Religion & Law

Judge: Prop. 8 backers might not have legal standing to appeal

Posted on August 13, 2010
Christian Science Monitor: "'This case has just begun,' said [Jim Campbell], a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund. He said the legal team was 'confident that the right of Americans to protect marriage in their state constitutions will ultimately be upheld...

Prop. 8 judge lifts stay, but same-sex ?marriages? still on hold

Posted on August 13, 2010
San Francisco Chronicle: "Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker invalidated Proposition 8 last week, saying the ban was discriminatory and unconstitutional. At the time, he put a temporary stay on his ruling, meaning it could not be enforced . . . [Douglas Napier], an attorney who defended Prop...

Supreme Court Clerk hiring watch: Justice Kagan?s clerks

Posted on August 13, 2010
Above the Law: "Not surprisingly, the former dean of Harvard Law School bleeds Crimson. At least two of Justice Kagan?s four clerks are HLS graduates. One is a graduate of Yale Law School (the alma mater of Justice Kagan?s late father). (We?re still waiting for the name and law school of the fourth clerk...

CT: Muslims seek to censor Gospel of Christ

Posted on August 13, 2010
ChristianNewsWire: "In an unprecedented move, Muslim leaders in Connecticut are staging a press conference in Hartford this afternoon, to plead with legislators to censor the Gospel of Christ from the public forum around mosques."

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Judge acquits young mother charged with blasphemy in Pakistan

Posted on August 13, 2010
Christian Today: "Mother of three Rubina Bibi, 25, was accused of defaming the Prophet Muhammad by a Muslim shopkeeper in Alipur Chattah, Gujranwala district, in March. She was arrested days later and imprisoned along with her youngest son. She faced the death penalty if found guilty but session judge Mohammad Asghar Khan cleared her of wrongdoing during a lengthy hearing on Wednesday, where she was represented by Christian lawyers Joseph Francis and Tahir Bashir Gull...

Chicago teachers union refuses to give up 4 percent raises

Posted on August 13, 2010
Chicago Breaking News: "The governing body of the Chicago Teachers Union has rejected having teachers give up four percent raises to avoid layoffs, continuing the stand-off between school and union officials over Chicago's school funding crisis."

Court: Mt Rushmore rules unconstitutional

Posted on August 13, 2010
The Black Hills Pioneer: "[Nate Kellum] of the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Boardley, said: 'The First Amendment is the only permit a Christian or any American needs to engage in free speech on public property . . . Certainly, it made no sense to enforce unconstitutional regulations that deny free speech at the foot of Mount Rushmore a place where four men who championed America's freedoms are immortalized in stone...

Judge says gay marriages can start in California; gives opponents time to appeal Proposition 8 ruling

Posted on August 13, 2010
Mercury News: "Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine law school, agreed with Walker's conclusion that without the state defending the law, gay marriage foes may not have the right to appeal on their own . . . ikram Amar, a UC Davis law professor, disagreed, and said Walker may have botched the trial by allowing the Proposition 8 campaign to defend the state law if they didn't have the legal right to do so...

Federal judge denies motion to stay Calif. marriage ruling

Posted on August 13, 2010
The Christian Post: "The Alliance Defense Fund, which has been defending California?s Prop. 8, announced immediately after Walker?s ruling that it would appeal to the 9th Circuit to stay the trial court?s decision until the case is concluded. 'This case has just begun, and ADF and the rest of the legal team are confident that the right of Americans to protect marriage in their state constitutions will ultimately be upheld,' remarked ADF Litigation Staff Counsel [Jim Campbell]...

Calif. judge lifts stay, permits ?gays? to marry Aug. 18

Posted on August 13, 2010
BeliefNet (RNS): "'This case has just begun, and ADF and the rest of the legal team are confident that the right of Americans to protect marriage in their state constitutions will ultimately be upheld,' said [Jim Campbell], an ADF lawyer."

?Rush Limbaugh: The First Amendment, zoning laws and the Ground Zero mosque?

Posted on August 13, 2010
Rush Limbaugh transcript of August 12th: "RUSH: 'Ladies and gentlemen, zoning laws. I'm sure have encountered them. Zoning laws tell churches where they can and can't go all the time. There's a group out there called the Alliance Defense Fund. The last few years they've been running all over the country suing cities and counties and states over churches being turned down by zoning boards, and they have not yet won a case, I don't think...

?Same-sex marriages to resume in California on Wednesday?

Posted on August 13, 2010
Worthy News: "'It makes no sense to impose a radical change in marriage on the people of California before all appeals on their behalf are heard,' according to a statement released by the Alliance Defense Fund. 'If the trial's court's decision is eventually reversed, refusing to the stay the decision will senselessly create legal uncertainty surrounding any same-sex unions entered while the appeal is pending...

NY: Federal judge orders Greenburgh to approve Mt. Vernon church?s plans

Posted on August 13, 2010
LoHud.com: "Yesterday's court decision, which could cost Greenburgh $4 million, said the town violated the church's rights under the First Amendment's 'free exercise' of religion clause and the Fourth Amendment's 'equal protection' clause . . . The judge wrote that town Supervisor Paul Feiner directed town staff, including town attorneys and consultants, to perform research and provide ideas for ways to support the denial of the church's application...

