Ugandan Court Grants Temporary Injunction Against Tabloid Publishing Names of Gays

CNN and Canadian Press both report on a temporary injunction issued by a court in Uganda ordering the publication Rolling Stone (unrelated to the U.S. magazine of the same name) to stop publishing names of photos of people it claims are gay.  Last month the tabloid published the names of 100 supposedly leading gays and lesbians in the country accompanied by a yellow banner reading "hang them." On Monday it published a second list and photos of people it said are gay and urged that they be reported to the police. The gay rights group Sexual Minorities Uganda filed an invasion of privacy lawsuit that led to the temporary injunction. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 23. Last year Uganda came under heavy criticism as a bill was introduced that would have imposed the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" and life imprisonment for gays. (See prior posting.) It is reported that some American evangelicals have promoted the anti-gay agenda in Uganda. (See prior posting.) Uganda is mostly Christian and, according to CNN, a Pew poll reported that almost two-thirds of the country's Christians favor making the Bible the law of the land.

Settlement Approved In Suit Challenging Ban On Wearing Rosaries In School

A New York federal district court yesterday approved a settlement in a suit that was brought on behalf of a 13-year old middle school student in Schenectady, New York who was suspended for wearing a rosary outside his shirt to school. The school argued that items made of beads are gang-related. The settlement stipulation (full text) in R.H. v. Schenectady City School District, (ND NY, Oct. 30, 2010), calls for defendants to pay the student $2500 in damages and expunge his school record. The settlement also calls for defendants to pay $20,000 in attorneys' fees. The school has already modified its policy on wearing rosaries.  American Center for Law & Justice announced the approval of the settlement. (See prior related posting.)

High-Profile Defendant Removed From Jury Selection For Singing Hymns In Court

Yesterday in Salt Lake City, Utah, jury selection began in the federal court trial of Brian David Mitchell who is charged in the high profile 2002 kidnapping of then 14-year old Elizabeth Smart. Mitchell insisted on softly singing hymns during the court proceedings.  AP reports that after a half hour of the singing, Judge Dale Kimball ordered Mitchell removed, but to another room where he was still able to watch the proceedings by closed circuit television. It is expected that Elizabeth Smart will return to Utah to testify against Mitchell. Smart is currently serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in France.

Canadian Preacher's Rights Infringed By Calgary's Limits On Use of Parks

A Canadian court in Calgary, Alberta ruled yesterday that Calgary city parks rules barring the distribution of free food, posting signs and gathering people together for religious services violates the religious freedom rights of street preacher Artur Pawlowski. The Calgary Sun reports that the court also found that the ban on using amplification systems in the park violated Pawlowski's free speech rights under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Israel Criticizes UNESCO Vote Classifying Two Biblical Sites As Palestinian

JTA reported  on Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized as absurd a vote last month by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization that classified two historical Biblical sites as "an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territories." The resolution also called from removal of the sites from Israel's national heritage list. (London Guardian). At issue are the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron where the Bible says that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are buried, and the Biblical Tomb of Rachel located in Bethlehem. Muslims call the Cave Al-Ibrahimi Mosque because Abraham is buried there. Since 1996, Rachel's burial place has been called Bilal bin Rabah Mosque by Palestinians. The UNESCO Executive Board vote was 44-1 with 12 abstentions. The sole negative vote was cast by the United States. 

RLUIPA Challenge Filed To Michigan Town's Law

Crain's Detroit Business reports that a RLUIPA challenge to a Hazel Park, Michigan zoning ordinance was filed last week by the Salvation Temple Church which is seeking to open a church on residential property that has been vacant since 2002. The challenged ordinance, passed in 2005, bars religious institutions in areas zoned commercial or industrial.  They can open in residentially zoned areas with approval of the city, but Hazel Park has no residential property large enough to house a church and required parking.  The federal lawsuit claims that the zoning law effectively bars any new religious institution from opening in the city.

52 Dead In Iraq After Attack On Catholic Church

In Iraq yesterday, security forces stormed a Syrian Catholic Church that was taken over by terrorists wearing suicide vests. At least 52 people, including a priest, have been killed. It is unclear how many were killed by terrorists and how many were casualties of the security force's raid.  Canadian Press reports that the militant group Islamic State of Iraq in a website message linked the reason for the attack to two wives of Coptic priests in Egypt, The women allegedly converted to Islam in order to divorce their husbands. It is charged that Egyptian police located the women and sent them off to distant monasteries. The terrorist group that is linked to al-Quaida in Iraq, says it will exterminate Iraqi Christians if the Egyptian women are not released.

Arizona To Try Utah Appointed Fiduciary For FLDS Property On Trespass Charge

An Arizona judge last week refused to dismiss criminal trespass charges against Bruce Wisan, the special fiduciary appointed by Utah courts to reform the United Effort Plan trust that holds property of members of the FLDS Church.  According to yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune, Wisan is charged with authorizing a former FLDS member to break into homes in Colorado City, Arizona, one of the twin towns occupied by the polygamous FLDS group, to change locks on the houses. Wisan argues he is not guilty because he has a claim of right over all property held by the trust. Wisan's trial is now scheduled for Dec. 16-17.

Recent Articles Of Interest

From SSRN:

• Mary Jean Dolan, Salazar v. Buono: The Cross Between Endorsement and History, (Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy, Vol. 105, p. 42, 2010).
• Mary Jean Dolan, P.S. Untold Stories and the Cross National Monument, (October 26, 2010).
• Haider Ala Hamoudi, Ornamental Repugnancy: Identitarian Islam and the Iraqi Constitution, (St. Thomas University Law Review, Forthcoming).
• Rohen Peterson, The Emperor’s New Scanner: Muslim Women at the Intersection of the First Amendment and Full Body Scanners, (Hastings Women’s Law Journal, Forthcoming).

From SmartCILP:

• Robert J. Friedman, Religious Discrimination in the Workplace: The Persistent Polarized Struggle, 11 Transactions: Tennessee Journal of Business Law 143-165 (2010).
• Armany R. Hacking, A New Dawn for Muslims: Asserting Their Civil Rights in Post-9/11 America, 54 St. Louis University Law Journal 917-941 (2010).
• Steven D. Smith, Why Is Government Speech Problematic? The Unnecessary Problem, The Unnoticed Problem, and the Big Problem, 87 Denver University Law Review 945-970 (2010).
• Tom R. Tyler, Stephen Schulhofer & Aziz Z. Huq, Legitimacy and Deterrence Effects in Counterterrorism Policing: A Study of Muslim Americans, 44 Law & Society Review 365-401 (2010).

Recent Prisoner Free Excercise Cases

In Lockamy v. Dunbar, (5th Cir., Oct. 29, 2010), the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an inmate's claim that his rights under RLUIPA were violated by officials' classification of pages he tore out of a religious magazine as contraband and their refusal to mail them out for him.

In Shepherd v. Wenderlich, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114269, (ND NY, Oct. 26, 2010), a New York federal district court applying the fee award limitations in the Prison Litigation Reform Act awarded attorneys' fees of $1.50 in a case in which an inmate recieved only nominal damages for a violation of his free exercise rights.

In Williams v. Mathena, 2010 U.S. Dist.LEXIS 113273 (WD VA, Oct. 25, 2010), a Virginia federal district court held that an inmate failed to show that prison officials knowingly placed a substantial burden on his free exercise of religion by taking several weeks to adjudicate his religious food request.

