Religion & Law

Ireland: Under-fire Civil Partnership Bill clears committee stage

Posted on June 03, 2010
The Christian Institute: "The controversial Irish Civil Partnership Bill has passed its committee stage and could become law before October. Churchgoers are concerned about the Bill, which contains a prison sentence of up to six months and a fine of up to ?2,000 for those who fall foul of it...

NY to begin conducting same-sex civil ceremonies Thursday

Posted on June 03, 2010
CNN: "The city clerk's office in New York will begin conducting domestic partnership ceremonies for gay couples starting Thursday." | Related: ?New York City clerk?s offices will soon conduct civil ceremonies for gay couples?

Catholic Seton Hall University considers same-sex ?marriage? course

Posted on June 03, 2010
The Trentonian (AP): "Officials will consider whether a Catholic university in New Jersey should offer a course on gay marriage. Seton Hall University's Mission and Identity Committee will meet behind closed doors on the South Orange campus Thursday. It's not clear how long it will take to make a recommendation...

Malta: ?Parliamentary committee discusses gay rights?

Posted on June 03, 2010
Times of Malta: "What happens in the bedroom is, up to a point, the government's business, because it often had to solve problems caused there, the chairman of the House Social Affairs Committee, Edwin Vassallo said . . . One of the major topics was the issue of homosexual couples and children...

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UK: Catholic schools advised against opt-out plan

Posted on June 03, 2010
The Catholic Herald: "The Catholic Education Service (CES) has warned Catholic schools against taking up Government proposals to become academies. Reacting to the publication of the Academies Bill, Oona Stannard, the CES?s chief executive and director, said the proposals could jeopardise a school?s Catholicity...

MA: State Senate bill proposes 3 casinos, excludes slots at racetracks

Posted on June 03, 2010
Boston Globe: "State Senate leaders, setting up a clash with their House counterparts, said today that they will propose that Massachusetts license three casinos in three regions of the state but no slot machines at the state?s four ailing racetracks...

David Hacker: Student activity fee referenda: when the democratic process violates the First Amendment

Posted on June 03, 2010
ADF Attorney David J. Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "Today, I examine the constitutional implications of melding student fee allocation with the democratic process: the student fee referendum . . . The Supreme Court has ruled that as a condition for requiring students to pay a student fee that funds disagreeable speech, universities must allocate the fees on a viewpoint neutral basis...

Catholic bishop murdered by his assistant in Turkey

Posted on June 03, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "Bishop Luigi Padovese, Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia, was reportedly stabbed to death in Iskendurun, Turkey on Thursday by his driver, who also served as his aide." | Vatican Radio

?Transgender women go topless at Delaware beach?

Posted on June 03, 2010
Associated Press: "Police say passers-by complained after they removed their tops and revealed their surgically enhanced breasts over Memorial Day weekend. A lifeguard asked them to put their tops back on. They initially refused, but covered up before police arrived...

Mexico opens California office to provide ID for illegals

Posted on June 03, 2010
Washington Examiner: "The Mexican consular office in Los Angeles issued a flier, a copy of which was obtained by The Examiner, listing the Catalina Island Country Club as the location of its satellite office. It invites Mexicans to visit the office to obtain the identification, called matricular cards, by appointment...

Two thirds of Americans cannot name even one Supreme Court Justice

Posted on June 03, 2010
Ilya Somin writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "A recent poll conducted by Findlaw shows that two thirds of Americans cannot name even one Supreme Court justice."

Sessions seeks military recruiting records from Harvard, where Supreme Court nominee Kagan worked

Posted on June 03, 2010
Press-Register: "Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, is asking the Defense Department to turn over records related to military recruitment at Harvard Law School, where U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan both taught and served as dean."

GAO says millions of dollars are wasted on federal courthouses that are too big

Posted on June 03, 2010
Washington Post: "The Government Accountability Office revealed last week that 27 of the 33 federal courthouses built by the General Services Administration since 2000 contain about 3.6 million square feet of extra space -- or 28 percent of the total federal court space built in the last decade...

?David Souter vs. the Antonin Scalias?

Posted on June 03, 2010
E.J. Dionne Jr. writing in the Washington Post: "In a remarkable speech that received far too little attention, former Supreme Court justice David Souter took direct aim at the conservatives' favorite theory of judging. Souter's verdict: It 'has only a tenuous connection to reality...

?Elena Kagan in private practice (and her First Amendment experience)?

Posted on June 03, 2010
New York Personal Injury Law Blog: "And it turns out, while at the BigLaw firm of Williams & Connolly between 1989 and 1991, Kagan actually did some First Amendment work that was interesting. In fact, of the 10 'most significant litigated matters which you personally handled' that the the Senate Judiciary Committee asked her to list, five had to do with the First Amendment...

