Religion & Law

Future of Nebraska?s other abortion law murky

Posted on August 18, 2010
Yahoo (AP): "[T]he state's leading anti-abortion group said it expects Bruning's office to throw its resources behind preserving the other law should it be challenged. That law ? the first of its kind in the U.S. ? would ban abortions starting at 20 weeks based on assertions from some doctors that fetuses feel pain at that stage of development...

Police raid on Belgian archdiocese ruled illegal by appeals court

Posted on August 18, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "In the absence of an official statement from Belgium's judiciary, the lawyer for the Archdiocese of Brussels-Mechelen announced the court's decision that the police raids of the archbishop's offices and Cardinal Danneel's residence in June were unlawful...

Mexico City mayor files lawsuit against cardinal

Posted on August 18, 2010
"Mexico City's leftist mayor filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a Roman Catholic cardinal for suggesting he bribed the Supreme court to uphold a city law allowing adoptions by same-sex couples."

3rd Circuit strikes down another campus speech code

Posted on August 18, 2010
The Volokh Conspiracy: "The case is McCauley v. University of the Virgin Islands, decided today. The court holds that the K-12 school cases ? 'Tinker, Fraser, Hazelwood, Morse, and other decisions involving speech in public elementary and high schools' ? 'cannot be taken as gospel in cases involving public universities...

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

Teachers? unions plan to rev up recess action to protect Democrats? majority

Posted on August 18, 2010
The Hill: "Several unions will pivot off expected House passage of the latest jobs bill to rev up their campaign machinery during the August recess . . . The schools funding has big significance for union members, many of whom could lose their jobs if the money doesn?t come through...

Romney?s crafty 2012 financing

Posted on August 18, 2010
Politico: "Romney?s end run around the federal campaign finance rules is rooted in his status: He is a presidential aspirant, a hopeful, a wannabe. In other words, he is not yet an official candidate. And that?s what allows him and his campaign-in-waiting to straddle the boundaries of federal law...

America?s two Muslim Congressmen on the ?Ground Zero mosque? and Islam in America

Posted on August 18, 2010
Time / Swampland: "1. Should the mosque be moved? Ellison: 'No absolutely not. I fact I think that if it were to be moved that religious liberty would suffer . . . the mosque project needs to move right ahead, clearly, where it is.' Carson: '. . . People certainly have a right to build as they please on private property...

Jim Wallis / George Soros connection

Posted on August 18, 2010
Timothy Dalrymple writing at Patheos: "This morning I received a kind message from Tim King, communications manager for Sojourners, confirming that Sojourners has indeed received funding from Soros' Open Society Institute. 'This is public,' King wrote, 'and not something we're trying to cover up...

Soros Fund sells stake in Brazil?s Petrobras

Posted on August 18, 2010
Wall Street Journal (Full text via Google News): "High-profile investor George Soros sold its ADR's of Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, during the second quarter, amid uncertainties on company's capitalization plans, according to a regulatory filing posted earlier this week...

Islamic insurgents expel Christian aid groups from southern Somalia

Posted on August 18, 2010
Catholic Culture: "Al-Shabaab, an Islamic insurgent group that controls most of southern and central Somalia, has expelled three Christian aid groups from the southern part of the nation. 'Acting as missionaries under the guise of humanitarian work, the organizations have been spreading their corrupted ideologies in order to taint the pure creed of the Muslims in Somalia,' Al-Shabaab said in a statement...

DE: Lord?s Prayer sparks meetings in Seaford School District

Posted on August 18, 2010
WBOC: "The Seaford School District Board of Education on Monday evening allowed a prayer meeting before its scheduled meeting. However, federal guidelines state that teachers and school administrators cannot encourage or discourage prayer."

Mario Almonte on the Huffington Post: The religious right has proven a formidable foe . . . same sex ?marriage? has lost substantial ground

Posted on August 18, 2010
Mario Almonte writing at The Huffington Post: "In the movement to legalize same-sex marriages in the United States, the religious right has proven a formidable and unwavering foe, and their victory in delaying the repeal of California's Proposition 8 is persuasive evidence...

Obama on mosque: ?The answer is no regrets?

Posted on August 18, 2010
USA Today / The Oval: "President Obama has made his first public comment on the mosque controversy since Saturday -- a very short comment. It came when a television reporter in Ohio asked Obama if he had any regrets about weighing in. 'The answer is no regrets,' Obama said...

Use of government property to relocate NYC mosque raises serious legal questions, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Posted on August 18, 2010
Americans United for Separation of Church and State: "New York Gov. David Paterson?s proposal to offer public property to relocate the so-called 'Ground Zero mosque' raises serious constitutional issues and could spark litigation, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State...

