Israel's Supreme Court Orders Tel Aviv to Permit Outdoor Sex-Separated Yom Kippur Services

Times of Israel reports that yesterday a unanimous 3-judge panel of Israel's Supreme Court ordered the municipality of Tel Aviv to permit the Orthodox Jewish outreach organization Rosh Yehudi to hold outdoor sex-separated Yom Kippur services.  According to the report:

The ruling comes after the Tel Aviv Municipality refused to allow such a service with a gender partition anywhere outdoors in the city, citing a municipal ordinance banning public gender separation and despite being requested by the court to agree to such a compromise.

Last Yom Kippur, Dizengoff Square was the scene of a violent struggle between secular activists and a group of Rosh Yehudi worshipers when the organization defied a municipality ban on a prayer service with a gender partition, a decision upheld by the courts, by setting up a barrier made of Israeli flags....

During Wednesday’s hearing, the three justices were highly critical of the Tel Aviv Municipality’s position, accused it of discriminating against Orthodox worshipers and were frustrated by its refusal to countenance the compromise suggested by the court to move the prayers to Meir Park....

The ruling itself, ordering the municipality to accept the compromise the court offered, was issued without the reasoning behind it due to the time constraints of the case, coming just days before Yom Kippur which falls this Friday night and Saturday.

Suit Over Deceptively Promoted School Religious Program Moves Ahead

In Roe v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, (MD LA, Oct. 8, 2024), a Louisiana federal district court refused to dismiss many claims brought by high school seniors and their parents asserting violations of the Establishment Clause, infringement of parental rights, sex discrimination, violation of the Louisiana Parents Bill of Rights, negligence, infliction of emotional distress and fraud. According to the court:

Plaintiffs’ lawsuit centers around the overarching allegation that, “[f]or several years going back to at least 2016, [defendants] ... were engaged in a conspiracy to expose public school children to overtly sectarian and religious experiences directly through the East Baton Rouge School System..., often without the knowledge or permission of the students’ parents or guardians.” [They] ...developed a program called ‘Day of Hope’, whereby public school students of the East Baton Rouge School System would be sent to a religious service during school time, chaperoned by EBRSB employees.” ... [Defendants] advertised the 2022 event to parents and students as a ‘College and Career Fair’, providing ‘a college and career fair, breakout sessions, live music, a keynote speaker, free food, and more.’ None of the promotional materials or advertisements for the event provided any obvious religious connection.” Plaintiffs claim that, “[i]n actuality, ‘Day of Hope’ speakers were almost exclusively pastors or other religious speakers who describe their participation in the public school event as ‘worship[]’ and ‘minister[ing] to over 1000 kids’, including hashtags on social media posts describing the event like ‘#GodGetsTheGlory’.” ...

The allegations taken as true suggest coercion as understood by Supreme Court precedent, and the prohibition against this practice was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation....

The Title IX claim focuses primarily on two aspects of the Day of Hope program: 1) transgender and gender non-conforming students were forced into “either male or female segregated gender groups based on their outward appearance and without their consent”; and 2) while the male students engaged in “frivolous recreational activities,” the female students were “exposed to a ‘girls gender talk’ including traumatizing lectures by pastors and other religious figures about virginity, rape, abuse, and suicide, even being told to ‘forgive’ their rapists and abusers.”...

7th Day Adventists Sue Maryland Over Narrow Interpretation of Fair Employment Practices Act Exemption

Last week, the Seventh Day Adventist Church filed suit against officials and members of the Maryland Civil Rights Commission challenging as unconstitutional the Maryland Supreme Court's narrow interpretation of the religious institution exemption from the anti-discrimination provisions of the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA). Last year in Doe v. Catholic Relief Services, the Maryland Supreme Court held that the religious institution exemption only applies to "claims brought by employees who perform duties that directly further the core mission (or missions) of the religious entity." (See prior posting.) The complaint (full text) in General Conference of the Seventh Day Adventists v. Horton, (D MD, filed Oct. 2, 2024), alleges that the Catholic Relief Services interpretation of FEPA exemption violates plaintiffs' rights under the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses as well as other 1st and 14th Amendment rights. The complaint says in part:

Plaintiffs believe that all their employees are representatives of the Church and are responsible for sharing the Church’s faith with the world. It is therefore a critical component of Plaintiffs’ religious exercise that all their employees embrace the Church’s faith, support its religious mission, and share the faith with others. This is why Plaintiffs’ employment policies have long required all those they employ to be members of the Church in regular standing and to conduct themselves in accordance with the Church’s religious beliefs....