Archbishop for the Military Services USA on proposed DADT repeal

Posted on June 03, 2010
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services USA, June 1, 2010 statement regarding the potential repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": "The effect of a repeal of the current legislation has the potential of being enormous and overwhelming...

Supreme Court reins in Miranda rules in case from Southfield

Posted on June 03, 2010
Detroit Free Press: "In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that if a suspect has been read and understands his or her Miranda rights, police can interrogate him or her indefinitely, unless the suspect tells them outright that he or she is not talking to them ...

Russia: Orthodox taxis drive a fine line

Posted on June 03, 2010
The Moscow Times: "Moskovskaya Troika, the company [Nikolai Maslov] launched just two months ago, has already built a dedicated following among the city's Russian Orthodox. Its drivers are all devout believers, who are more likely to share a prayer than rant about traffic or the weather ...

Challenge to agreement for church tent city dismissed as untimely

Posted on June 03, 2010
Religion Clause: "In Mercer Island Citizens for Fair Process v. Tent City 4, (WA App., June 1, 2010), a Washington state appellate court dismissed as untimely challenges to a decision by the Mercer Island City Council to to enter a Temporary Use Agreement permitting the Mercer Island United Methodist Church to host a temporary encampment for the homeless in 2008...

Jeff Ventrella on the Hugh Hewitt Show: Blackstone Legal Fellowship

Posted on June 03, 2010
ADF attorney Jeffery J. Ventrella appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the Blackstone Legal Fellowship. | MP3 - 7:37 mins

Alaska voters will get to vote on parental notification before abortion measure

Posted on June 03, 2010
LifeNews: "The Alaska Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a trial court?s finding that petitions for a parental notification initiative do not contain confusing and misleading language and are therefore valid . . . Kevin Clarkson, an attorney affiliated with the pro-life legal group Alliance Defense Fund successfully argued against Planned Parenthood?s claims on behalf of the Alaska Family Council, the primary supporter of the initiative...

Despite court ruling, crucifixes in Italian classrooms may still have a prayer

Posted on June 03, 2010
CNSNews: "Last Thursday, the Grand Chamber of the [European Court of Human Rights] granted a request by the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund to intervene as a third party on behalf of the MEPs -- from 11 different countries -- who say the court?s decision is 'defective for a variety of reasons...

Alaska Supreme Court upholds petitions for parental notification initiative

Posted on June 03, 2010
"The decision means that the measure, which would require parents to be notified if their minor daughter seeks an abortion, will go on the ballot for voter approval during the Aug. 24 primary."

George F. Will: The danger of a government with unlimited power

Posted on June 03, 2010
"[O]ur choice is between government restraint rooted in respect for nature, or government free to follow History wherever government says History marches."

Patrick Lee and Robert George: Confused on fertilization

Posted on June 03, 2010
National Review Online: "Fertilization in humans and other mammals produces a new member of the species in the embryonic stage of its natural development. That is to say, the entity produced by the union of spermatozoon and oocyte is a complete, though developmentally immature, organism ...

?Christian group seeks to fight gay marriage suit?

Posted on June 03, 2010
Pioneer Press (AP): "The [Minnesota Family Council] is represented by Alliance Defense Fund attorney [Jordan Lorence], who frequently represents conservative Christian groups around the country in gay rights cases. He's filing the request Thursday."

Abortion foes advance cause at state level

Posted on June 03, 2010
New York Times: "At least 11 states have passed laws this year regulating or restricting abortion, giving opponents of abortion what partisans on both sides of the issue say is an unusually high number of victories. In four additional states, bills have passed at least one house of the legislature...

?Family Council pulls in Dobson group to stop gay marriage suit?

Posted on June 03, 2010
Minnesota Independent: "In response to a lawsuit filed in Hennepin County last month challenging Minnesota?s ban on same-sex marriage, the Minnesota Family Council is bringing in the Alliance Defense Fund, an evangelical legal group founded by James Dobson ...

Tinseltown?s war on Christianity

Posted on June 03, 2010
Washington Times: "Anti-Christian bigotry is rearing its ugly head again. Comedy Central is developing a new animated series called 'JC.' Its premise is that Jesus Christ, alienated from his aloof and bored father, God, goes to New York City and has adventures in the Big Apple...

Documents show Kagan?s liberal opinion on social issues

Posted on June 03, 2010
CBS: "[I]n documents obtained by CBS News, Kagan--while working as a law clerk to the late Justice Thurgood Marshall - made her positions clear on some of the nation's most contentious social issues."

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