Religion & Law

Singapore Welcomes Foreign Lawyers, Grants 6 Law Firm Licenses

Posted on December 05, 2008
The ABA Journal: “Catching up to other Asian markets that have invited foreign lawyers to practice locally, Singapore is opening its doors to the legal profession by issuing licenses to practice to six Western law firms . . . “ Visit Site » Share This

Christmas trees are too Christian for UNC libraries

Posted on December 05, 2008
". . . Aside from the fact that a UNC Chapel Hill library is a public facility . . . Displaying one particular religion's symbols is antithetical to that philosophy," [the assoc. library provost] said.

Prop. 8 litigation: amendment or revision

Posted on December 05, 2008
Findlaw has posted this second commentary by David Vikram Amar and Alan Brownstein that discusses the issues involved in the Prop. 8 litigation at the California Supreme Court. It indicates:  . . . An amendment can be placed on the state ballot simply by gathering the requisite number of signatures (as was done for Proposition 8)...

Seattle Times: Truce in the war on Christmas

Posted on December 05, 2008
The Seattle Times has posted this editorial that discusses the uproar over the atheists’ sign next to a nativity display in the state capitol. The editorial states: “The pluralism of the holiday display might be a little unruly, but it is a reasonable alternative to stripping from government buildings any reference to these holidays that [...

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Minn. Senate recount nears end: Coleman leads

Posted on December 05, 2008
Reuters: ”A recount in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken lurched toward an inconclusive end on Friday with Coleman leading by 251 votes out of more than 2.4 million ballots cast...

Researchers Dismissing Abortion-Depression Link Funded by Planned Parenthood

Posted on December 05, 2008
LifeNews.com reports: “The results of a new study from a Johns Hopkins University research team claming that there is no link between abortions and mental health problems for women should come as no surprise. The authors of the study, which the mainstream media touted Thursday, are bankrolled by Planned Parenthood ...

Kan. court orders abortion records returned to AG

Posted on December 05, 2008
"The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday ordered a former state attorney general to turn over copies of abortion patients' medical records to his former office and suggested the abortion-rights foe should be disciplined for his conduct surrounding the documents ...

Illinois federal court rules 2nd Amendment is not incorporated against the states, now to the 7th Circuit

Posted on December 05, 2008
Eugene Volokh has this post on the Volokh Conspiracy discussing a recent district court opinion that holds that the 2nd Amendment is not incorporated against the states as per some very old 7th Circuit precedent.  The 7th Circuit may now have opportunity to review...

Florida: Jeb Bush?s bid for Senate could clear GOP field

Posted on December 05, 2008
The AP reports: “Still popular in Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that he’s interested in the seat Sen. Mel Martinez is giving up, and the field of possible candidates could quickly narrow to make way for the president’s younger brother ...

Russian Orthodox Church Leader Dies

Posted on December 05, 2008
Voice of America: The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexei II, has died at the age of 79, ending a long church career in which he maintained close ties with the Kremlin and the Russian state . . .  Pribilovsky said Alexei, who often supported the Kremlin’s foreign policy, considered church subordination to the state a [...

Judicial review and expanded judicial power

Posted on December 05, 2008
Jim Lindgren writing on the Volokh Conspiracy: “In my third selection from the introduction of Philip Hamburger?s Law and Judicial Duty, Hamburger suggests that misunderstandings of the history of judicial review tend to lead to a more expansive view of judicial power...

NY Senate: Details of a leadership deal, no vote on marriage redefinition

Posted on December 05, 2008
The New York Daily News has this post indicating: “A bill to legalize same-sex marriage will not be brought to the floor of the Senate for a vote this year. Smith will announce that he does not believe the measure has sufficient votes to pass - a statement that is at this point undoubtedly true, [...

9th Circuit denies en banc review of ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell?

Posted on December 05, 2008
"The panel did not actually hold DADT unconstitutional but announced a heightened scrutiny standard applicable to the policy based on the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas . . . Now the Ninth Circuit has refused to hear the case en banc, with six judges dissenting ...

Alan Keyes: On the Obama citizenship question

Posted on December 05, 2008
Alan Keyes has this commentary in WorldNetDaily discussing the Obama citizenship litigation which he has recently joined.  Visit Site » Share This

UK: Teenager banned from wearing Christian chastity ring at school

Posted on December 05, 2008
The Daily Mail reports: “The item of jewellery owned by Kioni Lansbury represents her intention to stay a virgin until she marries. But her school has deemed it potentially dangerous and against uniform rules.” Visit Site » Share This

Judicial Watch files complaint: Clinton can?t serve as secretary of state

Posted on December 05, 2008
The Washington Times:  Judicial Watch on Tuesday filed a complaint charging Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is constitutionally ineligible to serve as secretary of state because of an obscure clause that no member of Congress can be appointed to an office that received a salary increase during the time the member was serving...