What is more, applying Catholic Relief Services’ gloss on MFEPA would require the government to engage in a “fact-intensive inquiry” to “determine[] what constitutes a core mission” for each Plaintiff, and then assess which roles “directly” further those mission(s)...."  Applying this amorphous standard would require courts to delve into entangling questions of religious doctrine.

Becket Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Tennesse County Sued by Woman Who Was Required to Remove Hijab for Booking Photo

Suit was filed this week in a Tennessee federal district court by a Muslim woman who was required by Knox County, Tennessee Sheriff's Office employees to remove her hijab for a booking photo. Plaintiff was arrested along with others who were participating in a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the University of Tennessee campus. The photo was subsequently posted on the Sheriff Office's public website in violation of Sheriff's Office policy. The complaint (full text) in Solliz v. Knox County, Tennessee, (ED TN, filed 10/7/2024), alleges in part:

The Defendants’ mistreatment of Mrs. Soliz and their disrespect for her religious rights has scarred her.  The Defendants’ misbehavior was also illegal.  The federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ... and... Tennessee’s Preservation of Religious Freedom Act—flatly prohibited the Defendants from burdening Mrs. Soliz’s free exercise of her religion in the manner they did.

Longview News-Journal reports on the lawsuit.

Cert. Denied in Alabama Frozen Embryo Case

Among the hundreds of cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court denied review on Monday was Center for Reproductive Medicine v. Burdick-Aysenne, (Sup. Ct., Docket No. 24-127, certiorari denied, Oct. 7, 2024). (Order List). In the case, the Alabama Supreme Court held, by a vote of 7-2, that Alabama's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act covers the negligent destruction of frozen embryos created during IVF treatment and kept in a clinic's cryogenic nursery. (See prior posting.) AP reports on the Court's denial of review.

Georgia Supreme Court Reinstates 6-Week Abortion Ban While Appeal Is Heard

Yesterday in State of Georgia v. Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, (GA Sup. Ct., Oct. 7, 2024), the Georgia Supreme Court in a brief order reinstated Georgia's 6-week abortion ban while an appeal of a trial court's injunction is litigated. Last week a state trial court had enjoined enforcement of the abortion ban, finding it unconstitutional under the state constitution. (See prior posting.) Supreme Court Justice Ellington filed an opinion dissenting from the Supreme Court's order, saying in part:

In its motion, the State fails to show any reason for urgency that goes beyond their underlying arguments in favor of allowing the State to prevent women from deciding whether to terminate a pregnancy after embryonic cardiac activity can be detected and before a fetus is viable....

Fundamentally, the State should not be in the business of enforcing laws that have been determined to violate fundamental rights guaranteed to millions of individuals under the Georgia Constitution. The “status quo” that should be maintained is the state of the law before the challenged laws took effect.

The state Supreme Court did not stay the trial court's injunction against a provision making health records of women obtaining abortions available to the district attorney.  ACLU issued a press release announcing the decision. AP reports on the decision.

EEOC Sues Over Refusal to Accommodate Muslim Applicant's Worship Schedule

On Sept. 30 the EEOC filed a suit under Title VII charging a Washington-state based staffing and recruiting agency with religious discrimination and retaliation against a Muslim job applicant. According to an Oct. 3 EEOC Release:

Logic Staffing invited the applicant to interview ... the day after receiving his online application. On the strength of his application and interview, the staffing supervisor started to explore available openings when the applicant, who is Muslim, disclosed a possible need for a longer mid-day break to attend Friday prayer.... Logic Staffing's supervisor ended the interview and noted that the applicant was not hired due to his schedule and need to attend Friday prayer....

“Title VII requires employers, employment agencies, and unions to make adjustments to the workplace environment to allow applicants and employees to practice their faith, absent undue hardship,” said Elizabeth Cannon, director of the EEOC’s Seattle Field Office. “Instead of exploring alternatives and contacting its business clients to determine if accommodation was possible, Logic Staffing turned away a promising candidate and violated the law."

