Establishment Clause Challenge To Liquor Licensing Rule Rejected

In VFW John O'Connor Post #4833 v. Santa Rosa County, Florida, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17150 (ND FL, March 12, 2007), a Florida federal district court rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to the alcoholic beverage licensing requirements of Santa Rosa County, FL. Under the county's Land Development Code, vendors of alcoholic beverages for on-premise consumption must be located at least 2500 feet from any church or school, unless the distance requirement is waived by the County Commission. While consent of a church is not required in order to obtain a waiver, a fee of $25 is charged to offset the cost of determining whether affected churches and schools object to the granting of a license. The court distinguished this case from the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Larkin v. Grendel's Den, because there churches had an absolute veto over the granting of liquor licenses.

The court went on to find that the Santa Rosa county waiver provision is unconstitutionally vague, but that it may be severed from the remainder of the statute. This leaves plaintiff to pursue its equal protection and substantive due process challenges to the remainder of the Code provisions.

CAIR Becomes Controversial In Washington

Today's New York Times carries a front-page story on the growing debate over the federal government's relationships with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The group says its goals are to protect the civil liberties of Muslims and to spread understanding of Islam. However critics have claimed that CAIR has links to Hamas and Hezbollah which are designated as terrorist organizations by the State Department, that it has accepted large donations from Arab governments and that it furthers Wahhabist religious interpretations of Islam. Local offices of CAIR have developed close relationships with law enforcement officials and concentrate on civil rights issues. The controversy seems to focus on CAIR's national office.

Yesterday, CAIR presented a panel discussion on "Global Attitudes on Islam-West Relations: U.S. Policy Implications " in a Capitol meeting room over objections of some House Republicans who said that CAIR's members are "terrorist apologists". The website CAIRwatch collects many of the charges against CAIR.

Utah Supreme Court Says No Tolling Of Limitations In Priest Sexual Abuse Case

Yesterday in Colosimo v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Salt Lake City, (UT Sup. Ct., March 13, 2007), the Utah Supreme Court held that the statute of limitations barred a suit against the Catholic diocese of Salt Lake City, a Catholic school and several other institutions for damages growing out of sexual abuse of two brothers by a priest over thirty years ago. The court rejected arguments by plaintiffs that the running of the statute should be tolled because they had failed to make the causal connection between the abuse and their injuries. It also rejected tolling the statute on the grounds of fraudulent concealment when plaintiffs had knowledge of their abuse and the relationship of the abuser to the Church, but failed to investigate potential claims they might have arising from the abuse. The court observed that while "the legislature passed a statute in 1992 that tolls the running of the limitations period in child sexual abuse cases until the victim knows or reasonably should know that his injury was caused by the abuse, that statute does not apply retroactively, and so is not applicable here." KSL News reported yesterday on the decision.

Fired NY Teacher Loses Title VII Claim

In Central Islip, NY yesterday, a jury in federal court rejected a Title VII religious discrimination claim by a former public school teacher who claimed she had been fired because her principal falsely believed she was a witch. (See prior posting.) She also claimed discrimination based on her actual religion, Judaism. The New York Law Journal reports today that in the case, Berrios v. Hampton Bays Union Free School District, the judge issued an order, communicated to the parties but not to the jury, indicating that he was uncertain that Title VII would support a claim of discrimination based on "perceived" religious belief, rather than discrimination based on a person's actual religion. However since the jury found that neither Lauren Berrios' actual nor perceived religion was the grounds for her dismissal, the judge's order became irrelevant.