Judge orders Avondale church re-opened during lawsuit

Posted on August 13, 2010
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "A federal judge has ordered Avondale Estates to let a church resume its activities as it pursues a discrimination case against the small DeKalb County city."

Why Germany closed radical mosque

Posted on August 13, 2010
The Atlantic Wire: "On Monday, German police raided the Taiba mosque in Hamburg and announced it closed. The Taiba mosque was previously known as al-Quds, and was frequented by four of the 9/11 hijackers. Apparently, the name change did not involve a concomitant shift in tone; Hamburg's Interior Minister, according to Time's Tristana Moore, says the mosque was continuing to '[convert] young men ...

Mosques and the Islamization of America

Posted on August 13, 2010
Family Security Matters: "There is a glimmer of hope that the American people are finally waking up to the deceit and the menace of the creed called Islam. Their opposition to the building of the mosque shows that the creeping Islamization of America is indeed something to stand against and prevent before it is too late...

Free-speech battle in mosque war

Posted on August 13, 2010
Pamela Gellar writing at Human Events: "It seems that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not a big fan of freedom of speech. He says that opponents of the Islamic supremacist mega-mosque that is set to be built at Ground Zero should be ashamed of themselves and should just shut up...

9th Circuit Judges move quickly on Prop. 8

Posted on August 13, 2010
"A motions panel of the Ninth Circuit Court on Friday set a fast schedule for reviewing a plea to put on hold, for several months, a federal judge?s ruling striking down California?s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage."

ERLC urges court to uphold Ariz. school choice

Posted on August 13, 2010
Baptist Press: "The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold an Arizona program that allows tax credits for scholarship donations contributed to religious organizations . . . The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) appealed the Ninth Circuit opinion to the Supreme Court on behalf of the Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization...

Greg Baylor: ?No Christianity please, we?re academics?

Posted on August 13, 2010
ADF Attorney Gregory S. Baylor writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "A principal purpose of ADF?s Center for Academic Freedom is change the academic culture by confronting the sort of anti-Christian animus Professor Larsen describes in his essay...

FRC: Government of the courts, by the courts, and for the courts?

Posted on August 13, 2010
Family Research Council: "Now that he's overturned Proposition 8, Walker says our side has suddenly lost their standing to appeal. To people familiar with the courts and the appellate process, that statement is totally absurd . . . The bottom line: Walker needed someone to challenge this amendment so that he could overturn it...

FDA Approves Ella Drug, Pro-Life Groups Say It?s Untested and Causes Abortions

Posted on August 13, 2010
"The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a controversial new form of emergency contraception that can prevent a pregnancy for as many as five days after sex."

Oklahoma protects breastfeeding moms

Posted on August 13, 2010
Tulsa World: "Oklahoma mothers have a right to breastfeed their babies in any public place, but many people - including nursing mothers - are unaware the law exists, a state official said."

More illegal immigrants getting driver licenses

Posted on August 13, 2010
Associated Press: "Three states - Washington, New Mexico and Utah - allow illegal immigrants to get licenses because their laws do not require proof of citizenship or legal residency. An Associated Press analysis found that those states have seen a surge in immigrants seeking IDs in recent months, a trend experts attribute to crackdowns on illegal immigration in Arizona and elsewhere...

Thomas More Society again bursts bubble ? Chicago drops charges against second ?bubble zone? arrestee

Posted on August 13, 2010
ChristianNewsWire: "This afternoon, the City of Chicago dismissed its case against the second arrestee charged with disorderly conduct under Chicago's controversial 'Bubble Zone' ordinance. Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society represented David Avignone, an MBA student at Loyola University Chicago, who was arrested on July 8 while standing outside Planned Parenthood's Near North Side clinic...

Christian author challenges library?s policy banning religious meetings

Posted on August 13, 2010
The Christian Post: "'Christians shouldn?t be excluded from reserving and using public meeting facilities because of their beliefs,' said [Nate Kellum], senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. 'It?s incredibly ironic that discussing a book would be prohibited in a library...

County clerks ready if same-sex ?marriage? ban lifted

Posted on August 13, 2010
San Francisco Chronicle: "Santa Clara County is preparing for a mass wedding and San Francisco City Hall will extend its hours to perform same-sex weddings if a ruling handed down Thursday by a U.S. District Court judge stands."

Government says Ave Maria School of Law?s financing lags

Posted on August 13, 2010
Law.com: "Ave Maria School of Law isn't making the grade when it comes to financial responsibility, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Ave Maria ? a Roman Catholic school in Naples, Fla. ? was the only law school to receive failing marks on the department's latest assessment of financial responsibility for nonprofit and for-profit colleges and universities...

Gingrich, Pawlenty weigh in on campaign to oust Iowa judges

Posted on August 13, 2010
"Former gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats (R) . . . is organizing an effort to defeat the three state supreme court justices [who were part of last year's ruling that threw out a ban on same-sex marriage]. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga...

Could Prop 8 case fizzle before reaching Supreme Court?

Posted on August 13, 2010
Blog of LegalTimes: "[T]he possibility is real that the case might never make it on appeal all the way to the Supreme Court. That's because the advocates of Prop 8, who are launching the appeal, may not have the necessary 'standing' to carry it forward...

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