, not only for the accused but for those close to the accused. Likewise for those close to any victims. As a consequence of that stress, incidents happen from time to time in court.... Spectators whose faces are uncovered are likely to appreciate that, if they misbehave, it will not be too difficult to establish their identity, even if they manage to get away from the court....

A requirement that spectators have their faces uncovered is not to force anyone to act immodestly.  First, the exposure of one’s face in a court room cannot reasonably be viewed as an immodest act: subjective views to the contrary cannot rule the day, or the management of a court room. Second, if someone feels strongly that it would be improper for them to uncover their face in court, they can choose not to attend. If that is Ms Al Qattan’s choice, arrangements will be made for live streaming of the proceedings to a remote facility within the court building so that she can still view the trial.

The Guardian reports on the decision.

Christian After-School Program Is Exempt From Illinois Unemployment Taxes

In By the Hand Club for Kids, NFP, Inc. v. Illinois Department of Employment Security, (IL Cir. Ct., July 18, 2018), an Illinois state trial court held that an evangelical after-school program for impoverished Chicago school children is exempt from the requirement to pay unemployment taxes to cover its employees.  The  court held that the group falls under the exemption for organizations operated primarily for religious purposes. The state argued that the organization is merely an after-school program that primarily furnishes homework help, tutoring, hot meals and medical attention.  The court however emphasized that the group sees these charitable acts a a religious practice, and also that the organization proselytizes the children participating in their program.  ADF issued a press release announcing the decision.

School's Mission Trip Fundraising Violated Establishment Clause

In American Humanist Association, Inc. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, (D CO, July 17, 2018), a Colorado federal district court, in a case on remand from the 10th Circuit, held that a school district's promotion and fund raising for a Christian mission trip to assist orphans in Guatemala violated the Establishment Clause.  The court concluded that the school's activities violated both the effect and entanglement prongs of the Lemon test.  The court said in part:

The very concept of a mission trip has religious intimations. The Guatemala mission trip was overtly religious. It was organized by District students and teachers who are part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes; it was planned through a Christian organization called Adventures in Missions: Christian Mission Trips; and the fundraising page for the trip noted “our group’s primary goal is to share the love and hope of Jesus.” ... In addition, the student organizer of the trip testified that “the plan was to . . . introduce [children] to the Bible” and to “promote Christianity.” ... It was no secret to the defendants that the supplies and money donated during the Cougar Run supply drive would be used to directly advance Christian goals.

The court granted summary judgment to the individual plaintiff, but dismissed the associational plaintiff in the case. Denver Post reports on the decision.

Challenge To HHS Family Planning Grant Criteria Fails

In Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, Inc. v. Azar, (D DC, July 16, 2018), the D.C. federal district court dismissed a challenge to an Announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services brought by three Planned Parenthood affiliates and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association.  Plaintiffs particularly object to new language in criteria for funding of voluntary family planning projects.  The new language includes "cooperation with faith based organizations" as one factor to be considered. The court first concluded that the Announcement is not yet subject to judicial review because it is not final agency action. The court went on to hold that even if it reached the merits of the challenge, the Announcement would be valid, saying in part:

such linkages [to faith-based groups] may benefit Title X providers by providing connections to communities in need of Title X services and strengthening enrollment and awareness programming, among other benefits.... The Announcement’s low-key encouragement to partner with community and faith-based organizations is not contrary to law, or arbitrary and capricious.

Courthouse News Service reports on the decision.

3rd Circuit Hears Oral Arguments In Minister's Breach of Contract Case

Last week, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Lee v. Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church of Pittsburgh. (Audio of full oral arguments).  In the case, a Pennsylvania federal district court dismissed on ministerial exception and excessive entanglement grounds a breach of contract suit by the church's pastor who was fired without being compensated under the contract clause relating to termination without cause.  (See prior posting.) Trib Total Media reports on the oral arguments.

Asylum Seeking Indian Sikhs Have Turbans Taken Away In Federal Custody

A report this week in the India Tribune alleges mistreatment of 52 illegal immigrants from India held at the federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon.  Most of these are Punjabi speaking Sikhs.  The immigrants are seeking asylum on the grounds of feared religious and political persecution in India.  In addition to the general problem of prison conditions, the Sikh inmates have had their turbans taken away. Some of the immigrants have now hired lawyers, so their conditions are improving. Community members have furnished beanies as head coverings to some Sikhs.

Church Tax Audit Limits Do Not Apply to Investigation of Pastors

In Rowe v. United States, (ED LA, May 16, 2018), a Louisiana federal district court held that the special protections of the Church Audit Procedure Act only applies to investigations into a church's tax liability. It does not apply to summonses to banks to supply church financial records in connection with an inquiry into the tax liability of the church's pastors. Nonprofit Law Prof Blog reports on the decision. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Title VII Race Provisions Cover Anti-Jewish Discrimination

In Bonadona v. Louisiana College, (WD LA, July 13, 2018), a Louisiana federal magistrate judge held that Title VII's ban on racial discrimination in employment is broad enough to cover discrimination based on a person's Jewish heritage. At issue is a Title VII suit by an applicant for a coaching position who was not hired because of his Jewish heritage.  Plaintiff was born to a Jewish mother but converted to Christianity in college.The court said in part:

America is no stranger to anti-Semitism, which is often rooted in prejudice against a person based on his heritage/ethnicity without regard to the person’s particular religious beliefs. Jewish citizens have been excluded from certain clubs or neighborhoods, and they have been denied jobs and other opportunities based on the fact that they were Jewish, with no particular concern as to a given individual’s religious leanings. Thus, they have been treated like a racial or ethnic group that Title VII was designed to protect from employment discrimination based on membership in that group.