British Government Says Church of England Is Not Preventing Bogus Marriages

British government officials are accusing the Church of England of failing to take sufficient steps to prevent bogus marriages of foreigners to British citizens.  Marriage gives the foreign spouse the right to stay in Britain and claim government benefits.  Yesterday's London Telegraph reports that the number of Church marriages of foreigners to British citizens has nearly tripled since 2005 when new rules were adopted to require Home Office approval for marriages of foreigners in civil ceremonies, but not for marriages performed by the Church of England. (See prior related posting.)

Atheist Group Forms In Russia To Support A Secular Russian Society

Yesterday's Georgian Daily reports that in Russia, a group of atheists has come together to form the "Sanity Public Foundation." The new organization is designed to support and defend the secular character of the Russian state. Art. 14 of the Russian Constitution declares: "1. The Russian Federation is a secular state. No religion may be established as a state or obligatory one." The new group says it wants to call attention to the increasing "clericalization" of Russian society. It will adapt the international Atheist Bus Campaign to Russian conditions, which means driving around Moscow with signs advocating secularism posted on cars.

Malaysian Court Allows Women's Rights Group To Call Themselves "Sisters in Islam"

AFP reports that yesterday a court in Malaysia dismissed a lawsuit seeking to keep a vocal women's rights group from using the name "Sisters in Islam."  The suit was filed by the Malaysian Assembly of Mosque Youth who claimed that the title used by the women's group was confusing to Muslims. They argued that the women's group should operate under its legally registered name--- SIS Forum Malaysia.  The court held that plaintiffs lacked standing to file the complaint.

British City Council Says Christian Views Opposing Gay Rights Disqualifies Couple As Foster Parents

In Britain, a High Court hearing is scheduled to begin on Monday in a challenge to action taken by the Derby City Council to disqualify as potential foster parents a Christian couple who believe that homosexuality is unacceptable. Today's London Telegraph reports that the action was taken after a social worker discovered Eunice and Owen Johns' views. Those views would mean that the Johns could never tell a child that homosexuality is acceptable. In the past, the Johns have acted as foster parents to nearly 20 children. The gay rights group, Stonewall, backs City Council's action, saying that it is the interests of the child, not the prejudices of the parent, that count.  However the Christian Legal Centre that represents the Johns says that

One of the issues before the Court is whether Christian couples, who have traditional views on sexual ethics, are ‘fit and proper persons’ to foster - and, by implication, adopt. That the Court even needs to consider this is a remarkable reversal in the concept of the public good and the traditional definition of sexual morality.

Yesterday Was Anniversary of Cylinder of Cyrus the Great

The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies reminds us that yesterday was the International Day of Cyrus the Great. On October 29, 539 BCE, the Persian king, Cyrus, ordered what some have called the first human rights decree  to be inscribed on a clay cylinder.  The Cyrus Cylinder describes the king's policy of allowing local cults to return their gods to their shrines. It also makes specific reference to the Jews who Cyrus encouraged to return from their exile in Babylon to Judea to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

Court Upholds Biblically-Based Mediation Agreement

In Woodlands Christian Academy v. Weibust, (TX App., Oct. 7, 2010), a Texas appellate court upheld an arbitration clause in an employment agreement requiring disputes to initially be submitted for settlement by Biblically-based mediation. It rejected arguments that the agreement is unconscionable because it requires "biblical scripture" to be substituted for the law of the case. BNA Daily Labor Report [subscription required] reports on the decision. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Philippine Tour Guide Pleads Not Guilty To Offending Religious Feelings

In the Philippines, Carlos Celdran, a tour guide and reproductive health activist, yesterday plead not guilty to charges of violating Section 133 of the Philippines Revised Criminal Code which imposes criminal penalties on "anyone who, in a place devoted to religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful." Both the Philippine Daily Inquirer and GMA News.TV report that the charges against Celdran grew out of a protest he staged in September during an ecumenical service at the Manila Cathedral. Dressed a Philippine national hero Jose Rizal, Celdran shouted inside the Cathedral that the Catholic Church should stop getting involved in politics, objecting particularly to the Church's opposition to enactment of a proposed reproductive health bill. He held up a sign reading "Damasao", referring to the cruel priest in Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere. Celedran insists he did not say anything offensive when he held up the sign bearing the name of the novel's character who. He appeared in court in his Jose Rizal costume.

State Proclamations On National Day of Prayer Are Upheld

The Chicago Tribune reports that yesterday a Colorado state trial court judge dismissed a challenge to proclamations issued by Gov. Bill Ritter recognizing a National Day of Prayer. The lawsuit, filed by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, alleged that the proclamations violated the religious freedom clause of Colorado's constitution. The court disagreed, saying that the Proclamations did not carry the force of law. (See prior related posting.)

Baptist Group Will Publish Pamphlet Defending Church-State Separation

The Virginia Baptist Mission Board has approved publishing a new "layman-accessible" pamphlet to explain why the separation of church and state is crucial in protecting religious liberty. ABP reported Wednesday that the Board has adopted a resolution asserting that Baptists cannot remain true to their principles if their knowledge or collective memory of the importance of both religious liberty and separation of church and state is altered or replaced by a false version of history.  The Resolution says that systematic efforts have been under way in recent decades to deny the historic basis that made both religious liberty and church-state separation part of the Bill of Rights.

Proposal For National Panels To Oversee Islamic Financial Instruments Draws Criticism

A plan put forward by the Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) to create separate national Shariah boards to oversee the sale of Shariah-compliant financial instruments is drawing criticism from lawyers and bankers. Bloomberg reported yesterday that the proposal to appoint panels of experts in each country to rule on whether the instruments comply with the requirements of Islamic law is seen as adding a layer of bureaucracy in the $1 trillion Islamic finance industry. AAOIFI says that the proposal is a move toward standardization in the industry. Advisory boards for separate financial institutions will create products that will then be approved by a single national body, which in turn it hopes will create greater investor confidence.

US Ambassador To Human Rights Council Speaks on Defamation of Religion Proposal

Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donohoe, United States Reprentative to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday addressed the annual human rights luncheon of UN Watch, a Geneva-based human rights organization that monitors the United Nations. (Full text of remarks.)  She used an 8-point action plan that was published by UN Watch earlier this year as the focus of her remarks.  On UN Watch's recommendation that countries oppose efforts to create an international prohibition on defamation of religion, Donohoe said:

Protection of freedom of speech is a core U.S. value, as well as a guiding principle for our engagement at the Human Rights Council.  In fact, we view our participation at the Council as a powerful reflection of our own faith in the power of free speech:  While the issues of religious and racial intolerance entail difficult and divisive debates at the Council, we have deep confidence that over time, our willingness and ability to stand up and articulate our values will translate into results – because we do believe in the power of speech.  We are committed to working with genuine partners on the issues of racial and religious discrimination, including the OIC, but we have made it clear to all parties that we will not, under any circumstances, do so by allowing the advancement of unacceptable limits on the freedom of expression and religion. We will continue to champion protection of these fundamental freedoms throughout our tenure on the Council.

Suit Challenges 2009 Raid On Church of Universal Love and Music

William Pritts, founder of the controversial Church of Universal Love and Music, filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania federal district court on Tuesday charging the Fayette County (PA) Drug Task Force with conducting an illegal raid of a church concert last year. (See prior posting.) According to yesterday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the suit claims that the raid-- which resulted in the arrest of 22 music fans on drug charges-- was conducted in a "callous and militaristic fashion" with an overly broad search warrant. 14 co-plaintiffs claim that police lacked probable cause to search them because the warrant carried the wrong address for the church and allowed a search of "all persons present."