Top US Military General Says Gay Relationships Are Immoral

Yesterday's Chicago Tribune reported that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, said, in answer to a question about military policy, that in his personal view, homosexual acts are "immoral". This is the reason that he supports the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay men and women from serving in the military. He said his moral views are based on his personal "upbringing" and compared the immorality of homosexual relationships to that of adultery. CNN today reports that Gen. Pace's office says he stands by his remarks after his statement was criticized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

UPDATE: Today Gen. Pace issued a statement saying that in his interview with the Chicago Tribune, he should have focused more on his support for the military's "don't as, don't tell" policy that does not make a moral judgment, and less on his personal moral views. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

9th Circuit Holds Snowbowl Waste Water Plans Violate RFRA

Yesterday, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision and held that the U.S. Forest Service violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act when it approved a proposed expansion of the Snowbowl ski resort in the Coconino National Forest in northern Arizona. At issue was the approval of the use of treated sewage to make artificial snow for the expansion. In Navajo Nation v. United States Forest Service, (9th Cir., March 12, 2007), the appellate court held that the proposed use of treated sewage effluent on the San Francisco Peaks would impose a substantial burden on the religious exercise of Navajo and the Hopi Indian tribes. It said that the government did not have a compelling interest in authorizing the use of artificial snow at an already functioning commercial ski area merely so that the ski resort could expand and improve its facilities and extend its ski season in dry years.

Explaining its holding, the court said:

The record in this case establishes the religious importance of the Peaks to the Appellant tribes who live around it. From time immemorial, they have relied on the Peaks, and the purity of the Peaks' water, as an integral part of their religious beliefs. The Forest Service and the Snowbowl now propose to put treated sewage effluent on the Peaks. To get some sense of equivalence, it may be useful to imagine the effect on Christian beliefs and practices — and the imposition that Christians would experience — if the government were to require that baptisms be carried out with "reclaimed water."

The Associated Press yesterday, reporting on the decision, said that Snowbowl Resort investors have spent $4 million on the environmental impact statement and legal fees in their attempt to expand the resort and its ski season.

Pennsylvania City Limits Council Prayer To Pre-Meeting Times

Monday night, the Coatesville, Pennsylvania City council adopted a new policy on prayer at Council meetings. Philadelphia's Daily Local reports that the new policy allows Council members to pray together -- acting as private citizens-- before official city business is discussed at a Council meeting. The prayer, that may be offered by any Council member who wishes to, will not be considered city business. The new policy responds to objections that arose after a meeting last month in which City Council President Patsy Ray, a minister, asked everyone in the room to stand and hold hands, and City Councilman Kurt Schenk, also a minister, delivered a Christian prayer. (See prior posting.)

UPDATE: Tuesday's Daily Local published an interesting editorial criticizing Council's new policy, saying: "What City Council needs to do is meet at the local diner, the local burger joint, the nearest mall. But it can’t just meet as a governing body in a city building and pray — but not call it prayer."

High Schoolers Demand To Pray In Busy School Commons Area

In Vancouver, Washington, a bitter dispute has broken out over high school officials' attempts to accommodate a student prayer group, according to a report yesterday by Religion News Service. At Heritage High School, a group of students who are members of the Church of Truth -- a congregation made up largely of Russian-speaking immigrants who came to the U.S. for religious freedom-- insisted on praying in the busy school commons area. The school offered them a room where they could meet before classes, but the students refused. The ensuing dispute led to the suspension of 11 students. Liberty Counsel then jumped into the fray, sending a letter to the Evergreen Public Schools demanding that the suspensions be expunged from the students' records, and threatening to sue if they were not. The letter said the suspensions were an overreaction to the situation.

Egyptian Blogger's Jail Sentence Upheld

Reuters reports that an Egyptian appeals court on Monday upheld the 4-year jail sentence that a lower court recently imposed on blogger Abdel-Karim Suleiman. (See prior posting.) Suleiman was convicted of insulting Islam, inciting sectarian strife and insulting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Suleiman's lawyers plan to appeal the sentence to the Court of Cassation.

Churches To Offer Sanctuary To Prevent Deportations That Split Families

CNS News reports today that, in an effort to unite Christian Evangelicals behind comprehensive immigration reform, churches around the country are preparing to grant "sanctuary" to families in which a parent who is in the country illegally is about to be deported. The program, sponsored by Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, will begin in Los Angeles. The group considers it a moral issue to prevent the split up of families caused by deportation of a parent who leaves behind a child who is a U.S. citizen by birth.

