DHS Seeks Land Near Catholic Shrine for Border Wall Construction

 As reported by Axios, the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to take by eminent domain 14 acres of land belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico. According to the complaint (full text) in United States v. 14.259 Acres of Land, (D NM, filed 5/7/2026), the land is being acquired to use for roads, fencing, vehicle barriers, security lighting, cameras, sensors, and structures that will be part of President Trump's border wall. The land is at the base of Mount Cristo Rey. At the top of the mountain is a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus. Each Fall, on the Feast Day of Christ the King, thousands climb the mountain to participate in a Mass. According to Mint, the Diocese will raise defenses under the Free Exercise clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

UPDATE: In a May 14 post on X, the Department of Homeland Security says in part: "The cross is located approximately A QUARTER MILE — 1,300 to 1,400 feet — north of the border ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. Access to the shrine will NOT be affected, as all attendees enter from the U.S. side."

Noise Ordinance Arrest Did Not Violate First Amendment or State RFRA

In Acevedo v. Zatora,(ND IL, May 11, 2026), an Illinois federal district court dismissed plaintiff's claims that police officers violated his free speech and free exercise rights when they arrested him for violating Chicago's noise ordinance. The ordinance prohibits amplified sound on public property that is louder than average conversational level at 100 feet distance. Acevedo and six others set up a microphone on a public sidewalk across from a Planned Parenthood clinic. Acevedo contends that his amplified speech was no louder than permitted under the Ordinance. The court said in part:

Acevedo’s First Amendment grievance ... is not with the noise ordinance’s constitutionality, either facially or as applied to his circumstances. He instead challenges defendants’ decision to arrest him for violating the noise ordinance despite his compliance with it and purportedly owing to his protected speech. This claim is indistinguishable from Acevedo’s First Amendment retaliation claim ... where he alleges that he was unjustly arrested in retaliation for his protected speech, despite his compliance with the noise ordinance....

In dismissing Acevedo's retaliation claim, the court concluded that Acevedo was arrested for disobeying an officer's order to stop using the microphone, not because of the religious or political content of his speech.

The court also dismissed Acevedo's claim against the city of Chicago. Acevedo contended that the city has a policy of  "preventing Christian street preachers (and presumably others) from using voice amplification on the public way by misapplying the noise ordinance to prohibit all amplified religious speech (and possibly other speech) regardless of volume or compliance with the ordinance’s actual requirements." The court said that the complaint did not give the city fair notice of the action Acevedo was challenging. The court said in part:

Do officers involved in the allegedly problematic practice exclusively target Christian street preachers engaged in religious speech, or do the officers also target street preachers of “all” faiths and other individuals not engaged in religious speech at all? Do officers consistently invoke the noise ordinance when they encounter Christian street preachers, or do they arrest Christian street preachers for other alleged infractions and without invoking the noise ordinance at all.

Dismissing Acevedo's claim under the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the court said in part:

Acevedo has not alleged that he faced a “coercive choice” between abandoning his religious convictions or complying with a City regulation. Rather, Acevedo alleges that he did comply with the City’s ordinance while exercising his religious convictions.

The court allowed Acevedo to move ahead on his 4th Amendment false arrest claim.

Ohio AG Resigns to Take Position with Christian Legal Advocacy Organization

Dayton Daily News last week reported that term-limited Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has resigned, effective June 7, in order to take a position with the Christian legal advocacy organization Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF issued a press release last week announcing Yost's appointment, saying in part:

Alliance Defending Freedom CEO, President, and Chief Counsel Kristen Waggoner announced Thursday that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost will join ADF as Vice President of Strategic Research and Innovation.

ADF is the world’s largest legal organization committed to advancing every person’s God-given right to live and speak the truth. With litigation and public policy spanning six continents, ADF fights in the most consequential legal and cultural battlegrounds of our time—preserving free speech, religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage and family, and parental rights....

In his new role, Yost will focus on expanding ADF’s strategic research capabilities and developing innovative approaches to advancing freedom globally....