Amish Elders Plead Guilty To Violating Child Abuse Reporting Requirement

Missouri Rev. Statutes Sec. 352.400.1 requires any member of the clergy who has supervisory responsibility over those in charge of children to report suspected child abuse to state authorities. In Webster County, Missouri, four Amish elders have been charged with violating the reporting requirements because they knew for six months that a member of one of the county's Amish churches had been molesting two of his children. In fact, the molester was formally shunned by his church.  The attorney for the Amish elders argued that holding the elders liable violates their First Amendment rights, since it is against their religious beliefs to report a brother who has admitted wrongdoing and who has been punished within the community. Explaining that the elders are not affiliated with a formal organization and held no license to perform their duties, defendants' attorney argued that convicting them would be a precedent for entrapping volunteers who are not aware of their reporting duties. However, according to yesterday's South County (MO) Mail, last week the Amish elders plead guilty and were each fined $300 plus court costs.

British Appeals Court Says Teaching Order Not Vicariously Liable For Abuse of Students

In Various Claimants v. Catholic Child Welfare Society, (Eng. and Wales Ct. App., Oct. 26, 2010), England's Court of Appeal held that the Institute of the Brothers of Christian Schools, a lay community of teachers dedicated primarily to educating the poor, is not vicariously liable for physical and sexual abuse of students who attended St. William's, a school where the Headmaster and some of the teachers were supplied by the Brothers. The court concluded that the Institute did not control the school or the manner in which the teachers carried out their work-- prerequisites to vicarious liability.  The court said:

It is certainly true that the Institute's power to regulate the deployment of its members gave it the power to decide who was to be offered to St William's and when anyone currently teaching there should be recalled, and thus required to resign.... But the power to ordain the deployment of the brothers did not give the Institute the power to insist that any particular person should be accepted and employed by the managers. That decision was for them, even if they may often have chosen simply to accept what the Institute proposed....

Brother Reginald, headmaster for 11 years, gave evidence that he pretty well ran the school and that the managers largely let him get on with it. He said that they often did not really know what he was doing. But that could be said of his Board of Governors by a great many strong-willed headmasters, certainly in the 1960s. It shows independence of mind in Brother Reginald, but it comes nowhere near demonstrating that the Institute ran the school through him.... 

Yesterday's London Guardian reports on the decision.

St. Paul City Council Delays Vote To Refine Church-State Protections In Development Project

Yesterday's Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the St. Paul (MN) City Council has delayed it vote to approve a draft agreement for a $36 million community center project that involves church as part of the plans. The proposed Payne-Maryland Project will include a city-run library, recreation center and performing arts center, but also a privately run funeral home and a building for  the Arlington Hills Lutheran church.  The ACLU has requested project documents. There is to be a strict separation between city and church spaces, and no funds raised by city bonds can be used for religious instruction or worship. The delay however is to work further on the indemnification provisions designed to protect project partners from liability in any church-state challenge to the plans.

Japanese Court Rejects Suit By Relatives of War Victims Enshrined At Yasukuni

In Naha, Japan on Tuesday, a three-judge district court panel rejected claims by relatives of war victims against the government and a Shinto shrine in a lawsuit alleging unauthorized "collective enshrinement" of plaintiffs' relatives. The enshrinement took place at the Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo. Yasukuni has enshrined most of the 2.5 million Japanese soldiers and civilian employees who died in various wars since the mid-19th century. However, the shrine is controversial because included among those are 14 Class-A World War II war criminals, such as Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. In its decision this week, the court concluded that even if the enshrinement took place without the consent of the deceased victims' relatives, the action did not damage plaintiffs' reputations or infringe their freedom of religion. According to Tuesday's Mainichi Daily News, plaintiffs sought to have their deceased relatives removed from the list of those enshrined at Yasukuni because they objected to their identification with the war criminals also honored there. The court also rejected plaintiffs' demand for damages for the mental suffering they experienced. The government in the lawsuit claimed that it was not involved in the collective enshrinement, but merely furnished names of war dead to the shrine. (See prior related posting.)

Injunction Granted To Permit Elementary Student's Distribution of Church Flyers To Classmates

In J.S. v. Holly Area Schools, (ED MI, Oct. 26, 2010), a Michigan federal district court concluded that a preliminary injunction should issue to guarantee an elementary school student the right to distribute religious flyers and invitations to a church summer camp to his classmates, so long as he distributes them in a manner that does not disrupt normal school activities. The school's across-the-board ban on student-to-student distribution of materials during the school day is not a reasonable time, place and manner regulation of student speech.  The court also concluded that the student's mother had wrongfully been denied access to the school's "flyer forum" through which she wanted to communicate with other parents about church activities. Her flyers were rejected on the basis of the viewpoint they expressed. Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release announcing the decision. (See prior related posting.)

Science Teacher Settles Establishment Clause Lawsuit By Student

Details have now become available of a previously reported settlement in an Establishment Clause lawsuit brought on behalf of a student against Mount Vernon, Ohio middle school science teacher John Freshwater. Freshwater posted the Ten Commandments in his classroom, kept a Bible on his desk, and allegedly engaged in a science experiment that resulted in a mark in the shape of a cross being placed on the student's arm. Yesterday's Mount Vernon (OH) News reports that the settlement in the federal court lawsuit still requires approval by a state probate court judge (see Ohio Rev. Code Sec. 2111.18). As part of the settlement, the student's parents (plaintiffs in the case) agreed to forgo recovery of sanctions awarded to them by a federal district judge after Freshwater failed to comply with various court orders. Under the settlement, the school district's insurance company will pay $300,000 to the parents for mental pain and other suffering, and separately $150,000 will be paid over the next 13 years to buy an annuity for Zach Dennis, the student on whose behalf the suit was filed. Finally $25,000 in attorneys' fees will be paid to plaintiffs' counsel. Last week, Freshwater asked a federal court to dismiss his free exercise of religion lawsuit against the Mt. Vernon school board. (See prior posting.)

Cert. Filed In Kentucky 10 Commandments Case

A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed yesterday in McCreary County, Kentucky v. ACLU of Kentucky.  In the case, a majority of a 6th Circuit panel (see prior posting) approved issuance of a permanent injunction against a display of the 10 Commandments with other historical documents that refer to God in two Kentucky county court houses. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court found the display violated the Establishment Clause, but later litigation focused on whether the counties had changed their religious purposes for the display. The 6th Circuit denied en banc review. (See prior posting.) The petition seeking Supreme Court review asks the Court to replace the Lemon test with a new Establishment Clause test for passive religious displays. Liberty Counsel issued a press release announcing the filing of the cert. petition.

DOE Returns To Prior Policy On Religious-Ethnic Discrimination On Campuses

JTA reports that in new guidance issued yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education on bullying, DOE made clear that it is returning to its 2004 policy on religious discrimination designed to permit the application of federal civil rights laws to anti-Semitic incidents on campuses, as well as to discrimination against Arab Muslims and Sikhs at schools receiving federal funds.  Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act bars discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin, but it does not bar religious discrimination by institutions receiving federal funds. However, in a "Dear Colleague" letter (full text) sent by the Department's Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to 15,000 schools, and 5,000 colleges and universities around the country (ABC News), the Department announced:

While Title VI does not cover discrimination based solely on religion, groups that face discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection under Title VI on the ground that they also share a common faith.  These principles apply not just to Jewish students, but also to students from any discrete religious group that shares, or is perceived to share, ancestry or ethnic characteristics (e.g., Muslims or Sikhs).  Thus, harassment against students who are members of any religious group triggers a school’s Title VI responsibilities when the harassment is based on the group’s actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, rather than solely on its members’ religious practices.  A school also has responsibilities under Title VI when its students are harassed based on their actual or perceived citizenship or residency in a country whose residents share a dominant religion or a distinct religious identity.