Serbia Slow In Implementing Law To Return Church Lands

Forum 18 reported yesterday that the implementation of Serbia's 2006 Law on the Restitution of Property to Churches and Religious Communities (background) has been very slow. The Restoration Directorate is short on staff, and religious organizations are having difficulty locating the proper documentation. Even the large Serbian Orthodox Church has had problems. Also, the 2006 law only covers property confiscated by the Communists after 1945, so Jewish community property taken taken during World War II is not covered. The Minister of International Economic Relations says that the Jewish community's property will be included in a new proposed general restitution law that will cover property confiscated for ethnic or religious reasons during the Second World War.

Hugo Chavez and Venezuela's Christians

ZNet yesterday carried a long article on clashes between Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and the country's Catholic Church. Tensions started in 1999 when Chavez's government decided to cut subsidies to the church by up to 80%. Other political differences then emerged. Through meetings since 2005 with Pope Benedict XVI, Chavez has attempted to improve relationships. Meanwhile Protestants have become key political supporters of Chavez.

Secular Islam Summit In Florida Calls For Church-State Separation

Last week, the Secular Islam Summit, held in St. Petersburg, Florida, issued The St. Petersburg Declaration. The document calls for separation of religion from state and the observance of universal human rights. Among other things, it urges governments around the world to reject Sharia law, fatwa courts, clerical rule, and state-sanctioned religion in all forms; and to oppose all penalties for blasphemy and apostasy. The Summit's website collects a number of articles and op-ed pieces commenting on the Summit. Front Page Magazine today carries a story on the Summit and on the opposition to it by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Recently Available Prisoner Free Exercise Decisions

In Florer v. Johnson, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16802 (WD WA, March 8, 2007), a Washington federal Magistrate Judge gave a prisoner challenging the adequacy of the kosher diet furnished to him in prison an opportunity to amend his complaint to adequately state a First Amendment and RLUIPA claim.

In Jamal v. Arpaio, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16212 (D AZ, March 6, 2007), an Arizona federal district court found a sufficient basis in a prisoner's complaint to order defendants to answer charges that plaintiff 's free exercise rights were violated when defendants refused to provide him a copy of the Quran, he was not permitted to participate in congregational prayer, he was denied a religious or pork free diet, and he was subjected to constant and loud Christian music.

In Morris v. Newland, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15725 (ED CA, March 6, 2007), a California federal Magistrate Judge recommended that a Muslim prisoner be permitted to move ahead with his claims that prison officials created a custom or policy of depriving him of his right to practice his religion of Islam when female officers were allowed to observe him unclothed. Defendants had failed to frame any argument against plaintiff's entitlement to relief on these claims.

In Marshall v. Church of the Larger Fellowship, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8571 (ED AK, Feb. 2, 2007), an Arkansas federal district judge adopted the recommendations of a Magistrate Judge, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15459 (ED AK, Jan. 17, 2007) that plaintiff prisoners' claim be dismissed. Plaintiffs had alleged that a church, its pastor and a church chaplain violated their First Amendment rights when they wrongfully enticed them to join their congregation, without first informing them that some of their membership privileges would be limited due to their incarceration. The court held that the First Amendment does not apply to actions of private individuals or private entities, such as defendants in this case.

In Ransom v. Johnson, 2007 U.S. Dist LEXIS 15234 (ED CA, March 5, 2007), a California federal Magistrate Judge permitted a Muslim prisoner to move ahead with a claim that prison officials improperly placed him in a status that denied him the ability to earn work credits. This, he alleged, infringed his free exercise rights by preventing him from attending 26 communal prayer services.

In Lamon v. Pliler, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15247 (ED CA, March 2, 2007), a California federal district court held that plaintiff prisoner had adequately exhausted his administrative remedies as to his complaint that he was prevented from practicing his religion when he was not provided a vegetarian diet.

Smith v. Taylor, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95586 (ND NY, May 31, 2006), is a case decided some months ago that has recently become available. In it a prisoner challenged the legality of a strip search to which he was subjected by prison officials upon his entering the special housing unit of the prison. One of plaintiff's arguments was that his Muslim religion prohibits strip searches and prohibits the viewing of his naked body by others. A New York federal district court held that reasonable prison regulations which further an important purpose may restrict religious expression and practice.