USCIRF Urges President to Fill Position of Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom yesterday issued a statement (full text) urging President Trump to select a nominee to fill the position of Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and urging the Senate to swiftly confirm the nomination. The USCIRF Statement says in part:

President Trump has engaged in some important IRF policy decisions, including the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and the expansion of visa restrictions against IRF violators and their families.... However, the present lack of ambassadorial leadership on IRF matters prevents the U.S. government from fulfilling its potential in leading global efforts to advance this vital issue—a problem that can be solved through a swift nomination and confirmation process.

As previously reported, in April 2025, President Trump nominated Mark Walker, a former Baptist minister and former congressman, to be Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. However, the Senate failed to hold a hearing on his nomination which was being blocked by North Carolina Senator Tedd Budd who defeated Walker in the 2022 Republican primary for U.S. Senate. So last January, Walker withdrew his name from consideration for the ambassadorship and instead accepted an appointment by President Trump as Principal Advisor on Global Religious Freedom to the State Department. His term in that position expired last month.

Nebraska Supreme Court Rules on Non-Custodial Parent's Right To Influence Children's Religious Upbringing

In Munsell v. Munsell, (NE Sup. Ct., May 8, 2026), the Nebraska Supreme Court modified a trial court's divorce decree in a dispute over who could decide whether the divorced couple's children would attend a church camp. The trial court's decree had allowed the mother (Libby) who had sole custody to prevent the father (Jacob) from enrolling the children in church camp during his parenting time.  The Nebraska Supreme Court disagreed. The court said in part:

Jacob and Libby were raised in the same religion as that of the church Jacob currently attends. Jacob testified the church follows the tenet that women should be “subservient” to men and that the church should be led by men. During their marriage, the parties and the children attended the church. However, Libby testified that she “left the church” about 5 months before filing for divorce, no longer agreed with some of the church’s teachings, and did not like that ... wom[e]n were silenced and subjugated.” She also testified that she did not like the “culture of fear and shame that the church brings on”....

Jacob’s parents live on the church camp’s property as care takers. Jacob testified the church camp was a “huge part” of his life....

As this appeal illustrates, the state-law right of a legal custodian to make fundamental decisions about a child’s educational and religious upbringing can conflict with the non-custodial parent’s fundamental right to influence the religious upbringing of the child during his or her parenting time. The U.S. Supreme Court has not weighed in on the difficult question of how to properly balance these conflicting rights in the context of divorce proceedings....

 ... [I]in our de novo review, we see an absence of evidence that allowing the children to attend the church camp would pose “an immediate and substantial threat to a child’s temporal well-being.”...

Accordingly, we see no basis to restrict Jacob’s ability to enroll the children in the church camp during his parenting time.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Chad G. Marzen & William Woodyard, Pope Francis: The Progressive Pope of American Jurisprudence, (May 06, 2026).
• Christopher D. Hampson, For the Word of God is Posted and Passive, (University of Florida Levin College of Law Research Paper, Forthcoming).
• Vincent Bocchinfuso, How Hate Learned to Speak: Civil Rights Language, Institutional Shielding, and Reciprocal Standards, (May 08, 2026).
• Sachin Gupta, Sungjin Kim & Anirban Mukherjee, Is Volunteering a Gateway to Increased Monetary Giving? Evidence from a Field Experiment, (Marketing Letters, volume 37, issue 1, 2026).
• Aaron J. Saiger & Abner S. Greene, Religious Schools and the Secular State:  A Dialogue, (42 J. L. & Religion__ (2027)).
• Abu Hayyan Saeed, Human Reason, God, and Faith : A Kantian, Classical, Comparative Western, Eastern and Religious Perspective, (May 01, 2026).

From SSSRN (Reproductive Rights):

• David S. Cohen & Rachel Rebouche, The Origin and Future of Shield Laws, (94 UMKC L. Rev. 541 (2026)).
• Carole J. Petersen, From the Right to Choose to the Virtuous Victims?: Advocating for Reproductive Justice in the United States After Dobbs, (54.1 Denver Journal of International Law & Policy 1-26 (2025)).
• Eve Hanan, Presumed Guilt: Epistemic Closure in Pregnancy Prosecutions, (December 31, 2025).