Rep. Brad Sherman who had introduced legislation to extend the coverage of Title VI to religious discrimination (see prior posting) issued a release applauding DOE's announcement. In 2006, DOE as well as the U.S. Civil Rights Commission had apparently backed away from enforcing Title VI to get at anti-Semitic incidents. (See prior posting.)

 

New Report Issued On Impact of Blasphemy Laws

Freedom House last week issued a 138-page report titled Policing Belief: The Impact of Blasphemy Laws on Human Rights. Examining blasphemy and religious insult laws in seven countries, the report concludes that:

blasphemy laws are often vaguely worded and ill-defined, making them prone to arbitrary or overly broad application, particularly in settings where there are no checks and balances in place to prevent such abuses. In countries with weak democracies, authoritarian systems, or compromised judiciaries, these laws have a particularly pernicious effect:

• Governments have abused blasphemy laws to silence the political opposition, government critics, and other dissidents.
• Individuals have fabricated charges of blasphemy against others in their communities to settle petty disputes.
• Religious extremists have exploited blasphemy laws to justify attacks on religious minorities, thereby fostering an environment of intolerance where discrimination is effectively condoned by the state.
• Religious institutions, often with official or unofficial government backing, have used blasphemy laws to impose the state-sanctioned interpretations of religious doctrine on members of minority sects that are deemed deviant or heretical.

California Court Upholds Sexual Harassment Award To Firefighters Ordered To Drive In LGBT Pride Parade

In Ghiotto v. City of San Diego, (CA App. Oct. 14, 2010), a California state appellate court upheld a trial court's award of damages for sexual harassment and an award of attorneys' fees to four firefighters who were required, over their personal objections, to drive a fire engine in the San Diego Pride Parade celebrating the local LGBT community. Parade spectators directed sexual comments and gestures at the firefighters and some spectators wore sexually suggestive clothing or exposed themselves. The appeals court also affirmed the trial court's dismissal of plaintiffs' free expression challenge, finding that only injunctive relief had been sought and a policy change limiting staffing of parades to volunteers meant that there is no threat of firefighters being forced to participate in parades in the future. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Court Clears Mississippi Personhood Amendment For 2011 Ballot

In Hughes v. Hosemann, (MS Cir. Ct., Oct. 26, 2010), a Mississippi state trial court judge cleared the way for a "personhood" amendment to appear on the November 2011 ballot in the state.  Challengers argued that Initiative Measure Number 26 violates Sec. 273(5)(a) of the Mississippi Constitution that bars use of the initiative procedure to propose, modify or repeal any portion of the state constitution's Bill of Rights.  Without elaboration, the court stated merely that plaintiffs had not carried the "heavy burden" required to restrict the citizenry's right to amend the state's constitution. The proposed constitutional amendment would define the word "person" as used in the state constitution to include "every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof." Liberty Counsel issued a press release commending the court for its "commonsense ruling."

Court Dismisses Jewish Student's Discrimination Claim Against Seton Hall

In Vaynberg v. Seton Hall University, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112634 (D NJ, Oct. 21, 2010), a New Jersey federal district court dismissed a religious discrimination claim brought against Seton Hall University by a Jewish student who was dismissed from the school's doctoral program in physical therapy for failing to maintain a 3.0 GPA. Plaintiff Farakh Vaynberg alleged that one of her instructors, Dr. Kim Poulson, refused to excuse her from class on Yom Kippur and told her to choose between her faith and her school work. She claims that this exchange made her feel compelled to take a mid-term exam on Yom Kippur in a second course offered by a different instructor who had in fact excused Jewish students for Yom Kippur. The court found  no causal connection between Dr. Poulson's alleged conduct and Vaynberg's dismissal because Poulson gave Vaynberg some of her best grades. She also failed to present evidence to support her claim that meetings with Poulson after an unsatisfactory grade in her clinical practicum (which did not count in her GPA) upset her so that she performed poorly in other courses. Finally, according to the court, no state action was shown to support Vaynberg's First Amendment free exercise claim.

Plaintiffs Can Proceed With Negligent Retention and Supervision Claims Against Catholic Church and School

In Jones v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, (Sup. Ct. NY County, Oct. 7, 2010), a New York state trial court dismissed negligent hiring, breach of contract and deceptive business practice claims brought by a female student and her parents against the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York, the Church of St. Paul and the school it operates, growing out of sexual abuse of the student by a female part-time gym and music teacher.  It also dismissed negligent retention and supervision claims against the Diocese.  However plaintiffs were permitted to proceed with their claims of negligent retention and supervision against the Church of St. Paul's and St. Paul's Catholic School.

Survey Released On Church Involvement In Distributing Candidate Information

A survey released last week by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reports that among voters who attend religious services at once per month, 15% say that information on political parties or candidates has been made available at their places of worship. Within that group, 36% of Black Protestants report that information has been made available at their churches. However only 5% of all respondents, 6% of Black Protestants, and 7% of Catholics say that clergy have urged them to vote in a specific way.

In Tajikistan, Islamic Party's Prayer Room Burns Down

In Tajikistan's capital of Dushanbe on Sunday, a controversial room used for daily prayers in the headquarters of the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) was destroyed by fire. Central Asia Newswire reports that Tajikistan's Committee on Religious Affairs had threatened to close the room because under the country's constitution political parties are not allowed to sponsor religious activities. An IRP leader has suggested constitutional changes to recognize the importance of religion in Tajik culture.

Blogger Who Criticized Church Pastor Settles Lawsuit Against Police Officials

ABP last week reported on a settlement in Rich v. City of Jacksonville, a Florida federal court lawsuit by a blogger against against a sheriff's office official and an assistant state attorney charging free speech and Establishment Clause violations. Tom Rich began an anonymous blog on which he raised concerns about the pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville. Officer Robert Hinson, who was also on the pastor's security detail, opened an investigation in order to be able to subpoena Google and Comcast to discover the owner of the blog. Hinson obtained subpoenas from the Office of the State Attorney. Ultimately church officials were told the blogger's identity and the church barred Rich from its premises and began proceedings to revoke his church membership. (See prior posting.)  The settlement, announced on Rich's blog, gives plaintiff $50,000 in damages and commits the Jacksonville sheriff's office to make changes in its conflict of interest code and develop training for detectives on First Amendment issues. [Thanks to Wall of Separation for the lead.]

California Abusive Priest Personnel Records Released Implementing 2007 Settlement

The San Francisco Examiner reports that after three years of litigation, a California judge on Friday issued an order releasing some 10,000 pages of personnel records relating to 48 Catholic priests in the San Diego diocese who were either convicted or credibly accused of sexual abuse or who were named in a civil suit.  The order (full text) in The Clergy Cases II, (CA Super. Ct., Oct. 22, 2010), grew out of a 2007 settlement by 144 plaintiffs with the diocese for some $200 million and an agreement that an independent judge would decide which personnel records would be made public. (See prior posting.) All of the documents released Friday are available at BishopAccountability.org. Attorneys are still seeking release of another 2000 pages of files.

Supreme Court Review Sought In Pastor's Defamation Claim Against Church

On Friday, a petition for certiorari (full text) to the U.S. Supreme Court was filed in Cooke v. Tubra.  In the case, an Oregon state appellate court held that jurisdiction over an interim pastor's defamation claim against his former church and two of its officers is not necessarily barred by the First Amendment. (See prior posting.) The Oregon Supreme Court denied review. The court below distinguished between statements made by a church that are necessarily religious in nature, and those that do not concern the religious beliefs and practices of the organization or are made for a non-religious purpose. [Thanks to Mark Chopko for the lead.]

