Religion & Law

Eric Holder tells religious leaders burning korans is ?dangerous?

Posted on September 08, 2010
ABC: "Attorney General Eric Holder said in a private meeting with religious leaders Tuesday that a Florida pastor's plan to burn Korans was 'idiotic and dangerous' . . . Holder met with the interfaith leaders to discuss the Justice Department's commitment to preventing and prosecuting hate crimes, department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement released after the meeting...

Law clerk ideology and the principal-agent problem

Posted on September 08, 2010
Orin Kerr writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "I think the ideology of law clerks roughly matches that of the Justices because the Justices are trying to solve the principal-agent problem . . . Supreme Court Justices solve the principal/agent problem by tending to hire law clerks who generally agree with their bosses? views of the law...

UN treaty used to threaten homeschool families in Botswana

Posted on September 08, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "This week the fate of four homeschooling families will be decided in Botswana, reports the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). The families, adherents to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, have been ordered by a judge to send their children to public school...

TX: Catholic college rejects homosexualist group for nonprofit fair

Posted on September 08, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The student newspaper Hilltop Views reported last week that Equality Texas, a local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) advocacy group, had applied to recruit students at the Internship Fair for the coming school year, but was denied ...

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CT: Hartford City Council welcomes opening Muslim prayer

Posted on September 08, 2010
Jeannie DeAngelis writing at American Thinker: "Although Hartford City Council meetings 'don't regularly begin with any form of prayer,' the Common Council has decided to act on behalf of 'solidarity,' not with traditional Judeo-Christian faiths, which thus far have been anathema, but rather with Islam...

Soros gift to Human Rights Watch aims at global diversification away from America

Posted on September 08, 2010
Kenneth Anderson writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "Most interesting to me [about Soros' gift to Human Rights Watch] was that the gift is aimed, in part, at diversifying the organization, staff, and board away from its current US-centric arrangement ...

MI: Court dismisses Christian pastors? challenge to hate crimes law

Posted on September 08, 2010
Religion Clause: "In Glenn v. Holder, (ED MI, Sept. 7, 2010), a Michigan federal district court dismissed on standing and ripeness grounds a challenge to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that had been brought by several Christian pastors ...

Suit charges Dearborn High School principal with discrimination against non-Muslims

Posted on September 08, 2010
Religion Clause: "A discrimination lawsuit was filed late last month by two Christian high school teachers against Imad Fadlallah, the now-retired principal of Dearborn, Michigan's Fordson High School, and against the school district. The complaint (full text) in Purcell v...

Commentary on Judge?s denial of stay on stem cell research injunction

Posted on September 08, 2010
Russell Korobkin writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "Following the August 23 preliminary injunction issued by federal District Court Judge Royce Lamberth to block NIH funding of embryonic stem cell research, the Justice Department filed a motion requesting that the injunction be stayed pending an appeal to the D...

Among Egypt?s Christians, few question Church rule

Posted on September 08, 2010
Associated Press: "As Egypt's Muslim majority has grown more religiously conservative over the past three decades, so has its Christian minority, many of whom see the Church as a refuge. As a result, the authority of Coptic leader Pope Shenouda III now goes almost unquestioned...

NC sheriffs want access to prescription database

Posted on September 08, 2010
Charlotte Observer: "North Carolina sheriffs want access to state computer records that identify people with prescriptions for certain drugs, an idea that patient advocates oppose."

At least 70 House seats in play, says Obama?s campaign adviser

Posted on September 08, 2010
The Hill: "President Obama's top political guru said Tuesday that he believes 70 House races and 15 Senate races are in play this fall. White House senior adviser David Plouffe ? Obama's 2008 presidential campaign manager ? said that a bevy of races were in play, from the national to local level...

Lawmakers cautious to applaud removal of Craigslist ?adult services?

Posted on September 08, 2010
The Hill: "The lawmakers were reluctant to declare a victory in light of the company's inscrutable posture toward the issue. Craigslist replaced the link to its 'adult services' section with a bar labeled 'censored' on Friday but has since refused to comment publicly on the issue...

Phyllis Schlafly: State Attorneys General and violent video games

Posted on September 08, 2010
Phyllis Schlafly writing at Townhall: "Extremely violent and addictive video games are polluting the minds of an entire generation of children, and most parents are clueless. Young players earn game points based on how many murders they commit, with increasingly realistic bloodshed splattered around for teenagers and pre-teens to learn to enjoy ...

Justice sues Arizona in green-card ?hurdles?

Posted on September 08, 2010
Washington Times: "The Justice Department has brought yet another legal challenge against Arizona, accusing the Maricopa County Community College District in Phoenix of illegally asking foreign nationals to show their Permanent Resident Cards, or 'green cards,' before being offered jobs in the 10-college system...