From SSRN (Transgender Rights):

• Marc Spindelman, United States v. Skrmetti: On Realism, Reason, and Hope, (April 15, 2026).
• Susan Keller, The Double-Edged Rhetoric of Parental Rights: Conflicts between Freedom and Control in Cases Concerning Transgender Youth, (21 Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy (2026)).

From SSRN (Islamic Law):

• Oruj Ismayilov, Destiny, Free Will, and Divine Justice: An Analysis of the Concept of Trial and the Metaphysics of Oppression through a Qur'anic Perspective, (December 18, 2025).
• Abu Hayyan Saeed, The Evolution of Islamic Thought: Practical Implementation of the Qur'anic System and Related Studies, (February 04, 2026).
• Azfar Samin & Bashir Malik, The Qur'an, Hadith, and the Debate on Marriageable Age: A Textual Analysis, (September 30, 2025).

From SSRN (Non-U.S. Law):

• Marek Antos, Filip Horak, Filip Jeline & Ondřej Preuss, Religious Neutrality and Treaty-Based Privileges: The Czech Constitutional Court on the Holy See Concordat, (May 04, 2026).
• Nikhil Dongre, Refugee Protection in India in the Absence of Specific Legislation: Legal Analysis, (May 01, 2026).

Released-Time Provider Sues School District After Termination For Facebook Posting

Suit was filed last week in a Georgia federal district court by a Christian ministry-- Sweet Onion Christian Learning Center-- that has offered released time off-campus religious instruction for students attending Vidalia, Georgia High School.  School officials canceled the released time program because of Facebook posts by Sweet Onion's executive director which criticized a proposed property tax increase for the city's schools. The complaint (full text) in Sweet Onion Christian Learning Center, Inc. v. Youmans, (SD GA, filed 5/8/2026), alleges that the cancellation violates the 1st and 14th Amendments as well as the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The complaint reads in part:

2.... After learning about the posts, Superintendent Reid secretly investigated the Center and learned an unremarkable fact—the Center, a Christian ministry, provides Christian education. This led her to report to the Board that, in addition to the problems with the Facebook posts, Rev. Youmans’ instruction “reflected a particular interpretation of the Bible” that wasn’t presented in a “neutral or well-balanced manner.” Either way, Defendants punished Rev. Youman, his ministry, and the students at Vidalia High simply because Defendants disagreed with Rev. Youman’s constitutionally protected expression.  

3. Under the First Amendment, Rev. Youmans had a clearly established right both to criticize a proposed tax increase and to teach the Bible from his religious perspective. By punishing him and his ministry for his criticism and religious instruction, the Board and Superintendent Reid violated that right....

ADF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

9th Circuit: Requested Religious Exemptions from Vaccine Mandate Would Have Imposed Undue Hardship

In Williams v. Legacy Health, (9th Cir., May 6, 2026), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a hospital system's refusal to grant religious exemptions from its Covid vaccine mandate to Vancouver, Washington hospital employees whose duties put them in close contact with patients or staff. The court upheld the dismissal of plaintiffs' Title VII religious discrimination claims.  It concluded that granting the requested religious exemptions would have imposed "undue hardship" on Legacy Health. The court said in part:

At the time it denied Employees’ exemption requests, Legacy forecast an acute strain on its business of providing safe and effective medical care to the public. The COVID-19 Delta variant had just emerged, and Legacy predicted a surge of hospitalizations across its eight locations. In that context, Legacy reasonably sought to ensure that its employees were vaccinated. The statistical evidence available to Legacy revealed that high vaccination rates, while not a panacea, reduced overall transmission risk. Vaccination also proved highly effective at preventing infection in the healthcare setting, where other measures like social distancing were impractical or “impossible,” as one expert explained. By contrast, Legacy’s unrebutted epidemiological expert evidence showed that unvaccinated “frontline workers,” like Employees, faced a unique risk of infection—and that any infections could contribute to “significant outbreaks among patients [and] colleagues.” 