ACLU: The ?Witt standard? and pending DADT cases

Posted on August 18, 2010
ACLU Blog of Rights: "Last week, Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach filed a high-profile lawsuit arguing that the Air Force should be forced to meet the 'Witt standard' if it attempts to discharge him from military service under Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)...

David Harsanyi: Why is it ?bigoted? to criticize religion?

Posted on August 18, 2010
David Harsanyi writing at Townhall: "Even a newfound reverence for religious liberty on the left does not negate our right to protest and criticize the philosophical disposition of others. And applying public pressure in an effort to shut down a project is as American as protesting the arrival of a new Walmart...

Is PACER providing sufficient public access to federal court documents?

Posted on August 18, 2010
Harlan Yu writing at Freedom to Tinker: "If we compare public access before we had PACER to where we are now, there is clearly much success to celebrate. But the key question is not only whether current users are satisfied with the service but also whether PACER is reaching its entire audience of potential users...

Harvard leads among Supreme Court law clerks

Posted on August 18, 2010
Blog of LegalTimes: "With a little help from its former dean Elena Kagan, Harvard Law School has edged out Yale Law School in the race for the most Supreme Court clerks this term. The Court today released the official list of clerks and their law schools and prior clerkships, confirming what's been available at Above the Law and elsewhere...

US lawmakers urge Obama to put Vietnam back on religious freedoms blacklist

Posted on August 18, 2010
Canadian Press: "Republican lawmakers and activists on Wednesday called on the Obama administration to put Vietnam back on a U.S. religious freedoms blacklist. Reps. Frank Wolf and Chris Smith also said at a hearing that the U.S. State Department should avoid deepening ties with the economically vibrant Southeast Asian nation until human rights improve...

?Gay men hold 1st foreign wedding ceremony in Nepal?

Posted on August 18, 2010
Dallas Morning News (AP): "A Hindu priest performed the first wedding ceremony in Nepal for a foreign gay couple, a rights group said Wednesday, as activists and tourist agencies increasingly promote the Himalayan nation as a gay-friendly destination...

Cardinal has proof Mexican justices were bribed for same-sex ?marriage? vote

Posted on August 18, 2010
"A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Guadalajara yesterday told reporters that the Cardinal Archbishop of that city has proof to back up his contention that the justices of the Supreme Court were in some way 'fed' by backers of homosexual 'marriage' and adoption in order to gain their votes in favor of the policies...

AK: Abortion parental notification issue on primary ballot

Posted on August 18, 2010
KSTK: "Alaskan voters will decide this month whether the parents of pregnant teens have to be notified if their minor child is going to have an abortion." Audio at link. | Alaska Parental Notification Initiative, Ballot Measure 2 (2010)

Florida abortion doctor suspended again, still can practice

Posted on August 18, 2010
Florida Baptist Witness: "The Florida Board of Medicine has suspended the license of abortion doctor James Pendergraft for the fourth time but will still allow him to resume his practice."

SC: Sanford signs bill making it mandatory to wait 24 hours before abortion

Posted on August 18, 2010
Herald-Journal: "Gov. Mark Sanford this morning signed a bill making it mandatory that a 24-hour wait period be established before an abortion is administered in the state of South Carolina."

Poll: Voters rank abortion below economy, immigration

Posted on August 18, 2010
The Christian Post: "With the midterm elections coming up in November, the survey found that 61 percent of voters say abortion is at least somewhat important as an issue in terms of how they will vote. A third say it is very important and 37 percent say it is not very or not at all important...

Islam and the problems of nation building

Posted on August 18, 2010
Bruce Walker writing at The New American: "The Americans of 1789 were overwhelmingly religiously serious Christians who understood the injunctions of Christ and tried to follow them; Jews, the only other religious group of any real size, loved America from the beginning and understood that the practical application of true Christianity did not threaten Jews at all...

9th Circuit: Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional

Posted on August 18, 2010
Law.com: "A three-year-old federal law that makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have received a medal from the U.S. military is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court panel in California ruled Tuesday . . . A panel of the 9th U...

Federal Circuit: Group?s internet and radio worship does not meet IRS definition of ?church?

Posted on August 18, 2010
Law.com: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that a religious organization that primarily holds Internet and radio worship services does not meet the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's definition of a church." Foundation of Human Understanding v...

ADF will appeal decision to strike down roadside memorials to fallen Utah troopers

Posted on August 18, 2010
"Alliance Defense Fund attorneys are reviewing all options for appeal of a ruling issued Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit that struck down roadside memorials to fallen Utah state troopers as unconstitutional."

How to win the clash of civilizations: Ridding ourselves of the one world illusion

Posted on August 18, 2010
". . . According to a CIA report written in 2003, the Saudis invested at least $2 billion a year over a 30-year period to spread their brand of fundamentalist Islam. The Western response in promoting our own civilization was negligible."

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