Indian Court Holds Women Heirs of Priests Have Equal Rights To Share In Offerings

In India, a Delhi High Court judge has ruled that women in priestly families of the Kalkaji Temple have an equal right with men to share in the offerings collected during festivals. Today's Hindustan Times  and Express India report on the decision that dismissed a suit by one of the priests seeking an order to prevent his three sisters from claiming a share of the offerings.  The court rejected arguments that historically only males shared in the offerings because they are the ones who performed temple rituals.  The court wrote in part: "If one keeps the underlying principles of the international covenants and the guarantee of equality held out by our Constitution in mind, it would be anachronistic and regressive to affirm the contention that the discriminatory practice of excluding female heirs from the benefits of property rights to which Baris are attached, which appears to have existed all this while, should be continued."

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Maimon Schwarzschild, How We Judge the Judges, (Conversations, No. 8, p. 83, 2010).
• Geoffrey P. Miller, Monarchy in the Hebrew Bible, (NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 10-76, Oct. 19, 2010).
• Diane Marie Amann, Cecelia Goetz, Woman at Nuremberg, (International Criminal Law Review, Forthcoming).

From SmartCILP:

• Amos N. Guiora, Protecting the Unprotected: Religious Extremism and Child Endangerment, 12 Journal of Law & Family Studies 391-407 (2010).
• Ran Kuttner, What Does It Mean to Do the Right Thing?, 10 Nevada Law Journal 407-432 (2010).
• Adelaide Madera, Civil and Religious Law Concerning Divorce: The Condition of Women and Their Empowerment, 12 Journal of Law & Family Studies 365-389 (2010).
• Brett G. Scharffs & Suzanne Disparte, Comparative Models for Transitioning from Religious to Civil Marriage Systems, 12 Journal of Law & Family Studies 409-430 (2010).
• Rhona Schuz, The Relevance of Religious Law and Cultural Considerations in International Child Abduction Disputes, 12 Journal of Law & Family Studies 453-497 (2010).
• Lynn D. Wardle, Marriage and Religious Liberty: Comparative Law Problems and Conflict of Laws Solutions, 12 Journal of Law & Family Studies 315-364 (2010).
• Symposium: Families, Fundamentalism, & the First Amendment. Introduction by Vivian E. Hamilton; articles by Randall Balmer, Frederick Mark Gedicks, Andrew Koppelman, Robin Fretwell Wilson, Marci A. Hamilton, Catherine J. Ross, June Carbone, Naomi Cahn and John E. Taylor. 18 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 883-1095 (2010).

Tony Blair's Sister-In-Law Converts To Islam; Says She Hopes It Changes Blair's Views

Yesterday's London Mail reports that Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has converted to Islam after having a holy experience at the shrine of Fatima al-Masumeh in the city of Qom during a visit to Iran six weeks ago. Booth, the half-sister of Cherie Blair, works for Press TV, the English language Iranian news channel. She says she hopes her conversion will cause Blair-- now an envoy on the Middle East for the so-called Quartet-- to change his views of Islam.  Booth now wears a hijab whenever she is in public, prays five times a day and abstains from alcohol despite her previous craving for a glass or two of wine at the end of each day.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Clifton v. Lappin, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111569 (WD LA, Oct. 18, 2010), adopting magistrate's recommendations (2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111473, Oct. 4, 2010), and Plummer v. Lappin, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111502, Oct. 18, 2010), adopting magistrate's recommendations (2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111477, Sept. 20, 2010), a Louisiana federal district court rejected complaints that inmates are prohibited from attending religious services when the entire prison is on lock down.


In Townsend v. Byers, 2010 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2285 (CT Super., Sept. 21, 2010), a Connecticut state trial court held that an inmate's free exercise rights were not violated when a correctional officer responded to his threat to file a grievance by telling him "to write to Allah."


In Means v. Nevada Department of Corrections, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112507 (D NV, Oct. 7, 2010), a Nevada federal district court permitted a prisoner to move ahead with due process and free exercise challenges to delays by prison officials in recognizing Vedantu/Kashmir Shavism as a religion and in approving various items, including prayer beads, to allow him his religious observances.

Complaint Says Roommate Ad On Church Bulletin Board Violates Fair Housing Act

WOOD-TV News and Fox News report on a complaint filed (full text) with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights over an ad that a woman posted on her church's bulletin board seeking a Christian roommate.  The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan filed the complaint against a 31-year old Grand Rapids (MI) woman after someone in the congregation complained about the ad. A Fair Housing Center spokesperson says that the woman has the right to limit renting out to Christian roommates, but it is a violation of law to advertise publicly using religious criteria. The federal Fair Housing Act, 42 USC Sec. 3604 provides that it is unlawful:

To make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.

An Alliance Defense Fund attorney representing the woman charged with the FHA and Michigan Civil Rights Act violations said: "Christians shouldn't live in fear of being punished by the government for being Christians. It is completely absurd to try to penalize a single Christian woman for privately seeking a Christian roommate at church -- an obviously legal and constitutionally protected activity." [Updated]

Geert Wilders Trial Halted Over Bias of Judicial Panel

The London Guardian reports that on Friday the trial in the Netherlands of far-right political leader Geert Wilders was halted as a separate panel of judges ruled that the panel hearing hate speech charges against Wilders was biased. Wilders is charged with inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims after urging that the Qur'an be banned (see prior posting) and production of a film titled Fitna.  Distributed online, the video equates Islam with violence. (See prior posting.) The move to disqualify the judicial panel came after it refused to permit Wilders to call as a witness a Dutch professor of Arabic studies, Hans Jansen.  Originally the Dutch prosecution service refused to file charges against Wilders, but an appeals court ordered charges to be brought. (See prior posting.) Now it appears that Tom Schalken, one of the appeals court judges who was involved in issuing that order, had dinner with Prof. Jansen and tried to convince him of the correctness of the decision to press charges against Wilders.

Fired Muslim Truck Driver Sues For Failure To Accommodate Religious Beliefs

Philadelphia Daily News on Friday reported on an employment discrimination lawsuit filed in federal court in Pennsylvania by a Muslim man who was fired from his job as a truck driver because he refused to transport a shipment of Miller Lite beer.  Plaintiff Vasant Reddy claims that when he was hired, Schneider National, Inc. told him they could accommodate his religious objections to transporting alcohol or tobacco. However two days after Reddy refused to transport a shipment of alcohol, he was told to resign or be fired.  Reddy's attorney claims that accommodation would not be difficult because less than 5% of Schneider National's shipments are of alcoholic beverages.

Catholics' Challenge To Critical San Francisco Resolution Dismissed By En Banc 9th Circuit

In Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights v. City and County of San Francisco, (9th Cir., Oct. 22, 2010), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday, en banc, dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Catholic League and two individual Catholics challenging on Establishment Clause grounds a resolution passed by the San Francisco (CA) Board of Supervisors. The Resolution, adopted in in 2006, "urg[ed] Cardinal William Levada ... to withdraw his discriminatory and defamatory directive that Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Francisco stop placing children in need of adoption with homosexual households." A 3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit had dismissed the case. (See prior posting.)  A majority of the eleven judges of the 9th Circuit en banc agreed that the case should be dismissed-- 5 would dismiss on standing grounds (without reaching the merits) and 3 would dismiss on the merits.  Conversely 6 judges concluded that the plaintiffs had standing, but only 3 concluded that plaintiffs should have prevailed on the merits.

Judge Kleinfield, joined by Judges Thomas, Silverman, Clifton, Bybee and Ikuta, comprised the majority finding standing.  Judge Kleinfield wrote:

The standing question, in plain English, is whether adherents to a religion have standing to challenge an official condemnation by their government of their religious views, and official urging by their government that their local religious representative defy their church. Their “personal stake” assures the “concrete adverseness” required.... Plaintiffs aver that not only does the resolution make them feel like second-class citizens, but that their participation in the political community will be chilled by the City’s hostility to their church and their religion.