Vital Law reports on the decision.

Tribes Sue to Stop Drilling in Black Hills

Nine Native American tribes located in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska have filed suit in a South Dakota federal district court challenging the federal government's approval of extensive drilling for graphite, with attendant ground-disturbing operations, in Black Hills National Forest. The complaint (full text) in Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Forest Service, (D SD, filed 4/30/2026), alleges in part:

5. Before approving the Project, the USFS failed to engage in meaningful, mutual, and legally required government-to-government consultation with Plaintiff Tribes, as required by federal law,....

7. The USFS categorically excluded the Project from the proper environmental, public, and cultural resources review required by NEPA....

21.  Plaintiff Tribes consider Pe’Sla to be one of the most precious sacred sites in the heart of Ȟe Sápa. It is in the middle of the place where Plaintiff Tribes originated, and it is central to their existence. Pe’Sla is home to hundreds of cultural properties and numerous historic sites, archeological sites, cultural sites, and Traditional Cultural Properties ....

28. Plaintiff Tribes and their members use and value the lands at Pe’Sla for traditional, cultural, and religious purposes, including prayer, ceremonies, cultural activities, and traditional youth camps....

60. The Project will disturb and harm historic, archaeological, and cultural sites at Ȟe Sápa and Pe’Sla, the lands, water, natural resources, and fish and wildlife at Ȟe Sápa and Pe’Sla,and the Plaintiff Tribe’s traditional, cultural, and religious use of Ȟe Sápa and Pe’Sla....

AP reports on the lawsuit.

UPDATE: The Lakota People's Law Project reports: "On May 5, 2026, United States District Judge Camela C. Theeler issued a Temporary Restraining Order halting all operations of the Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project in the Black Hills National Forest. Three days later, Pete Lien and Sons, Inc., the South Dakota limestone and aggregate company that held the mining claims, withdrew its Plan of Operations entirely...."

Today Is National Day of Prayer

36 US Code §119 provides that "The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer...." Consistent with that, the non-governmental National Day of Prayer Task Force is promoting today as the National Day of Prayer. However, yesterday (Wednesday) the White House posted a "Presidential Message on National Day of Prayer" (full text) suggesting that yesterday was the National Day of Prayer. The Message, dated May 6, says in part:

This National Day of Prayer, we proudly recommit to our magnificent birthright of faith.  I encourage all Americans to come together today in prayer, reflecting on the many blessings God has given our Nation and asking for His continued protection, with ceremonies, events, and programs in their houses of worship and places of work, schools, and homes.

The Message also says in part:

Today, faith in God is resurging on American shores like never before.  Throughout this historic year, we rejoice in the triumph of the American spirit and in the love and grace of Almighty God.  And just as our Founders came together in prayer before declaring independence, thousands of Americans will gather on Sunday, May 17, on the National Mall to rededicate the United States as One Nation Under God.

Norway's Supreme Court Upholds Jehovah's Witnesses State Registration and Funding

Last week, the Supreme Court of Norway in State v. Jehovah's Witnesses, (Høyesterett, April 29, 2026), invalidated decisions of government officials that denied state funding and registration as a religious community to Jehovah's Witnesses. The Court also issued a press release summarizing the decision. The press release reads in part:

The State argued that the religious community’s practice of social shunning violates children’s rights and members’ right to freely withdraw from membership, see section 6 of the Religious Communities Act and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)....

As regards children’s rights, the Supreme Court unanimously found that the State had not provided sufficient evidence that, in practice, Jehovah’s Witnesses subject minor members to psychological violence or negative social control of such severity as to constitute a violation of children’s statutory rights....