Texas Judicial Conduct Commission Withdraws Reprimand of Judge Who Refused to Perform Same-Sex Weddings

As previously reported, in 2019 the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a Public Warning to Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley because she refused on religious grounds to perform same-sex weddings, while continuing to perform other weddings. The Commission stated that her conduct cast doubt on her capacity to act impartially to persons appearing before her as a judge.  Hensley sued contending that the Commission's action violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act as well as her free speech rights. In July 2024, the Texas Supreme Court held that the suit could move forward. (See prior posting.) Now, in Public Statement PS-2024-1, (Sept. 9, 2024), the Commission on Judicial Conduct has withdrawn the prior Public Warning "in light of the decision handed down by the Texas Supreme Court and the underlying facts and evidence...." However, according to a report yesterday by KWTX News, Hensley will continue her lawsuit. Quoting her attorneys, First Liberty Institute:

Unfortunately, Judge Hensley has incurred damages and attorney fees fighting for religious liberty, the Constitution, other judges who feared coming forward and her own reputation. We intend to complete the mission. Other judges who feared retaliation from the Commission and hid in the shadows may now be able to step forward and file their own cases seeking damages up to $10,000, plus costs and fees.

Cert. Petition Filed in Oklahoma Religious Charter School Case

A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed yesterday with the U.S. Supreme Court in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, (Sup. Ct., cert. filed 10/7/2024). In the case, the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that the state Charter School Board's authorization of a Catholic sponsored publicly-funded charter school violates Oklahoma statutes, the Oklahoma Constitution and the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. (See prior posting.) The petition for review contends that exclusion of religious schools from the state's charter school program violates the 1st Amendment's free exercise clause and that religious instruction by a state-funded charter school does not constitute state action. ADF issued a press release announcing the filing of the petition for review.

U.S. Supreme Court Opens New Term with Cert. Denials; Red Mass Yesterday

The U.S. Supreme Court's new term began today. Yesterday in Washington the annual Red Mass marking the opening of the Supreme Court's new term-- hosted by the D.C. Archdiocese and the John Carroll Society-- was held at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. (Video of full Red Mass). According to the Washington Post, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett were in attendance.

Today, the Supreme Court issued its typical very lengthy first Order List of the Term, denying review in several hundred cases.  Among them were:

Becerra v. State of Texas, (Docket No. 23-1076, certiorari denied 10/7/2024). In the case, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an injunction issued by a Texas federal district court barring enforcement of a Guidance document on emergency abortion care issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. (See prior posting.) The HHS Guidance to hospitals (and accompanying Letter) stated that the federal Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act requires hospital emergency rooms to perform certain abortions, even when they violate Texas law, when an abortion is the stabilizing treatment necessary to resolve an emergency medical condition. AP reports on the denial of review.

Young Israel of Tampa v. Hillsborough Regional Transit, (Docket No. 23-1276, certiorari denied 10/7/2024). In the case, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held unconstitutional a public transit agency's policy on the sale of advertising space on its vehicles and property.  (See prior posting.) The agency prohibited ads that "primarily promote a religious faith or religious organization." Applying this policy, the transit agency rejected an ad from plaintiff promoting a "Chanukah on Ice" event.

Hile v. State of Michigan, (Docket No. 23-1084, certiorari denied 10/7/2024). In the case, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals held that an amendment placed in the Michigan Constitution in 1970 that prohibits public funds from being used to aid private or religious schools does not violate the equal protection rights of parents who cannot use Michigan Educational Savings Program to send their children to religious schools. (See prior posting.) The Hill reports on the Supreme Court's action.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Io Jones, The IVF Exception: Strengthening Free Exercise Challenges to Abortion Bans, (UC Law Constitutional Quarterly, Volume 52, Issue 3 (forthcoming February 2025)).
• Netta Barak Corren & Noam Shlomai Kunitz, Minimalism, Law, Ideology, and the Public Impact of the Supreme Court, (Journal of Law and Empirical Analysis, (volume 1, issue 2, 2024)).
• P. Saliya Sumanatilake, ‘Dhamma’ – The Grundnorm of Sri Lanka’s ‘Living Law’, (August 19, 2023).
• Maria Francesca Cavalcanti, Varieties of Constitutionalism and Religion: Greece, Israel and Lebanon in Comparison, (European Yearbook of Constitutional Law (EYCL), Vol. 6 (forthcoming)).
• Katie R. Eyer, Title IX in the Age of Textualism, (86 Ohio State L. J. __ (forthcoming, 2025)).
• Naomi Schoenbaum, Rethinking Sex as Biology Under Equal Protection, (U.C. Davis Law Review (2024), Forthcoming).
• Samiul Hasan, European Colonization of the Abode of Peace: Engineered Insecurity in Muslim Majority Countries, (August 24, 2024).
• Sunil Sondhi, Hindu Law in Greater India Ancient Roots of Indigenous Law, (August 29, 2024).