Judge Graber, joined by Chief Judge Rymer and Judges Kozinski, Hawkins and McKeown would have dismissed on standing grounds. Judge Graber wrote:

I agree with the District of Columbia Circuit that, "[w]hen plaintiffs are not themselves affected by a government action except through their abstract offense at the message allegedly conveyed by that action, they have not shown injury-in-fact to bring an Establishment Clause claim."

On the merits, Judge Silverman, in an opinion joined by Judge Bybee and Ikuta, concluded:

duly-elected government officials have the right to speak out in their official capacities on matters of secular concern to their constituents, even if their statements offend the religious feelings of some of their other constituents. The key here is that the resolution in question had a primarily secular purpose and effect and addressed a matter of indisputably civic concern.

However Judge Kleinfield, joined by Judges Thomas and Clifton, wrote:

We have not found another Establishment Clause case brought by people whose religion was directly condemned by their government.... For the government to resolve officially that "Catholic doctrine is wrong," is as plainly violative of the Establishment Clause as for the government to resolve that "Catholic doctrine is right."

SF Appeal today reports on the decision. [Corrected].

Ohio Middle School Science Teacher Drops Suit Over His Firing For Promoting Religion

Today's Mount Vernon (OH) News reports that on Thursday, Ohio middle school science teacher John Freshwater and his wife filed a stipulation along with the Mount Vernon (OH) school board asking an Ohio federal court to dismiss Freshwater's religious discrimination and other claims. Freshwater was fired for posting copies of the Ten Commandments in his classroom, refusing to remove his personal Bible from on his desk, and a storing a box of Bibles in the back of the classroom for use by the school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It was also claimed that an in-class experiment with a Tesla coil left a mark on a student's arm in the shape of a cross. (See prior posting.)  No settlement was reached between the parties in the case, but apparently Freshwater has run out of funds and is now hoping to prevail when a referee issues a decision in his administrative appeal of his firing. The referee heard 38 days of testimony. Referring to the fact that the school board has not paid anything in settlement to him in exchange for his dropping the case, Freshwater said: "We have already spent our life savings and have pledged our farm to get to the truth. It is better to leave the money on the table than to take the Bible off of my desk." The school's attorney said there was never any monetary settlement offer for Freshwater to reject.

Cert. Petition Filed In "Ministerial Exception" Case

Yesterday a petition for certiorari (full text) was filed in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC.  In the case, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals held that parochial school teachers who teach primarily secular subjects are covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act. They are not "ministerial employees" who are excepted from coverage. (See prior posting.) The Becket Fund issued a press release announcing the petition seeking Supreme Court review. [Thanks to Douglas Laycock for the lead.]

Tax Exempt Status of Prayer Breakfast Sponsor Challenged

According to the Washington Post last week, an Ohio-based clergy group, ClergyVOICE, filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service on Oct. 12 (full text) challenging the tax-exempt status of the Fellowship Foundation, the organization that sponsors the National Prayer Breakfast. The Foundation received two $25,000 checks in 2004 from the Missouri-based Islamic-American Relief Agency which was included on a Senate Finance Committee list of organizations that finance terrorist activities. In an indictment, the Justice Department claims that the funds were stolen from an AID grant for relief work in Mali. Allegedly, some $18,000 of the funds were funneled through the Fellowship Foundation and used to pay former Congressman Mark J. Siljander for lobbying to get IARA off the Senate Finance Committee list. The remaining $32,000 was allegedly retained by the Foundation, and possibly used to fund overseas travel for member of Congress or to fund the C Street Center which provided subsidized housing to certain members of Congress. The Foundation denies that it retained any of the funds or that it used them for these purposes.

Court Rejects Ethics Charge In Suit Challenging Establishment Clause Settlement

Responding rather quickly to a filing with it of a "Notice Suggesting Improper or Unethical Conduct" on the part of defendants (see prior posting), a federal district court in Allen v. School Board for Santa Rosa County Florida, (ND FL, Oct. 21, 2010), yesterday issued an order (full text) concluding that "The notice merits no action by the court." At issue was a charge that a high school principal did not authorized filings made on his behalf in a suit challenging a settlement of an Establishment Clause challenge to religious practices in the Santa Rosa, Florida school district. [Thanks to Glenn Katon and Randall Marshall for the lead.]

New Survey Says 33% Believe Religious Messages Contribute To Gay Suicides

A survey released yesterday by the Public Religion Research Institute in Partnership with Religion News Service shows that 33% of Americans believe that messages from places of worship are contributing "a lot" to higher rates of suicide among gay and lesbian youths. 42% gave places of worship a grade of "D" or "F" on their handling of the issue of homosexuality. However 75% of white evangelicals gave their own church an "A" or "B" in its handling of the issue. Young adults and Democrats are more likely than older Americans and Republicans to be critical of messages from religious groups about gays and lesbians.

Obama Visit To Sikh Temple In India Scrubbed, Apparently Over Head Covering Issue

President Obama will visit India next month. The New York Times reported yesterday that Sikhs in the United States are distressed that tentative plans for him to include a stop at the Golden Temple in Amristar have been cancelled. It is reported that part of the reason for the cancellation is the Sikh tradition that men tie a piece of cloth on their heads before entering the Temple.  Apparently the White House is concerned that photos of the President wearing a Sikh headscarf will further false perceptions that he is Muslim, not Christian. However security reasons may also be playing a part since the Temple is near the Pakistan border.  Sikh groups in the U.S. are encouraging Obama to reconsider, saying that a visit by him would allow Sikhs to introduce themselves to the world. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says Obama's schedule is not finalized

Germany's President Urges Turks To Give More Religious Freedom To Christians

According to Today's Zaman, Germany's president, Christian Wulff, on an official trip to Turkey has used two events to urge more freedom of religion for Christians in Turkey.  Both in remarks to the Turkish Parliament in Ankara on Wednesday and at a mass held in the historic St. Paul Church in Tarsus-- now a museum-- Wulff urged legal changes to assure full religious freedom for Christians.  At Tarsus, he emphasized the need to reopen the Halki seminary on Heybeliada so Christian clergy can be educated in the country. Recently Turkey has allowed Christians to hold Mass at two historic churches.

NPR Fires Juan Williams Over Remarks About Muslims Delivered On Fox News

Yesterday evening, NPR terminated its contract with its news analyst, Juan Williams, after Williams made comments on Fox News about his views of Muslims.  The New York Times today reports that Williams, who is also a Fox News political analyst, made the offending comments while appearing on The O'Reilly Factor in response to a question posed to him by Bill O'Reilly.  Williams said in part:

I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.

NPR issued a statement saying that the remarks were inconsistent with NPR's editorial standards and undermined Williams' credibility as an NPR analyst. In response, former Republican governors Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, both Fox News personalities, called for Congress to defund NPR. (CBS News.)