The Supreme Court further considered whether the practice of social shunning of former members violates members’ right to freely withdraw from the religious community. The Court held that Jehovah’s Witnesses satisfy the requirement of free and unconditional withdrawal under section 2 of the Religious Communities Act. A majority of three justices found that the shunning practice does not constitute undue pressure on members in breach of Article 9 of the ECHR. Particular weight was attached to the fact that the practice is rooted in the community’s doctrine, is known to members upon joining, and entails no direct pressure, coercion, or threats....

Two justices dissented on the question of whether Jehovah’s Witnesses subject their members to undue pressure against withdrawing from membership....

The Centre for Law and Religious Freedom at Jagiellonian University issued a press release announcing the decision and linking to an amicus brief it and the Religious Freedom Clinic at Harvard Law School filed in the case.

[Thanks to Josh McDaniel for the lead.]

ADL Releases 2025 Antisemitism Data

 The Anti-Defamation League yesterday released its Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2025. The Audit reported in part:

The year 2025 was the third-highest year on record for antisemitic incidents since the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) began tracking them in 1979.

Each year, the ADL tracks incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and physical assault in the United States in our annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents. While incidents of harassment and vandalism decreased significantly in 2025 from record highs in 2023 and 2024, physical assaults this past year were higher than ever before. In 2025, there was an average of 17 incidents per day, compared to an average of eight incidents per day between 2020 and 2022....

In 2025, ADL tracked 6,274 antisemitic incidents in the United States. This was 33% lower than the 9,354 incidents tabulated in 2024, but five times higher than a decade ago....

In 2025, three people were killed in antisemitic attacks....

President Declares May As Jewish American Heritage Month

On Monday, President Trump issued a Proclamation (full text) declaring May as Jewish American Heritage Month. The Proclamation reads in part:

Throughout this historic year, we rejoice in the triumph of the American spirit and rededicate ourselves to the cause of liberty and justice for all.  In special honor of 250 glorious years of American independence and on the weekend of Rededicate 250 — a national jubilee of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving — Jewish Americans are encouraged to observe a national Sabbath.  From sundown on May 15 to nightfall on May 16, friends, families, and communities of all backgrounds may come together in gratitude for our great Nation.  This day will recognize the sacred Jewish tradition of setting aside time for rest, reflection, and gratitude to the Almighty.

This month, we celebrate the contributions that Jewish Americans have made to our way of life, we honor their role in shaping the story of our Nation, and we remember that religious devotion, learning, and service to others are enduring pillars of a thriving culture....

ED Says Smith College Should Lose Title IX Exception for Single-Sex Colleges Because It Admits "Biological Men"

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced on Monday that it has opened a Title IX sex-discrimination investigation of Smith College for admitting transgender women to the all-women's school. The DOE announcement said in part:

Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation into Smith College, one of the nation’s largest all-women's colleges, for admitting biological men and granting them access to women-only spaces, including dormitories, bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teams....

Title IX contains a single-sex exception that allows colleges to enroll all-male or all-female student bodies—but the exception applies on the basis of biological sex difference, not subjective gender identity. An all-girls college that enrolls male students professing a female identity would cease to qualify as single sex under Title IX.

When an institution holds itself out as being an all-women’s college, it is not just promising to deliver female-only dorms and bathrooms, and single-sex athletics; it is also committing to maintain a student body that makes possible a particular form of sorority and camaraderie....  

The investigation stems from a civil rights complaint filed last year by the advocacy organization Defending Education. Politico reports on the Department's action.

Prosecution Need Not Refer to Defendant by His Religious Name During His Criminal Trial

In United States v. Green, (WD VA, May 4, 2026), defendant was charged with failing to update his sex offender registration. In a pretrial motion, defendant asked that he be referred to by his Hebrew Israelite religious name--Dalayah Yashar’Al-- during his upcoming trial. Defendant contended that the failure to do so would violate his 1st Amendment free exercise rights as well as his rights under RFRA. The court said in part:

Defendant may refer to himself as Mr. Yashar’Al throughout the upcoming trial.  But the court and the government need not do so.  Even assuming Defendant has legally changed his name under Michigan common law, the name “Deon Green” may appear in records necessary to prove the government’s case.  A categorical prohibition on the court or the government from using the name “Deon Andre Green” risks confusing and misleading the jury....