AP reports on the decision.

5th Circuit: Subpoena To Catholic Bishops Should Have Been Quashed

In Whole Woman's Health v. Smith, (5th Cir., July 15, 2018), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, held that a Texas federal district court should have quashed a document discovery order directed at the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops.  The discovery order came in a case in which several health care providers are challenging the state's fetal remains regulations which they contend burdens women's right to abortion. The majority opinion said in part:

The [district] court’s analysis of the free exercise and establishment clause claims begs the fundamental, novel issues presented under these circumstances. The court’s rejection of the free speech, association, and petition claims too narrowly construes the nature of chilling effects on those rights while overbroadly interpreting the importance to the plaintiffs of the discovery sought here....

[T]he claim of religious organizations to maintain their internal organizational autonomy intact from ordinary discovery should be at least as secure as the protection constitutionally afforded other associations. Supreme Court decisions have protected religious organizations’ internal deliberations and decision-making in numerous ways.... Although none have spoken directly to discovery orders in litigation, the importance of securing religious groups’ institutional autonomy, while allowing them to enter the public square, cannot be understated and reflects consistent prior case law.

The majority however, pointing to the rule of constitutional avoidance, decided the case on the basis of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 45(d) which calls for quashing a subpoena when it imposes an undue burden.

Judge Ho also filed a brief concurring opinion.  Judge Costa filed a dissenting opinion.  Becket issued a press release announcing the court's decision.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Sohail Wahedi, Female Circumcision as an African Problem: Double Standards or the Harsh Reality?, (M. Christian Green, T. Jeremy Gunn, & Mark Hill (Eds.), Religion, Law and Security, Stellenbosch: African Sun Media 2018, Conference Proceedings).
• Brian Soucek, The Case of the Religious Gay Blood Donor, (William & Mary Law Review, Forthcoming).
• John M. Armstrong, Review of Plato, 'The Laws', edited by Malcolm Schofield, translated by Tom Griffith, Cambridge University Press, 2016, (Ancient Philosophy (Forthcoming)).
• Russell K. Robinson & David M. Frost, 'Playing it Safe' with Empirical Evidence: Selective Use of Social Science in Supreme Court Cases About Racial Justice and Marriage Equality, (June 22, 2018).
• Raphael Cohen-Almagor, When a Ritual Murder Occurred at Purim. The Harm in Hate Speech, (El profesional de la información, Vol. 27, No. 3 (2018), pp. 671-681).
• Nicholas Duquette, Alexandra Graddy-Reed & Mark Phillips, The Extent and Efficacy of State Charitable Contribution Income Tax Credits, (April 23, 2018).

From SmartCILP:

• Ronald J. Colombo, The Religious Liberty Jurisprudence of Justice Antonin Scalia, 46 Hofstra Law Review 433-443 (2017).

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Williams v. Annucci, (2d Cir., July 10, 2018), the 2nd Circuit, vacating and remanding a district court decision, held that the state had not carried its burden under RLUIPA to justify not accommodating the dietary restrictions imposed by an inmate's Nazarite Jewish faith.

In Riley v. Governor of Florida, (11h Cir., July 12, 2018), the 11th Circuit vacated the district court'd decision and remanded to give plaintiff an opportunity to amend in a suit in which an inmate complained that his religion had been incorrectly listed as Jewish because his Ethiopian Zion Coptic religion was not included in the computerized list of faith choices.

In Beers v. Fouts, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114202 (D NH, July 10, 2018), a New Hampshire federal district court rejected an inmate's complaint that a group strip search violated his religious beliefs because it exposed his body to individuals who lacked a proper reason to view it.

In Sears v. Thomas, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114470 (SD FL, July 9, 2018), a Florida federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing a suit by an inmate alleging that a chain and crucifix were improperly kept from him on the grounds they were purchased from an unauthorized vendor.

In George v. County of Westchester, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114520 (SD NY, July 10, 2018), a New York federal district court allowed an inmate to move ahead with his complaint regarding a lack of Jewish congregational worship services.

In Muhammad v. Barksdale, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114773 (WD VA, July 10, 2018), a Virginia federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation (2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114324, March 14, 2018) and dismissed a Muslim inmate's complaint that he was served the Common Fare diet instead of "special" foods for Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha.

In Maple v. Overmyer, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114820 (WD PA, July 11, 2018), a Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge dismissed a Muslim inmate's complaint that he missed a Jummah prayer service and the feast of Eid Al-Fitr.

In Brennan v. Aston, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116329 (WD WA, July 12, 2018), a Washington federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation (2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116450, June 14, 2018) and allowed an inmate to move ahead with his complaint that his request to participate in Passover was denied.