Pregnancy Centers Sue California AG To Stop Enforcement of Business Fraud Statutes Against Them

Suit was filed last week in a California federal district court by a California anti-abortion pregnancy center and a Christian organization of pregnancy centers challenging the California attorney general's attempts to apply the state Business Fraud statutes to plaintiffs' promotion of abortion pill reversal. The 86-page complaint (full text) in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Bonta, (CD CA, filed 10/2/2024), alleges that the Attorney General's enforcement threats violate plaintiffs' free speech and free exercise rights, saying in part:

12. Plaintiffs here ... wish to truthfully inform the public that it may be possible to counteract the first abortion drug’s lethal effects if women change their minds and seek treatment within the first three days after taking it. 

13. Plaintiffs wish to say the same (and similar) things about APR that the other nonprofits have. But the Attorney General’s actions show that if they do, they may be subject to injunctions, civil penalties of up to $2,500 per “violation,” and potential jail time....

18. The Attorney General says he supports a woman’s right to choose whether to keep her pregnancy, yet he seeks to deprive a woman who changes her mind, or who was coerced or tricked into taking the first abortion drug, of truthful information about a safe and effective way to save her pregnancy. 

19. The Constitution protects Plaintiffs’ right to speak to the public and women about lawful medical treatments provided by licensed medical professionals.  

20. This action seeks to enjoin the Attorney General from targeting, chilling, and punishing Plaintiffs’ speech about APR and a declaration that his actions violate Plaintiffs’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to speak freely, to practice their religion, and to due process under the law.

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

Oklahoma Specs for Classroom Bibles Apparently Limited To 2 Versions Endorsed by Donald Trump [UPDATED]

As previously reported, last June the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction issued a Memo to all public-school superintendents in the state requiring them to incorporate the Bible into their schools' curriculum. On Wednesday, the Oklahoma State Department of Education issued a Request for Proposal for the purchase of 55,000 Bibles for Oklahoma classrooms. The RFP specified that bids must be for 

King James Version Bibles that contain The United States Pledge of Allegiance, The U.S. Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution, and The U.S. Bill of Rights documents.

The Oklahoman reported yesterday: 

A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education searched, and though they carry 2,900 Bibles, none fit the parameters. 

But one Bible fits perfectly: Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, endorsed by former President Donald Trump and commonly referred to as the Trump Bible. They cost $60 each online, with Trump receiving fees for his endorsement. 

Mardel doesn’t carry the God Bless the U.S.A. Bible or another Bible that could meet the specifications, the We The People Bible, which was also endorsed by Donald Trump Jr. It sells for $90.

According to The Hill, a spokesperson for the Superintendent of Public Instruction:

There are hundreds of Bible publishers and we expect a robust competition for this proposal.

UPDATE: On Nov. 7, the Oklahoma State Department of Education amended its RFP (Attachment A) to provide that the bibles covered by the bid may have the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights bound separately rather than bound together with the Bible. This presumably opens bidding to many additional publishers. It also extends the deadline for submitting bids. Los Angeles Times reports on the change.

Organization Did Not Show That Its Anti-Abortion Views Are Religious Beliefs

In Oregon Right to Life v. Stolfi, (D OR, Sept. 30, 2024), an Oregon federal district court refused to issue a preliminary injunction against Oregon's requiring Oregon Right to Life to cover abortion and certain contraceptives in its employee health plan. The organization asserted a 1st Amendment free exercise claim.  The court said in part:

... Plaintiff is not affiliated with any religious practice or institution and does not have any religious requirement for being an employee or director.  The “specific purpose” and “personal life perspectives” that Plaintiff’s directors are required to subscribe to is free of any religious elements, requiring only that they subscribe to a belief in the importance of human life and oppose abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and “life-destroying research.”  As noted, Plaintiff has over 25,000 members, who are not required to subscribe to any religious belief and are responsible for electing two members of Plaintiff’s board of directors.  Other than a fleeting reference to “Judeo-Christian ethics,” there is nothing in the articles of incorporation that would suggest any religious element in Plaintiff’s organization.   