Pastor Sentenced By Uzbeki Court For Illegal Religious Activity

Last Friday in the city of Andijan in Uzbekistan, Protestant pastor Dmitry Shestakov was sentenced to four years' exile inside the country for his religious activity, according to a report from Forum 18. Shestakov was charged with three Criminal Code violations: illegal organization of social or religious organizations (Art. 216); inciting ethnic, racial or religious hatred (Art. 156, pt. 2); and distributing materials containing ideas of religious extremism (Art. 244-1, pt. 2). However two of the three charges were withdrawn during the trial. The prosecutor has asked that a 5 year prison sentence be imposed. Shestakov's friends say that there were a number of irregularities in the trial.

Recent Scholarly Articles On Church-State Issues

From Bepress:
Marc L. Roark, Reading Mohammed in Charleston: Assessing the U.S. Courts Approach to the Convergence of Law, Religion and Commerce, (March 2007).

From SmartCILP:
Sherman A. Jackson, Legal Pluralism Between Islam and the Nation-State: Romantic Medievalism or Pragmatic Modernity?, 30 Fordham International Law Journal 158-176(2006).

Jeremy Patrick, Church, State, and Charter: Canada's Hidden Establishment Clause, 14 Tulsa Journal of Comparative & International Law 25-52 (2006).

Meghan J. Ryan, Can the IRS Silence Religious Organizations?, 40 Indiana Law Review 73-96 (2007).

Ohio's Faith-Based Office Under Investgation By New Governor

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has asked the state's Inspector General to investigate how the Governor's Office on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) is being administered, and has asked the Department of Job and Family Services to audit OFBCI's finances. Yesterday's Dayton Daily News reports that under former Governor Bob Taft, OFBCI may have misspent some of its $22 million budget that was supposed to go to small churches and community organizations helping the needy. Funds went instead for downtown parking spaces and large screen televisions. Also, OFBCI paid rent for We Care America, a contractor hired to help oversee grants. We Care America in turn paid for a subcontractor who, along with Baylor University Professor Byron Johnson, wrote a report praising Ohio's faith-based office as one of the best in the country. Gov. Strickland, a Democrat who was elected last November, recently replaced the OFBCI staff and ordered a hold on new contracts until all existing programs are reviewed.

Navy Officer Suspended Over Charges Of Anti-Semitism

The Navy has relieved Lt. Cmdr. John Sharpe of his assignment as public affairs officer on the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson while it investigates charges that he heads two anti-Semitic groups. The Virginian-Pilot reported yesterday that Sharpe leads the Legion of St. Louis and IHS Press. Sharpe said he founded the Legion seven years ago as a Web-based forum for discussing Catholicism and contemporary social and economic issues, but the forum is now inactive. The Legion's website says the Legion's goals include combating "the Judeo-Masonic tendencies of the modern social order." Sharpe says that secularist thinking by "liberal Jewish" groups and Freemasons keep "political and social life very separate and distinct from any faith-based approach." Navy regulations prohibit personnel from participating "in any organization that espouses supremacist causes."

Kentucky Honors Controversial Chaplain As He Plans US Tour

Former Navy Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt-- dismissed from the armed services in a battle over the right to pray in Jesus name at military events-- is planning a 50-state tour to pray "in Jesus' name" at every state Legislature. Apparently the plan was inspired by last week's events in Kentucky where, according to WorldNetDaily yesterday, Klingenschmitt was commissioned by the governor of as an honorary "Kentucky Colonel." Klingenschmitt then prayed "in Jesus' name" on the floor of the Kentucky Legislature, and the state's House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution honoring "Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt for service to God, country, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

Georgia State Board Moves To Allow Bible History Courses

The Georgia State Board of Education last Thursday preliminarily approved two classes on the Bible as part of the curriculum for public schools for next year. If the Board gives final approval to the list, the state's 180 school systems will have the option of offering courses in Literature and History of the Old Testament Era, and Literature and History of the New Testament Era. The Associated Press reports that the Board's decision follows legislation enacted last year by the Georgia legislature permitting these courses. (See prior posting.)