Minnesota High Court Upholds Clergy Sexual Conduct Statute Against Establishment Clause Challenges

In State of Minnesota v. Wenthe, (MN Sup. Ct., Nov. 6, 2013), the Minnesota Supreme Court, in a 4-1 decision, upheld the state's clergy-sexual-conduct statute against both facial and an as-applied Establishment Clause challenges.  The court held that Minn. Stat. § 609.344 which criminalizes sexual penetration by a member of the clergy where the victim is receiving religious or spiritual advice does not violate the Establishment Clause merely because it directly targets clergy or because it requires an inquiry into whether the victim was seeking religious or spiritual advice. The court also concluded that as applied in this case, the evidence presented did not raise an excessive entanglement concern concern. Defendant, a Roman Catholic priest who was charged with having sexual relations with a woman he was counseling, was not likely to be convicted by the jury merely because he violated Church doctrine. AP reports on the decision.