... Defendant offers no argument that the court and the government’s use of his birth name in court will pressure him to modify his beliefs or to choose between his beliefs and a government benefit....

... Moreover, the government’s inclusion of Defendant’s preferred name in the indictment is an adequate religious accommodation....

... [T]o avoid confusion, the court will instruct the jury that Defendant—born Deon Green—has adopted the name Dalayah Yashar’Al, and that the two names refer to the same person....

Kentucky Trial Court Holds Definition of "Human Being" In Abortion Statute Is Void for Vagueness

In Sobel v. Coleman, (KY Cir. Ct., May 1, 2026), a Kentucky state trial court issued a declaratory judgment holding that the definition of "human being" in the Kentucky abortion statute is void for vagueness.  The suit was brought by a Jewish woman who wants to become pregnant through the transfer one of nine embryos created during previous IVF treatment. She contends that the statutory definition of "human being" as any member of the species homo sapiens from fertilization to childbirth creates uncertainty as to whether she could be prosecuted over the subsequent disposal of unused embryos.

While Kentucky’s Fetal Homicide Statute expressly exempts persons participating in IVF treatments from prosecution, the state's general homicide law contains no such exception. The trial court said that reliance on a 2004 Kentucky Supreme Court case that found that the definition of "human being" in one Kentucky law could not be applied to the general homicide statute is unwarranted because that opinion was rooted in a discussion of "viability" as used in Roe v. Wade.

The trial court went on to say:

Kentucky is one of many states in our nation grappling with questions of reconciling post-Dobbs abortion restrictions with accessibility to IVF processes.  However, whereas other states have addressed this legitimate concern through legislative action, our Commonwealth has attempted to address this concern merely through the procurement of non-binding Attorney General Opinions....

As reflected in the ... Attorney General’s non-binding advisory opinion, a prosecutor today may read the statute as clearly providing no such avenue for the prosecution of Ms. Kalb for her involvement in IVF processes.  However, Ms. Kalb and others seeking to expand their families through IVF procedures have no binding assurance against the possibility that a prosecutor tomorrow interprets the statute differently and uses it as the basis for a prosecution.   

The trial court however rejected a second claim by plaintiff that Kentucky's abortion laws violate the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The court said in part:

Plaintiff argues that the first commandment of her Jewish faith instructs her to “be fruitful and multiply”.   Plaintiff wishes to honor this commandment through the use of IVF. Plaintiff argues that the HLPA, which currently provides no specific exemption for IVF and which defines human life as beginning at the moment of conception, places an unconstitutional burden upon her ability to honor her religious commandments through IVF processes....

 ... Plaintiff is a woman of Jewish faith and to be fruitful and multiply is the first commandment in the Torah, the foundational text of Judaism.  Be fruitful and multiply is also a foundational principle for Christians as articulated in Genesis 1:28 and often referred to as the “creation mandate”.  Similar commandments or mandates are present in the holy texts of other religions including Islam and Hindu....

However, the Court does not believe that the HLPA unconstitutionally burdens Ms. Kalb from exercising her religious beliefs any more than it burdens followers of Christianity, Islam or Hindu from exercising their religious beliefs.  Thus, any burden created by the HLPA is a religiously neutral, general burden upon virtually any Kentuckian of faith seeking to participate in IVF.  The United States Supreme Court has effectively held that a government act that places a neutral and generally applicable burden upon individuals of differing religious beliefs is constitutionally permissible....

Louisville Public Media reports on the decision.

Egyptian Court Dismisses on Procedural Grounds Suit Over Easter as National Holiday

 ADF International on April 30 reported:

An Egyptian court has declined to rule on a petition to establish Easter as a national holiday, indicating that the Prime Minister should instead determine the matter. Religious freedom advocates from across Christian denominations plan to appeal the decision, seeking to remove longstanding barriers to Christian observance of Easter. 

