Religion & Law

USCIRF Issues New Report on Religious Freedom In Iraq

Posted on December 17, 2008
The Religion Clause Blog reports: #8220;The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today issued a report on religious freedom concerns in Iraq, and (over the dissent of four commissioners) recommended that Iraq be designated as a #8220;country of particular concern#8221; under the International Religious Freedom Act...

ACLU wants apology for teen who wore Prop. 8 shirt

Posted on December 17, 2008
The Mercury News: #8220;The American Civil Liberties Union says Big Bear High School leaders shouldn#8217;t have banned a student#8217;s #8216;Prop. 8 Equals Hate#8217; T-shirt.#8221; Visit Site #187; Share Thisimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/alliancealert/~4/487919528" height="1" width="1"/

Michael Medved: Christmas Symbols Deserve More Respect Than Atheist Insults

Posted on December 17, 2008
Michael Medved has this commentary on Townhall. He writes: The ludicrous battle over holiday displays at the Washington State Capitol reflects current confusion over coexistence of the nation#8217;s Christian heritage and its Constitutional restrictions on religious establishment...

?Gay, lesbian, bisexual teens at higher pregnancy risk than straight peers?

Posted on December 17, 2008
The Canadian Press reports: Lesbian, gay and bisexual teens in British Columbia are at a higher risk of becoming pregnant or causing a pregnancy than their heterosexual peers, says a study released Tuesday . . . [Elizabeth] Saewyc is an associate professor in the school of nursing at the University of British Columbia and research director of [...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

N.Y. Adopts New Conduct Rules Aligned With ABA Model, includes pro bono

Posted on December 17, 2008
The New York Law Journal reports: Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and the four presiding Appellate Division justices have formally adopted a new set of attorney ethics rules that proponents say brings New York lawyers in line with their counterparts in most of the rest of the country...

Bush-Era Abortion Rules Face Possible Reversal

Posted on December 17, 2008
The Wall Street Journal reports: The outgoing Bush administration this week will finalize a regulation establishing a #8220;right of conscience#8221; allowing medical staff to refuse to participate in any practice they object to on moral grounds, including abortion but possibly birth control and other health care as well...

RI: Candidates queuing up for chief justice post

Posted on December 17, 2008
The Providence Journal: The process of selecting the next chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court officially kicked off yesterday with a letter from Governor Carcieri to the head of the commission that will select nominees for the high-powered position ...

Advisers to unemployed can?t have official bios with Bible verses

Posted on December 17, 2008
David Hudson, Jr. has this commentary on the First Amendment Center. He writes: Two advocates who assist employees in Michigan with unemployment benefits did not have a First Amendment right to have religious messages included in their biographies with a state agency, the 6th U...

Muslim?s scarf leads to arrest at courthouse

Posted on December 17, 2008
The Atlanta Journal Constitution: A Douglasville woman was jailed Tuesday after a judge found her in contempt of court for refusing to remove her hijab, the head covering worn by Muslim women. Lisa Valentine, also known by her Islamic name, Miedah, 40, was arrested at the Douglasville Municipal Court for violating a court policy of no [...

Alan Sears: Free speech beats censorship

Posted on December 17, 2008
As Shakespeare said, "Truth will out." It's that confidence that separates Christians from those who seem compelled by their philosophical insecurities to drive any reverence for God from the public square.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/alliancealert/~4/487796654" height="1" width="1"/

The irrational faith of the naked public square

Posted on December 17, 2008
There is a peculiar separation of religion and public policy that many, including some Christians, believe we are required to maintain. And such a separation can be made to sound speciously plausible.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/alliancealert/~4/487766143" height="1" width="1"/

Protecting and Strengthening Religious Freedom: A Memo to President-elect Obama

Posted on December 17, 2008
To say that men and women should not inject their "personal morality" into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.img src="http://feeds...

?The Changing Faces of Women?s Colleges: Striking a balance between transgender rights and women?s colleges? right to exclude?

Posted on December 17, 2008
First, I will provide a brief foundation for the discussion of transgender identities, including introducing the transgender lexicon. I will then discuss the interest of women's colleges in maintaining a single-sex tradition and the Supreme Court cases that help define these colleges' right to exclude based on sex...

?Mandatory ultrasound and the path to a protected choice?

