Religion & Law

Cameras nixed at closing of Prop 8 trial

Posted on May 25, 2010
Washington Post: "Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued a notice Tuesday stating the final arguments scheduled for June 16 will not be transmitted beyond the San Francisco courthouse where he is hearing the case."

Utah Supreme Court to hear fight over electronic signatures

Posted on May 25, 2010
Deseret News: "An independent gubernatorial candidate from a small northern Utah town is taking on the state's No. 2 man in a battle over the validity of electronic signatures. Farley Anderson wants to see his name on the ballot come November, despite Lt...

Quietly, the Christian-Muslim killing continues in Nigeria

Posted on May 25, 2010
Christian Science Monitor: "Access to power and lucrative oil contacts are driving a rise in Christian-Muslim clashes and killings. Nigeria's heavy military presence is not enough to quell violence that plagues the No. 3 supplier of oil to the US."

UK: Let girls keep morning-after pill at home, says Govt body

Posted on May 25, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Teenage girls and young women should stockpile the morning-after pill at home, according to new draft guidance by the Government's health body . . . The draft guidance, issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), also recommends that teenagers should be able to get free condoms 'in a range of types and sizes'...

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PA: Student Sues School for Damages in Sexting Case

Posted on May 25, 2010
Wire: "A former Pennsylvania high school student has sued school and county officials for damages in a controversial sexting case. The student alleges a violation of her constitutional rights, in a civil suit filed last week that could serve as a cautionary tale to other officials considering punishing students over risque self-portraits ...

Ten Commandments monument to be repaired, returned to front of courthouse

Posted on May 25, 2010
Springfield News-Sun: "The Ten Commandments stone monument will be put back in front of the Clark County Common Pleas Court, officials said Tuesday, May 25 . . . A national organization, the Alliance Defense Fund, has volunteered to cover any litigation that may occur from putting the monument back...

Law Review: The Role of the United States Supreme Court in Interpreting and Developing Humanitarian Law

Posted on May 25, 2010
David Weissbrodt and Nathaniel H. Nesbitt, The Role of the United States Supreme Court in Interpreting and Developing Humanitarian Law (February 9, 2010). Minnesota Law Review, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1615224 "In the absence of a single authoritative mechanism to interpret humanitarian law, a number of treaty bodies, national courts, regional human rights courts/commissions, international tribunals, and thematic mechanisms have been called upon to address humanitarian law issues...

Georgia Governor signs new law ensuring equality in kosher food labeling

Posted on May 25, 2010
ACLU: "Governor Sonny Purdue signed into law a bill repealing the unconstitutional Kosher Food Labeling Act and replacing it with a new law mandating that consumers be fully informed about the standards under which any kosher food product is certified as being kosher...

David French: School choice back in the Supreme Court

Posted on May 25, 2010
ADF Attorney David French writing at Phi Beta Cons: "Eight years after the Supreme Court ruled that Cleveland, Ohio?s school-voucher program was constitutional even when parents used vouchers to directly pay tuition at private, religious schools, the constitutionality of school choice is back before the Supreme Court, this time with a twist ...

How Senate Republican contenders stack up against Boxer ? abortion and more

Posted on May 24, 2010
Mercury News: "Sen. Barbara Boxer, a polarizing Democrat whose approval ratings rarely have topped 50 percent even in the best of times. But if the opportunity appears ripe for a Republican takeover of a seat Boxer has held for almost two decades, less clear is which GOP candidate has the best chance of pulling it off...

Salt Lake County to get its first ?openly gay? councilman?

Posted on May 24, 2010
Salt Lake Tribune: "The primary race between Cal Noyce and Arlyn Bradshaw is believed to be the first contest between two openly gay candidates in an election in Utah. And, based on District 1's voting history, one of the two will likely win the November election and take his place on the council early next year...

NY: ?Andrew Cuomo?s marriage equality battle cry?

Posted on May 24, 2010
Room Eight New York Politics: "Now comes a burst of fresh energy from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo who in his battle cry online campaign kick-off announcement chose marriage equality as one of the select issues of his candidacy bringing hope to civil rights proponents across the state and nationally...

Naples, Fla. Planned Parenthood patient transported to hospital

Posted on May 24, 2010
NaplesNews.com: "The ambulance arrived at 12:50 p.m. and left with a patient on board a few minutes later, while a dozen abortion opponents were protesting on the sidewalk nearby . . . "

Iowa: Fate of abortion and marriage depend on November election

Posted on May 24, 2010
"The November election will offer voters a stark choice on volatile social issues such as gay marriage and abortion, two legislative leaders agreed Friday . . . "

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry Vetoes Pro-Life Bill for Better Abortion Reporting

Posted on May 24, 2010
LifeNews: "The Senate voted 32-11 to approve House Bill 3284, dubbed the 'Statistical Abortion Reporting Act' and the House approved it on an equally lopsided 88-8 margin. HB 3284 provides for the reporting of abortions performed in Oklahoma, the reasons abortions are sought, and the complications that result ...