The failure to recognize Easter as an official holiday in the country leaves in place conditions that force Egyptian Christians to choose between participating in Easter worship or facing serious civil, professional, and academic penalties. 

The court rejected the petition on procedural grounds, stating that the petition falls under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister, not the court....

 A December decision by the Ministry of Manpower granting leave to Christian private-sector workers did not extend to the public sector and created disparities among Christian denominations by granting more paid leave days to Coptic Christians than Evangelicals or Catholics. 

The Court’s ruling leaves these gaps unaddressed, failing to provide consistent protection across sectors and communities....

The full text of the court's opinion does not appear to be available online. 

Sham Ennessim, a holiday celebrating the beginning of Spring, is a public holiday in Egypt. It falls on the Monday after Easter.

Supreme Court Grants 1-Week Administrative Stay of 5th Circuit's Abortion Drug Decision

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito this morning granted an administrative stay until 5:00 PM on May 11th in Danco Laboratories, L.L.C. v. State of Louisiana (full text of Order) and in Genbiopro, Inc. v. State of Louisiana (full text of Order). Justice Alito is responsible for receiving Emergency Petitions from the 3rd and 5th Circuits. The administrative stay of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal's May 1 decision (see prior posting) means that mail order delivery of the abortion drug mifepristone can continue at least temporarily. A response to the pharmaceutical companies' petition for a longer stay of the 5th Circuit's decision must be filed by Louisiana by 5:00 PM on May 7. CNN reports on today's action by Justice Alito.

UPDATE: On May 11, Justice Alito in two separate Orders extended the administrative stay of the 5th Circuit's Order until May 14.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Reva B. Siegel & Mary Ziegler, Dismantling Equality Rights Through "Biological-Sex" Talk, (105 Texas L. Rev. (forthcoming 2027)).
• Christopher C. Lund, Catholic Charities and the Coming War Over Religious Exemptions, (First Amendment Law Review, Vol. 24, p. 291, 2026 (symposium)).
• Christopher C. Lund, Soft Establishment, Religious Education, and Stone v. Graham, (Journal of Catholic Legal Studies (invited) (forthcoming 2026)).
• Luigi Zito, The Tiberian Senatus Consultum of 35 CE as External Legal Evidence of Early Christology, (Aequitas Magazine - Journal of Law and Legal Culture, Volume 2, 2026).
• Lewis S. Davis, Religious Orientations, Religious Beliefs, and Homophobia, (April 14, 2026).
• Erlang Tang, From McCarthyism to Bostock: The Judicial Evolution of Anti-Discrimination in Employment for Sexual Minorities in the United States, (Labor History, volume 67, issue 2, 2026).
• David S. Cohen & Carole Joffe, Continued Resistance and Resilience After Dobbs, (April 01, 2026).
• Alejandra Aldana Saravia, Reproductive Rights, Prenatal Personhood, and Constitutional Interpretation: A Legal, Biological and Ethical Analysis, (June 01, 2025).
• Avishai Akiva Dos-Lobitos, Yachas V'edut: The Covenant America Forgot, The Lineage the Costitution Named ‫ת‬ ‫דּו‬ ‫ֵע‬ ‫ּו‬ ‫ס‬ ‫ַח‬ ‫ַי‬, (April 04, 2026).
• Zalman Rothschild, Vaccines, Religious Liberty, and the GVR as Doctrinal Signal,. Harvard Law Review Forum (forthcoming).

From SSRN (Religious Philosophy):

• Elowen Hartley, Baruch Schwarz & Peregrine Shaw, Sacred Ambiguity: Folk Christianity and the Ontological Defense of the De-divinized African Body, (February 11, 2026).
• Donata Garsia, The Rawls Theological Paradox: His Original Position and the Architecture of Justice, (February 18, 2026).
• Brian Murray, Aquinas, Wilson, and Continuity on Crime and Punishment, (75 Catholic University Law Review 421 (2025)).
• Vincent Liu, The (In)justice of God: Wildness and the Love of Jesus Christ, (May 01, 2026).