There are many reasons why an individual or entity might oppose abortion and contraception, which range from deeply held religious conviction to the purely philosophical.  Plaintiff asserts in this litigation that its reasons, as an organization, are religious, but that assertion is not fully supported by the record.  It is not necessary for the Court, at this early stage of the case, to conclusively resolve whether Plaintiff’s beliefs are, in Plaintiff’s own scheme of things, religious.  But the Court’s review of Plaintiff’s organizational documents and requirements for membership, employment, and leadership cast doubt on whether Plaintiff’s opposition is genuinely religious in nature.  This doubt undermines Plaintiff’s showing of likely success on the merits.  

Defendant also challenges whether Plaintiff actually holds the beliefs professed in the Complaint.  As noted, a major aspect of Plaintiff’s objection the RHEA mandate is the provision of certain forms of contraception.  Plaintiff has maintained a health benefit plan through Providence Health Plans since 2015, years prior to the passage of the RHEA, and now objects that Providence Health Plans is not acceptable to them because it covers challenged forms of contraception.  The fact that Plaintiff maintained benefits through Providence Health Plans prior to the passage of the RHEA, despite its provisions concerning contraception, likewise casts doubt on Plaintiff’s claim.

Parents Must Be Given Right to Opt 1st Graders Out of Instruction on Transgender Issues

In a 94-page opinion in Tatel v. Mt. Lebanon School District, (WD PA, Sept. 30, 2024), a Pennsylvania federal district court held that a first-grade teacher violated parents' substantive due process and free exercise rights by introducing students to transgender issues without first giving parents the right to opt their children out of that instruction. The court said in part:

Concerns about undercutting parental authority are heightened when the children are in first grade and the person trying to influence them is their teacher.... The students’ confusion in this case illustrates how difficult it is for a first-grader when a teacher’s instruction conflicts with their Parents’ religious and moral beliefs. The heart of parental authority on matters of the greatest importance within their own family is undermined when a teacher tells first-graders their parents may be wrong about whether the student is a boy or a girl....

... Defendants failed to provide Tatel and Melton notice and the ability to opt their children out of Williams’ transgender agenda, even though Tatel’s and Melton’s objections to the instruction were based on their religious beliefs.  Defendants ratified the lack of parental notice and opt out rights, while providing parental notice and the ability to opt out for numerous other secular or religious reasons.... 

Defendants did not establish a compelling basis for refusing to provide notice and opt out rights for parents of first-graders affected by Williams’ transgender instruction.  ...

Refusing to allow notice and opt outs for religious and fundamental parental rights objections to transgender topics, i.e., forcing young children to be exposed to particular instruction over the objections of unwilling parents, while permitting notice and opt outs for other sensitive topics – is not neutral and constitutes an improper use of governmental authority....

Georgia's 6-Week Abortion Ban Declared Unconstitutional

In Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective v. State of Georgia, (GA Super. Ct., Sept. 30, 2024), a Georgia state trial court held unconstitutional under the state constitution Georgia's ban on abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected (usually around 6 weeks). The court said in part:

Before the LIFE Act, Georgia law required a woman to carry to term any fetus that was viable, that had become something that -- or more accurately someone who -- could survive independently of the woman.  That struck the proper balance between the woman’s right of “liberty of privacy” and the fetus’s right to life outside the womb.  Ending the pregnancy at that point would be ending a life that our community collectively can and would otherwise preserve; no one person should have the power to terminate that.  Pre-viability, however, the best intentions and desires of society do not control, as only the pregnant woman can fulfill that role of life support for those many weeks and months.  The question, then, is whether she should now be forced by the State via the LIFE Act to do so?  She should not.  Women are not some piece of collectively owned community property the disposition of which is decided by majority vote.  Forcing a woman to carry an unwanted, not-yet-viable fetus to term violates her constitutional rights to liberty and privacy, even taking into consideration whatever bundle of rights the not-yet-viable fetus may have....

For these women, the liberty of privacy means that they alone should choose whether they serve as human incubators for the five months leading up to viability.  It is not for a legislator, a judge, or a Commander from The Handmaid’s Tale to tell these women what to do with their bodies during this period when the fetus cannot survive outside the womb any more so than society could -- or should -- force them to serve as a human tissue bank or to give up a kidney for the benefit of another...