Posted on December 17, 2008
This Article explores how visual politics has combined with visual technology, and how law has seized upon both in a campaign to encourage women to choose against abortion.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/alliancealert/~4/487931139" height="1" width="1"/

Freedom to Err: The idea of natural selection in politics, schools, and courts

Posted on December 17, 2008
Especially questionable is the wisdom of elite federal courts acting on the advice of such eminent biologists to invoke the Constitution of the United States to suppress minor scientific heresies uttered in the education of adolescents by their parents or their parents' surrogates...

Financial recruiters target LGBT students

Posted on December 16, 2008
This event hosted by Bain and Bridgespan was just one in a series of efforts from a variety of firms across the country to target LGBT students interested in a future in finance.

South African police arrest trafficking kingpin

Posted on December 16, 2008
Police made a breakthrough in the fight against prostitution and human trafficking when a man believed to be the kingpin of a national syndicate was arrested in Port Elizabeth.

Indonesia: Domestic handling of trafficking still weak

Posted on December 16, 2008
Justice and Human Rights Ministry Andi Matalatta acknowledged Tuesday that local infrastructure was weak in handling human trafficking.

Army National Guard opens doors to home schoolers

Posted on December 16, 2008
In March of 2008, Senior Counsel Chris Klicka of the Home School Legal Defense Association, along with Will Estrada and Jeremiah Lorrig of HSLDA?s Federal Relations Department, met with Col. Mike Jones, head of all recruitment for the Army National Guard across the country...

IA: Same-sex ?marriage? resolution on hold in Sioux City

Posted on December 16, 2008
Elected leaders in Sioux City, on a split vote Monday, delayed action on a controversial proposal to publicly oppose gay marriage.

Archbishop of Canterbury?s Christmas message

Posted on December 16, 2008
Hence the reverence which as Christians we ought to show to human beings in every condition, at every stage of existence. This is why we cannot regard unborn children as less than members of the human family, why those with disabilities or deprivations have no less claim upon us than anyone else, why we try to makes loving sense of human life even when it is near its end and we can hardly see any signs left of freedom or thought.

Teacher?s Union chief pushes preschool for three-year-olds

Posted on December 16, 2008
Children as young as three years old should be in public pre-school programs, according to Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation?s largest teacher?s union.

Vietnamese officials reaffirm plans to demolish Catholic monastery

Posted on December 16, 2008
Repeating a government tactic used in disputes with Vietnamese Catholics seeking the return of confiscated property, the People's Committee of Vinh Long on Friday announced that it will demolish the city?s St. Paul Monastery to build a public park.

?Separation of Church and State is a sign of progress and freedom, explains Pope?

Posted on December 16, 2008
In his visit on Saturday morning to the Italian Embassy to the Holy See, Pope Benedict XVI noted that not only does the Church see the distinction between Church and State as important, but she considers it to be a ?great progress for humanity.?

Another Indiana Planned Parenthood covers up statutory rape of 13-Year-Old

Posted on December 16, 2008
Undercover footage from a second Indiana Planned Parenthood clinic shows an emerging pattern of abuse, as more clinic counselors evade their legal responsibility to report the statutory rape of young girls.

?7th Circuit: Muslim lawyer?s discrimination claim should go to trial?

Posted on December 16, 2008
Zafar Hasan, a Muslim of Indian descent, claims that, post-9/11, he was fired from Foley & Lardner because of his religion, race, national origin and color. The district court granted the firm?s motion for summary judgment. Today, a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit reversed...

So Long, Santa

Posted on December 16, 2008
A Christian cannot but be amused by the earnestness with which signs of his religion are zealously hounded from the public square.

President hosts White House Hanukkah reception

Posted on December 16, 2008
Yesterday evening, President Bush hosted his annual Hanukkah reception in the Grand Foyer of the White House.

David French: Public universities ignore speech violations

Posted on December 16, 2008
Every year, FIRE releases its invaluable speech-code report, and every year the university establishment greets it with stony silence.

Nude photos: A new way for young people to flirt?

Posted on December 16, 2008
About a third of young adults 20 to 26 and 20 percent of teens say they've sent or posted naked or semi-naked photos or videos of themselves, mostly to be "fun or flirtatious," finds a new survey.

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.