From SSRN (Non-U.S. Law)

• Rabitah Khandoker, Quebec Bill 21: A Violation of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, (January 06, 2026).
• Kenneth Grad, Beyond Public Law: Recognizing a Tort Remedy for Hate Speech in Canada,(Constitutional Forum / Forum constitutionnel, volume 34, issue 4, 2026).
• Shanaz Joan Parsan, From Bill C-63 to Bill C-9: Charter Limits on Canada's Emerging Hate and Online-Speech Regulation, (March 16, 2026).
• Ratu Durotun Nafisah, Judging and Social Cohesion: The Case of Interfaith Marriage in Indonesia, (Asian Journal of Law and Society (2026))
• Acharya Pt Dr Avdhesh Kumarr, From Totemism to Brahmanism: Evolution of Religious Consciousness in India, (April 23, 2026).

From SSRN (Islamic Law):

• Saif Ali, Beyond the Gender Binary: An Intersectional Analysis of Law and the Recognition of Transgender People in Pakistan, (April 14, 2025).
• Ahmer Bilal Soofi, Imam Husayn's Stand at Karbala: A Testament to Upholding the Sanctity of  the Quranic Covenant of Shu'ra, (April 15, 2026).
• Hidayatul Ihsan, Eliyanora & Gustina, Integrating Islamic Social Finance and Environmental Conservation: Evidence from Bogor and Mojokerto Waqf Forests (March 20, 2026).
• Yaoharee Lahtee, Three Layers, One Moon, (March 20, 2026).
• Munidher Contractor, Agency Within the Covenant, (March 16, 2026).
• Mohamed Ghandour, The Big Short Vs. the Big Shield: What the 2008 Crisis Taught Us About Islamic Finance, (July 16, 2025).
• Mohamed Ghandour, Developing Shariah Compliant Financing Models Through Financial Technology for SME Financing in Egypt: A Reverse Factoring Model for Raw Material Financing Based on POS and Digital Payments, (November 01, 2025).
• Mohamed Ghandour, Digital Dawn for Islamic Finance: Shariah Compliant Tokenization Explained, (December 10, 2025).
• Zubair Abbasi, Book Review: Islamic Law in Saudi Arabia. By Dominik Krell. Leiden: Brill, 2025, (March 01, 2026).

From SmartCILP:

• Linda C. McClain, Do Bans on Conversion Therapy Impose a Governmental "Orthodoxy" about Sex and Gender?, 105 Boston University Law Review 1263-1294 (2025).
• Heather Walter-McCabe, 303 Creative: The Public Perils of Ignoring Public Health Harms in LGBTQ Rights Cases, 27 Journal of Health Care Law & Policy 188-216 (2024).
• Julie Novkov, No Return: Caste and the End of the Liberal Debate Over U.S. Antidiscrimination Law, 85 Maryland Law Review 209-242 (2025).

Mifepristone Makers Ask Supreme Court to Stay 5th Circuit's Ruling Ending Mail-Order Delivery of Abortion Drug

As previously reported, last Friday the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay pending appeal of the FDA's 2023 ruling that removed the requirement that the abortion drug mifepristone be prescribed only after an in-person visit with a doctor. The FDA ruling permitted out-of-state doctors to prescribe mifepristone which then could be delivered by mail. Within one day of the 5th Circuit's ruling, two pharmaceutical manufacturers that had intervened as defendants in the case in the lower courts filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to stay the 5th Circuit's ruling while appeals continue. Alternatively, they seek immediate Supreme Court review. They also ask for an immediate administrative stay of the 5th Circuit's judgement while the Supreme Court is considering their petition. 

The 56-page petition (full text) in Danco Laboratories, L.L.C. v. State of Louisiana, Ct. filed 5/2/2026) contends in part that Louisiana lacks standing to challenge the FDA ruling and that the 5th Circuit's judgment "injects immediate confusion and upheaval into highly time-sensitive medical decisions."

SCOTUSblog reports on the case and traces much of the background to the present filing.