Maryland High Court Judge Responds To Dissent With Biblical Midrash

Maryland's highest court, the Maryland Court of Appeals, today decided a case on the applicability of the statute of frauds provision of the Maryland Credit Agreement Act.  In Pease v. Wachovia SBA Lending, Inc., (MD Ct. App., Oct. 21, 2010), three judges in a partial dissent argued in part that the majority should have "amplified" its reasoning.  Reacting to that criticism, the majority opinion by Judge Harrell [corrected] added this footnote (n.7), responding with a Midrash from Jewish religious writings:

The Concurring and Dissenting opinion's efforts to grapple with the Maryland Credit Agreement Act's plain language, legislative history, and how other jurisdictions may havetreated debatably similar facts under arguably similar statutory schemes, where not entirely necessary, call to mind the story of the Exodus. The Midrashic interpretation of the Exodus from Egypt recounts that, upon reaching the Red Sea, the waters did not automatically part before the Israelites. MIDRASH RABBAH, VOL. III 272 (S.M. Lehrman, trans., 3d ed. 1983). While the Israelites stood by the shore contemplating their impending doom, Nahshon Ben Amminadab entered the water until the sea reached his nostrils. THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA VOL. IX 146 (Funk & Wagnall 1905); MIDRASH RABBAH, supra. It was not until this act of self-sacrifice that the sea’s waters parted. Imagine, however, that there was a way for the Israelites to continue on their path without having to wade in water over their heads. The Concurring and Dissenting opinion here takes on the Maryland Credit Agreement Act at least up to its eyebrows; we wade in, however, only up to our nostrils.

We regret that the quality of our abridged analysis apparently does not meet the more rigorous standards expected by the subscribers to the Concurring and Dissenting opinion.

Free Exercise Challenge To Custody Decree Rejected

In Forthner v. Forthner, (MS App., Oct. 19, 2010), a Mississippi court of appeals rejected a father's religious free exercise challenge to a judge's decision giving his wife custody of their children and denying the husband separate maintenance.  The appellate court explained:

In this case, Desmond bases his claim of religious discrimination on exchanges within the record where the chancellor provided his opinion that Desmond should reconsider his attitude toward the children and "rethink the idea that children should always be told the truth." Desmond asserts that his idea regarding truthfulness is based on his religious beliefs. The chancellor's view on Desmond's attitude was in no way derogatory toward a religious practice.... The record simply does not support the contention that the chancellor's decision regarding the issues of custody and separate maintenance were in any way influenced by Desmond's religion. 

High School Cancels Football Prayers In Response To Group's Complaint

My Fox Memphis reported yesterday that in response to a  complaint by the Freedom from Religion Foundation (full text of letter), Hamilton County, Tennessee school superintendent Jim Scales has ordered an end to public prayers at a district high school's football games. According to yesterday's Chattanooga Times Free Press , traditionally Hamilton County's Soddy-Daisy High School has broadcast Christian prayers over loudspeakers at football games and at graduation the salutatorian delivers a prayer. Before the superintendent's decision, Hamilton County school board member Rhonda Thurman defended the practice saying that the prayers are part of the school's tradition anyone who does not wish to hear them can "put their fingers in their ears."  She continued" "Everybody is offended by something. I'm offended by a lot of those little girls running around with their thong panties showing, but I can't make that go away." And a parent of the student football team manager said: "People who find Christianity contrary to their beliefs shouldn’t be offended that [Christians] have the freedom to express their religious beliefs."

Iowa Absentee Voting During Church Services Concerns ACLU

Iowa law provides that county auditors may approve satellite absentee voting stations at which voters can cast an absentee ballot prior to election day. Today's Des Moines Register reports that for the first time, two Ames Iowa churches will host absentee voting during church services. The Iowa ACLU is concerned about the move, especially because of the church-based campaign in Iowa to unseat state Supreme Court justices over their decision striking down the ban on same-sex marriage. (See prior posting.) However church representatives say they will not instruct their members how to vote.  Apparently the move to have churches host satellite voting was initiated by county auditor Mary Mosiman, not by the churches. Three other churches will also host satellite voting, but not during the time of church services.

Filing Suggests Improper Conduct In Santa Rosa School Litigation

Yesterday brought another unusual development in the long-running litigation challenging religious practices in the Santa Rosa, Florida schools.  In March 2009, the Santa Rosa County School Board agreed to settle a lawsuit brought against it by the ACLU challenging various religious practices in the school system. (See prior posting.) In May 2010, a large group of parents, teachers, staff, students, former students, and community residents sued to enjoin the school board and superintendent from enforcing the settlement. (See prior posting.) In Allen v. School Board for Santa Rosa County, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11111 (ND FL, Aug. 20, 2010), the court found that the principal of Pace High School and other plaintiffs in the original lawsuit that led to the challenged settlement are indispensable parties and ordered them joined. In response, in September a motion to dismiss was filed on behalf of principal Bryan Shell.  Now, in a motion with the court titled "Notice of Potentially Improper or Unethical Conduct," plaintiffs claim that the principal in fact never agreed to submissions on his behalf. The current filing declares in part:

These facts suggest that the two existing Defendants in this suit may have considered the Court’s invitation to the Principal as merely an opportunity for them to have a third bite of the litigation apple, and are using the office of Principal to suit their purposes without the knowledge, much less authorization, of the duly appointed occupant of that office. This prejudices Plaintiffs, by requiring them to respond to a third set of arguments and motions in this litigation controlled and advanced entirely by two existing parties.

The allegations in the filing are supported by affidavits not of the principal, but of the principal's secretary and of a reading coach who say that the principal told them he had not authorized participation in the lawsuit or any filings on his behalf, that he never saw the filings and is upset that someone took action on his behalf without his authorization. Liberty Counsel issued a press release announcing the filing.

Father Acquitted of Contempt Over Charges of Taking Daughter To Mass

Last May, in a widely publicized custody case, Joseph Reyes was ordered to stand trial for criminal contempt for violating a court order that he not expose his daughter to any religion other than Judaism. (See prior posting.) The order was issued after Reyes, in the midst of a divorce proceeding, sent his wife, who was raising their daughter in the Jewish faith, photos of his taking their daughter to be baptized.  Reyes responded by inviting a television crew to film him taking the daughter to Catholic Mass. Chicago Breaking News reports that at Reyes trial yesterday, a Cook County judge said there was no evidence to prove that Reyes had violated the order.  The video introduced at trial did not show the daughter's face or show her at Mass.The restriction on Reyes taking the daughter to church was removed in the couple's final divorce decree, and Reyes has taken his daughter to Christmas and Easter services. His wife is appealing the provisions in the final decree that permit this.

Minnesota Secretary of State Candidate Says No Church-State Separation Requirement Exists

Yesterday's Minnesota Independent reports that Minnesota Republican Secretary of State candidate Dan Severson has been giving interviews on conservative religious radio in recent weeks arguing that there is no requirement for separation of church and state. Here is part of his interview by Brad Brandon on World of Truth Radio Show:

Quite often you hear people say, ‘What about separation of church and state?’ There is no such thing. I mean it just does not exist, and it does not exist in America for a purpose, because we are a Christian nation. We are a nation based on Christian principles and ideals, and those are the things that guarantee our liberties. It is one of those things that is so fundamental to the freedoms that we have that when you begin to restrict our belief and our attestation to our Christian values you begin to restrict our liberties. You simply cannot continue a nation as America without that Christian base of liberty.

Turkey Acquits 2 Christian Missionaries of Most Charges

Compass Direct News yesterday reported that two volunteers with the Bible Research Center were acquitted by a court in Turkey on Oct. 14 of charges that they had violated Art. 301 of the Turkish Penal Code that prohibits insulting the Turkish state, and Art. 216 that prohibits insulting the Turkish people.  The charges were initially filed in 2006 after a complaint to police that Christian missionaries were attempting to form illegal groups in schools and insulting Turkishness, the military and Islam. It was alleged that they were portraying Islam as a primitive and fictitious religion that results in terrorism and portrayed the Turks as cursed. However no evidence was produced to support these charges. The two men were however convicted of collecting information on citizens without permission (Art. 135) and fined the equivalent of $3170 (US) in lieu of 7 months in prison-- apparently for using contact information people provided on their organization's website. Defendants Turan Topol and Hakan Tastan said their attempts to disseminate information about Christianity was constitutionally protected. The two converted from Islam to Christianity 15 years ago.