Islamists kill teachers in southern Thailand

Posted on September 08, 2010
Associated Press: "Panicked teachers in Thailand's restive south stayed home from school Wednesday after two teachers were killed in broad daylight amid threats from suspected Muslim insurgents that 20 would die."

Alaska: Will be Murkowski be a write-in Senator?

Posted on September 08, 2010
John Fund writing in the Wall Street Journal: "Republican operatives in Washington are openly fretting that Ms. Murkowski will be tempted to use what is likely a $1.5 million warchest in an attempt to keep her seat. They are counseling her allies that she has an excellent chance of returning to Washington in 2014 by challenging freshman Democratic Senator Mark Begich -- but only if she honors the results of the primary ...

Muslim anger over Koran-burning ceremony

Posted on September 08, 2010
Euro News: "The hugely controversial plans for a mass burning of copies of the Koran in the US have already prompted angry protests among Muslims. In Kabul, several hundred Afghans, mostly pupils from religious schools, gathered outside a mosque, chanting 'Death to America...

US embassies brace for Koran burning protests

Posted on September 08, 2010
Associated Press: "The State Department has ordered U.S. embassies around the world to assess their security ahead of a Florida church group's planned weekend burning of the Muslim holy book amid fears it could spark anti-American violence."

FBI says retaliation for koran burning ?likely?

Posted on September 08, 2010
ABC: "'While the FBI has no information to indicate a specific attack has been planned against the United States or U.S. assets in response to the "International Burn a Koran Day" event, the FBI assesses with high confidence that, as with past incidents perceived as acts of desecration against Islam, extremist actors will continue to threaten or attempt to harm the leaders, organizers, or attendees the event,' an FBI intelligence bulletin notes...

NC: Case examines adoption among same sex couples

Posted on September 08, 2010
News 14 Carolina: "The N.C. Supreme Court is hearing arguments Wednesday involving an adoption that some attorneys argue could lead to a decision on whether same sex couples can legally adopt in the state." Boseman v. Jarrell, No. 416PA08-2 (N.C.) [docket]

Canada: Group says polyamory is consensual, not patriarchal like polygamy

Posted on September 08, 2010
Winnipeg Free Press: "The lawyer for a group that advocates for allowing multiple spouses wants to know if a law against polygamy could also apply to his clients. John Ince, who represents the Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association, told B.C. Supreme Court that polygamy is based on a patriarchal system, while polyamorous are consensual...

MI: Traverse City Commission introduces ?gay rights? ordinance

Posted on September 08, 2010
Interlochen Public Radio: "Traverse City officials got an earful last night about their proposal to include sexual orientation in the city's non-discrimination law. Of the thirty-two people who spoke, more than twice as many favor the change than oppose it...

What government oppression of Christianity looks like

Posted on September 08, 2010
CitizenLink: "In Minneapolis, a psychologist won a city contract to pre-screen fire department employee applicants. Then someone got wind of this psychologist?s ties to a pro-family, Christian organization in another state, and alerted the city . . . The investigation focused on race and sexual orientation [and] revealed nothing but the highest level of ethical, professional conduct ...

Canadian gov?t ?considering? re-funding Planned Parenthood

Posted on September 08, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "A key cabinet minister in the Canadian government says they are considering re-funding the world?s largest abortion provider, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), after the organization?s three year grant expired in December...

Becket Fund letter cautions Baltimore City Council to comply with RLUIPA in zoning religious institutions

Posted on September 08, 2010
Becket Fund: "Today, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sent a letter to Councilwoman Rochelle Spector of the Baltimore City Council offering recommendations to amend Baltimore?s proposed new zoning code. Several provisions of the code violate state and federal law as well as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ('RLUIPA') and have the potential to discriminate against houses of worship and religious schools...

Schwarzenegger continues to reject Prop 8 appeal

Posted on September 08, 2010
Houston Chronicle (AP): "California's governor does not have the legal duty to appeal the recent ruling that overturned the state's same-sex marriage ban, a lawyer for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday. In a letter requested by the California Supreme Court, counsel Andrew Stroud said the governor, 'like any litigant, has complete discretion over his own litigation strategy, including whether or not to appeal an order...

Malaysia looks to challenge UK as hub for Islamic finance law

Posted on September 08, 2010
Gulf Times: "Malaysia, the world?s largest market for sukuk, plans to improve its legal system to become an alternative location to the UK for resolving international Islamic finance disputes."

VA: Loudoun County votes to keep holiday courthouse displays

Posted on September 08, 2010
WTOP: "It took hours of emotional debate over the last year, but the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 8-1 on Wednesday to continue a policy that allows people to erect religious and other displays on the grounds of the county courthouse."

NY: Paterson signs anti-bullying law

Posted on September 08, 2010
WSYR: "A new law requires New York school districts to protect children against bullying because of their sexual orientation or weight."

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