Anticipating the virtually certain appeal, the court went on to conclude that even if it is mistaken about the constitutionality of the 6-week ban, the exception for physical health emergencies, but not mental health ones, violates the equal protection clause of the Georgia constitution. It also found unconstitutional the provision of the act making health records of women obtaining abortions available to the district attorney. However, it held that if the 6-week ban is constitutional, the conditioning of the rape or incest ban on a police report having been filed is constitutional.  CNN reports on the decision.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Lael Daniel Weinberger, The Origins of Church Autonomy: Religious Liberty After Disestablishment, (August 22, 2024).
• Ahmer Bilal Soofi & Muhammad Masud, International Law and Maqasid Al-Shariah, (August 26, 2024).
• Queen Kivuva, Circumventing Secularism? Investigating Religious Intolerance in the Post Constitution 2010 Era, (August 08, 2024).
• Omar Farque, Islamic International Law ('Siyar') as a Source of International Law: An Overview of Its Role in the Development of Modern International Law, (Proceedings of the 4th NSRIC International Conference on Sustainable Education, Liberal Arts and Social Science (ICSELASS) 2024 held on April 25 – 26, 2024 in Toronto, Canada).
• Anas Jameel & Waseem Ahmed, The Dilemma of Indian Secularism (September 07, 2023).

From SmartCILP:

• Mell Chhoy, et. al., Freedom of Expressive Association and Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation, 25 Georgetown Journal of Gender & Law 545-568 (2024).
• Rob Hopkirk, Lindsay Sergi & Julia Sturges, Religious Exemptions, 25 Georgetown Journal of Gender & Law 941-972 (2024).
• Yehya Badr, Religion, Colonialism, and Legal Pluralism: The Story and Legacy of the Egyptian Choice of Law Rules for Personal Status and International and Interpersonal Conflicts of Law, [Abstract], 31 Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 1-60 (2024).
• Julian Velasco, A Catholic Defense of Corporate Law and Practice, 38 Notre Dame Journal of Law Ethics & Public Policy 1-38 (2024).
• Lucia A. Silecchia, A Critique of Guardianship Theory from the Perspective of Catholic Thought: The Tension between the Duty to Protect and Preservation of Legal Autonomy, 38 Notre Dame Journal of Law Ethics & Public Policy 87-128 (2024).

West Virginia Ban on Churches Incorporating Violates 1st Amendment

In Hope Community Church v. Warner, (ND WV, Sept. 26, 2024), a West Virginia federal district court held that the West Virginia constitutional provision that bars churches from incorporating is unconstitutional.  The court said in part:

Because Article VI, Section 47 of the West Virginia Constitution that reads, in part, “[n]o charter of incorporation shall be granted to any church or religious denomination,” the Court finds it is not neutral or generally applicable, and it does not further a compelling government interest. Furthermore, the Court holds this provision violates the Church’s First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion, which is applicable to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment.

[Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw for the lead.] 

9th Circuit En Banc Hears Fraud Claim Against LDS Church

On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sitting en banc heard oral arguments in Huntsman v. Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. (Video of full oral arguments.) In the case, James Huntsman, a prominent former member of the LDS Church who had contributed over $2.6 million to it, charged the Church with fraudulently misrepresenting the manner in which funds from tithes would be used. Huntsman says that the Church used tithed funds to finance a shopping mall and bail out of for-profit life insurance company after representing that the funds would not be used for commercial projects. A 3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit rejected the Church's claim that the suit was barred by the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine. (See prior posting.) Deseret News reports in detail on the oral arguments.

FBI Releases 2023 Hate Crime Statistics

Last Monday, the FBI released Hate Crime Statistics for the United States for 2023. A Department of Justice release summarizes the data, and a table released by the FBI shows greater detail. There were 11,862 hate crime incidents in total reported for the year, of which 22.5% (2699 incidents) were crimes motivated by religion. Of the religion-motivated crimes, 1,832 were anti-Jewish.  The next largest numbers motivated by one of the 11 specific religions reported were 236 anti-Muslim, 156 anti-Sikh and 77 anti-Catholic. The total number of hate crimes reported reflects a 2% rise from the 11,634 incidents reported for 2022. The number of religiously-motivated hate crimes reflects a 32% rise from the 2,042 incidents reported for 2022. Anti-Jewish hate crimes rose 63% from the 1,122 incidents reported in 2022. (See prior posting.)