Iowa: Three candidates who want to be Governor talk about same-sex adoptions

Posted on May 24, 2010
WhoTV.com: "With the primary just about two weeks away, the men who want to take Governor Culver's job disagree about whether same sex couples should be able to adopt children . . . "

Prop. 8 defenders oppose televising closing arguments in historic trial

Posted on May 24, 2010
Mercury News: "Defenders of California's ban on same-sex marriage today urged a federal judge to reject a request to broadcast the final stage of the historic trial involving the legal challenge to Proposition 8 . . . "

Freedom of Speech vs. Workplace Harassment Law ? A Big Free Speech Win in the Ninth Circuit

Posted on May 24, 2010
Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: "I?ve long written about how workplace harassment law sometimes violates the First Amendment, so I was especially pleased to see today?s Rodriguez v. Maricopa County Community College Dist. (9th Cir.) (written by Chief Judge Kozinski, and joined by retired Justice O?Connor, sitting by designation, and Judge Sandra Ikuta) ...

Safety of women in Catholic hospitals questioned by top bioethicist

Posted on May 24, 2010
Irish Central: "A leading bioethicist has asked if women are safe in Catholic hospitals after an Irish nun was excommunicated for approving an abortion to save the life of a mother." | Resources: Statements from the Diocese of Phoenix and St. Joseph's | Info page from The Catholic Sun | Diocesan Q&A on the case | Related: Phoenix Catholic hospital defends abortion that took place there; bishop warns of excommunication | Phoenix Bishop Says Nun is Automatically Excommunicated for Rubberstamping Hospital Abortion

Seminar: An international ?pushback? against assisted suicide

Posted on May 24, 2010
Archdiocese of Seattle: "The Assisted Suicide U.S./Canadian ?Push Back? Seminar will be held Saturday, June 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel near Sea-Tac Airport, 18118 International Blvd., Seattle. The seminar is aimed at sharing information and developing strategies for effectively responding to the legalization of assisted suicide in Washington state and Oregon and preventing the spread of legalized assisted suicide to other areas ...

Casey Mattox: Some schools are NOT waiting on CLS v Martinez

Posted on May 24, 2010
ADF Attorney Casey Mattox writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "The litigation in CLS v. Walker, for example, terminated with a settlement agreement whereby Southern Illinois University agreed to exempt religious organizations from its religion nondiscrimination requirement and agreed that CLS?s nonmarital sexual conduct policies are not 'sexual orientation' discrimination...

CT: Enfield church graduation battle heads to federal court

Posted on May 24, 2010
NBC Connecticut: "Earlier this month, the ACLU filed suit over the Enfield public schools holding high school graduation in a Christian church. The two sides sat down last week for mediation, but couldn't agree, so today they head to federal court in Bridgeport on Monday...

Gallup: 44% of Americans favor legal recognition of same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on May 24, 2010
Gallup: "Opponents of legalizing same-sex marriage continue to outnumber supporters in the United States, by 53% to 44%. However, opposition is now tied for the lowest Gallup has measured. Support was slightly higher, at 46%, in 2007."

Why sharia is incompatible with Western law

Posted on May 24, 2010
David P. Goldman ("Spengler") writing at Asia Times Online: "More than the Koran's sanction of wife-beating, the legal grounds on which the Koran sanctions it reveals an impassable gulf between Islamic and Western law. The sovereign grants inalienable rights to every individual in Western society, of which protection from violence is foremost...

Mosque pray-ins against segregation of sexes are springing up

Posted on May 24, 2010
Washington Post: "For weeks, they had planned for this moment, to stand behind the men in the main prayer hall of the Falls Church mosque as an act of protest. Usually, women at the mosque pray in segregated spaces away from the men, but these women, who came from outside the Dar al-Hijrah community, wanted to make a point...

Oklahoma Attorney General Nominee Vows to Sue U.S. Over Illegal Immigration

Posted on May 24, 2010
FoxNews: "Former state Sen. Scott Pruitt -- a candidate for Oklahoma attorney general -- plans to announce on Thursday that, if elected, he will sue the federal government for all expenses his state incurs as a result of illegal immigration, Fox News has learned ...

Patriarch Kirill: Russian Church doesn?t strive to become the Church of state

Posted on May 24, 2010
Interfax: "'The Russian Orthodox Church doesn't strive to gain the state status ? the Church is separated from the state, but is not separated from the society. The Church can't decline responsibility for spiritual condition of the nation including its governing layers,' the Patriarch said in his interview to the Vima Greek newspaper posted by the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations...

Indonesia: Islamic authorities shut down church

Posted on May 24, 2010
Spero News: "Bogor authorities (West Java province) ordered the closure of a local church building that belongs to Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI), a Christian group also known as Gereja Kristen Yasmin Bogor. This has outraged hundreds of faithful and induced the Indonesian Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to file an official protest...

Britain to supply contraceptives to Ugandan women

Posted on May 24, 2010
Charities Aid Foundation: "Britain is to provide contraceptives to help avoid unwanted pregnancies in Uganda, International Development Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell has announced."

UK: 11-year-olds set to debate rape, prostitution and porn

Posted on May 24, 2010
Christian Institute: "School children as young as eleven could be given lessons about rape, prostitution and pornography, but critics have warned that the lessons are 'too explicit' for youngsters."

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