European Court of Human Rights Upholds French Limit on Head Scarves In Schools

Posted on December 05, 2008
The Religion Clause Blog reports: “In Dogru v. France, (ECHR, Dec. 4, 2008) [in English, Word.doc] and Kervanci v. France, (ECHR, Dec. 4, 2008) [in French, Word.doc], the European Court of Human Rights upheld French restrictions on Muslim girls wearing Islamic head scarves in their physical education classes ...

NY Appellate Court: Civil Courts Can Require Inspection of Church Records

Posted on December 05, 2008
The Religion Clause Blog reports: “In Tae Hwa Yoon v New York Hahn Wolee Church, Inc., (NY App. Div., Nov. 25, 2008), a New York state appellate court reversed the dismissal of one claim in a lawsuit against a Yonkers (NY) church, its pastor and several of its trustees ...

Irish Broadcasting Commission Rejects Christmas Ads From Catholic Bishops

Posted on December 05, 2008
Religion Clause Blog reports: “The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) General Advertising Code, Sec. 9, as well as Section 10(e) of Ireland’s Radio and Television Act of 1988 and Section 65 of the Broadcasting Act 2001, ban the broadcast in Ireland of ads ‘directed towards a religious end...

The Young and the Restless: Why Infidelity Is Rising Among 20-Somethings

Posted on December 05, 2008
Naomi Schaefer Riley writing in The Wall Street Journal:  In 2006, about 19% of married men and 13% of married women under the age of 30 said that they had been unfaithful to their spouse. Do those numbers sound high? They certainly are if we compare them with the results of a survey 15 years before, when [...

FRC: ?John Hopkins Study: A Study in Pro Abortion Bias?

Posted on December 05, 2008
FRC Washington Update (Dec. 4):  Now weeks away from the dawning of the Obama Administration, the parade of junk science has begun in hopes of substantiating the new President’s anti-life agenda. In a new study sure to capture the Left’s attention, a research team at Johns Hopkins is attempting to persuade policymakers that abortion does not [...

Cornell Tops in N.Y. Bar Exam Pass Rate; State Average Hits High

Posted on December 05, 2008
New York Law Journal: “Ninety-nine percent of Cornell Law School graduates passed on their first attempt at the New York state bar examination in July, placing it first among the state’s 15 law schools, which together tallied a historically high 91 percent average pass rate ...

NC: County costs in prayer lawsuit studied

Posted on December 05, 2008
County commissioners debated yesterday costs that the county is incurring to defend its public-prayer policies in federal court, and signs mounted that the county might re-examine its role in the case . .

One Year Later, Still No Word from Ninth Circuit on Legality of National Motto, Pledge of Allegiance

Posted on December 05, 2008
The Pacific Justice Institute reports:  A year after lawsuits against the Pledge of Allegiance and national motto were argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the fate of both cases still hangs in the balance . . .  With no time limits on its decision-making process, the Ninth Circuit stands in contrast to both the U...

Oklahoma court rules against lesbian in homosexual divorce case

Posted on December 05, 2008
The Tulsa Beacon reports:  An effort by two lesbian women to overturn Oklahoma?s legal ban on homosexual marriage has been denied for a second time in a Tulsa courtroom . . .  ?The government cannot issue a divorce for a ?marriage? it doesn?t recognize,? said Austin R...

2nd Circuit: ADF argues against Vermont?s ?John316? license plates ban

Posted on December 05, 2008
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys Jeremy Tedesco and David Cortman will be available for media interviews following Tedesco?s oral arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit Monday in Byrne v. Rutledge. ADF attorneys filed suit against Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles officials, arguing that they unconstitutionally denied a man?s application for a specialty plate because of its religious reference.

Washington State: Gregoire phones ringing after FOX attack on holiday displays

Posted on December 04, 2008
The Olympian reports: “The phone lines were lit up over at the state Department of General Administration and the Governor’s Office today. Blame Bill O’Reilly, the FOX News commentator who has declared war on what he thinks is a cultural war against Christmas...

Connectictu: Commission to discuss concerns about adult businesses

Posted on December 04, 2008
Simsbury Post: The town Zoning Commission will discuss a possible moratorium on zoning applications for adult businesses during a public hearing at the Town Hall on Jan. 5, 2009. The commission scheduled the hearing during a meeting on Nov. 17. The Board of Selectmen also discussed the issue during its meeting on Nov...

Indiana: Strip club doesn?t meet New Albany city ordinance

Posted on December 04, 2008
The News and Tribune: New Albany City Councilman Dan Coffey didn?t learn a strip club opened in his district until he received a phone call from one of his constituents last week . . . City Attorney Shane Gibson does know about it, but said the standing ordinance would likely fail in court if the [...

Bill Targets Religious Discrimination in Okla. Schools

Posted on December 04, 2008
AP: The first House bill filed for the 2009 legislative session seeks to clarify where the line is drawn on allowing religion in public schools, but opponents say the bill is an ideologically driven measure that will create more problems than solutions...

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