Delaware Senatorial Debate: O'Donnell Supports Intelligent Design, Is Unaware of 1st Amendment's Text

Richard Adams's Blog at the Guardian reports on Tuesday's Debate at Widener Law School between the two candidates for U.S. Senate from Delaware. It includes an 8 minute video from the debate between Republican/ Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell and Democrat Chris Coons which first shows O'Donnell strongly supporting the right of local school boards to authorize schools to teach the theory of "intelligent design" along with evolution.  In another part of the exchange, O'Donnell appears incredulous when Coons tells her that the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of religion and requires the separation of church and state.  After the debate, O'Donnell's campaign tried to explain her response by saying that the specific words "separation of church and state" do not appear in the constitution.

Kentucky Senatorial Candidate Exchange Bitter Religious Charges

The U.S. Senate race in Kentucky has spawned competing TV ads focusing on aspects of each candidate's religious background or views.  Initially, Democrat Jack Conway ran this ad focusing on a secret society to which Republican Rand Paul belonged 27 years ago as a student at Baylor University. As transcribed in yesterday's Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier Post, the ad features a narrator asking:

Why was Rand Paul a member of a secret society that called the Holy Bible "a hoax," that was banned for mocking Christianity and Christ? Why did Rand Paul once tie a woman up, tell her to make her bow down before a false idol and say his god was Aqua Buddha? Why does Rand Paul now want to end all federal faith-based initiatives and even end the deduction for religious charities?

Rand Paul countered with this ad, accusing Jack Conway of "bearing false witness" against his political opponent. In the ad, a narrator assures viewers that "Paul keeps Christ in his heart and in the life he shares with his wife and three boys." At Sunday night's candidate debate in Louisville, Paul charged that Conway had "descended into the gutter to attack my Christian beliefs."  Paul refused to shake Conway's hand at the end of the debate, saying: "I will not be associated with someone who attacks my religion." (CBS News.)

Bhutan Sentences Christian Man To Prison For Showing Religious Films

Charisma News reported yesterday that in the predominately Buddhist nation of Bhutan, a local court in the town of Gelephu on October 6 sentenced Christian activist Prem Singh Gurung to three years in prison for showing films on Christianity. In two small villages that lacked electricity, Gurung (a citizen of Nepal) brought in a generator and projector and invited residents to watch Nepali movies. In between features, he showed Christian films.  Authorities charged Gurung with attempting to promote civil unrest and with violating Secs. 105 and 110 of the Bhutan Information, Communication and Media Act of 2006 that requires advance government review of all films intended for public exhibition.

Anti-Muslim Sentiment Grows In Germany

A Reuters report carried today by Bernama reviews the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in Germany. According to the report: "Germany's inflamed public debate about Islam and integration risks serious overheating as politicians compete to make ever tougher statements criticizing Muslim immigrants they accuse of refusing to fit in here." The current round of criticisms was apparently flamed by a book, "Germany Abolishes Itself," written by Bundesbank council member Thilo Sarrazin.  He portrays Muslims as welfare cheats who are outbreeding native Germans. Sarrazin was forced to resign after the book appeared, but many Germans agree with him. (Background.) A new poll shows that 58% of Germans say that Muslims' rights to practice their religion in Germany should be considerably limited. Opponents charge the ruling Christian Democratic and Free Democratic parties with using Muslims as scapegoats in the current economic crisis. However Germany's president Christian Wulff has called for integration of Muslims, saying that Islam belongs in Germany. (See prior related posting.)

Pastor Challenges IRS Non-Profit Limits With Endorsements From Pulpit

In an open challenge to the constitutionality of the tax code's ban on non-profits endorsing political candidates, a Hastings, Minnesota pastor has endorsed from the pulpit a slate of conservative candidates running for governor, other state offices and Congress after indicating in advance on a radio show that he would do so.  Americans United announced yesterday that it had filed a formal complaint (full text) with the Internal Revenue Service over the activities of pastor Brad Brandon of Hastings' Berean Bible Baptist Church. In addition to the endorsements from the pulpit, Brandon also distributed a flyer during services listing the church's endorsements.The St. Paul Pioneer Press yesterday quoted Brandon as saying:

I'm not necessarily excited about an investigation or possible audit, but to me, that's a small price to pay. This is an issue of clergy not being able to say what they want. ... It is something I've been thinking about for quite some time. I've been praying about it. I see so much around me; we are losing our freedom to speak and speak out.

Yesterday's Minnesota Independent has a photo of the flyer and audio excerpts of Brandon's sermon.

Warren Jeffs Fights Extradition To Texas

Attorneys for Warren Jeffs, former leader of the polygamous FLDS Church, are seeking to quash an extradition warrant signed by Utah Governor Gary Herbert that would turn Jeffs over to Texas state authorities for trial on sexual assault and bigamy charges there. The move comes after the Utah Supreme Court overturned Jeffs' Utah conviction on charges of being an accomplice to rape because of improper jury instructions. (See prior posting). According to CNN, Jeffs argues that the Interstate Agreement on Detainers does not apply because Jeffs is not a person who has "entered upon a term of imprisonment" since his conviction was reversed.  Apparently Utah is relying upon the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act to authorize Jeffs transfer to Texas.  Jeffs' attorneys argue that Utah and Texas have "shrouded their ungodly alliance in the semantics of extradition law."

Justice Department Files Amicus Brief In Mosque Case To Argue That Islam Is A Religion

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice yesterday announced the rather unusual move of filing an amicus brief (full text) in a case pending in a state trial court. Estes v. Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission is a lawsuit in Rutherford County, Tennessee Chancery Court seeking to halt construction of a controversial Islamic center being built in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  Plaintiffs in the case have argued, among other things, that Islam should be classified as a political or ideological movement, not a religion, and that the proposed mosque is not a house of worship. (See prior posting.) The Justice Department's brief counters these claims, arguing that Islam is a religion entitled to First Amendment protection and that the proposed Islamic Center and mosque is a place of religious assembly protected by the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Reporting on the filing, AP quotes the Tennessee U.S. Attorney who said: "Plaintiffs' implication that Islam is not a recognized religion by the United States is wrong and is not supported by any authority whatsoever."

Megachurch Files For Bankruptcy Protection

Garden Grove, California's mega-church, the Crystal Cathedral Ministries, founded by Dr. Robert H. Schuller, announced yesterday that it is filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Act protection. The Orange County Register reports that the cathedral owes unsecured creditors some $7.5 million, including $56,000 to the livestock supplier who supplied camels, horses and sheep for the cathedral's Glory of Christmas Pageant. The bankruptcy filing occurred after a committee of creditors refused to extend a moratorium which had been agreed to so negotiations could proceed.

Party's Ballot Listing Did Not Violate Establishment Clause

In McMillan v. New York State Board of Elections, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109894 (ED NY, Oct. 15, 2010), James McMillan, the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High party, sued for $350 million in damages claiming that the New York City board of elections violated his constitutional rights in removing the word "Damn" from his party's name in listing him on the 2009 New York City mayoral ballot. (Claims as to earlier elections were dismissed on statute of limitations grounds and claims against the state election board were dismissed on 11th Amendment grounds.) The city board of elections contended that ballot space limitations require that a Party's name not to exceed 15 characters. Plaintiff claims the city board of elections was motivated by religious concerns in removing "Damn" for his party's name, in violation of the Establishment Clause. The court found, however, that McMillan offered no evidence to support his charges that the board's actions were religiously motivated. The court also rejected McMillan's free speech, equal protection and due process arguments. In earlier proceedings, the parties agreed that on future ballots the party will be listed as "Rent Is 2 Damn High", thus meeting the 15 character limit.