Religion & Law

Coney Island Amphteater Foes Invoke Law Protecting Nearby Religious Institutions

Posted on May 18, 2009
In Brooklyn, New York, opponents of a proposed $64 million amphitheater project in Coney Island's Asser Levy Park plan to use a city law designed to protect religious congregations to fight the project. Yesterday's New York Daily News and YourNabe last week report that opponents are invoking New York City's law prohibiting amplified sound within 500 feet of religious institutions, schools, courthouses and other gathering places when they are in session...

Turkish Protesters Want Country To Remain Secular

Posted on May 18, 2009
In Ankara, Turkey yesterday, according to Reuters, some 20,000 protesters marched, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The demonstrators, carrying banners reading "Secular Turkey will stay secular," object to what they believe is Erdogan's moves to make Turkey more Islamic...

Recent Articles of Interest

Posted on May 18, 2009
From SSRN:Jeremy J. Patrick, Blasphemy in Pre-Criminal Code Canada: Two Sketches, (May 15, 2009).Andreas A Jobst, Peter Kunzel, Paul S. Mills, & Amadou N. R. Sy, Islamic Bond Issuance - What Sovereign Debt Managers Need to Know, (International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, Vol...

New York Court Confirms Israeli Arbitral Award In Etrog Dispute

Posted on May 18, 2009
In Schwartzman v. Harlap, (ED NY, April 13, 2009), a New York federal district court granted a petition to confirm a foreign arbitral award in a dispute between an etrog grower and the grower's exclusive distributor. An etrog (citron) is a fruit used in the worship services by Jews on the holiday of Sukkot...

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Supreme Court Rejects Discrimination Claim By Muslim For His Post- 9/11 Arrest

Posted on May 18, 2009
Today in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, (Sup. Ct., May 18, 2009), the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the 2nd Circuit and rejected 1st and 5th Amendment Bivens claims brought by a Pakistani-Muslim who was arrested in the U.S. in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The complaint alleged that the former U...

Voucher Supporters Want New Law In Arizona

Posted on May 17, 2009
In March, the Arizona Supreme Court held that two school voucher programs-- one for children with disabilities and the other for children in foster care-- violate the state constitutional prohibition on appropriating public money in aid of any private or sectarian school...

Obama Speaks At Notre Dame Over Objections of Pro-Lifers

Posted on May 17, 2009
As I post this, President Obama is delivering his address at the University of Notre Dame's graduation, and receiving an honorary degree. In his speech (full text as prepared for delivery) he addressed both the controversy over his receiving an honorary degree and the broader abortion controversy in the United States...

Census Will Reach Out To Amish Community

Posted on May 17, 2009
Today's Wisconsin State Journal reports that among the special effors being made by federal census officials to make sure that next year's head count is accurate is outreach to the Amish community. Historically the Amish have not been counted accurately...

Judge Says Defendant Nun Can Wear Habit During Her Jury Trial

Posted on May 17, 2009
A Kane County, Illinois judge has ruled that Sister Marie Marot can wear her religious habit when she stands trial on a traffic ticket on Monday. Friday's Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald reports that the 24-year old nun is charged with disobeying a traffic control device in connection with a 2007 auto accident in which she drove her van through a traffic light and struck a smaller car car whose 16-year old back-seat passenger was killed in the crash...

Developments In Two Episcopal Church Claims To Property of Breakaway Parishes

Posted on May 17, 2009
In Pennsylvania, the Episcopal Church has filed a complaint (as Plaintiff-in-Intervention) in an ongoing lawsuit, seeking a declaratory judgment that it, rather than the break-away diocese that has affiliated with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, is the proper authority to control the real and personal property of the Diocese of Pittsburgh...

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

Posted on May 17, 2009
In Burton v. Clark, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39330 (ED CA, April 23, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed a Jewish prisoner's challenges to his being removed from a kosher diet plan and being placed instead on a Religious Vegetarian diet...

9th Circuit Stays Proceedings In Boy Scouts Case Pending High Court Actions

Posted on May 16, 2009
Yesterday in Barnes-Wallace v. City of San Diego, (9th Cir., May 15, 2009), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order staying further proceedings in the long -running case that challenges the constitutionality of San Diego's leasing of city property at nominal rents to the Boy Scouts...

Court Rejects Teenager's Religious Objection To Cancer Treatment

Posted on May 16, 2009
After a hearing, in a lengthy opinion a Minnesota trial court has issued an order overriding the free exercise objections of 13-year old Daniel Hauser and his parents to Daniel?s receiving chemotherapy for Hodgkin?s lymphoma. The court also rejected his parents? due process parental rights objections...

New Hampshire Governor Will Sign Same-Sex Marriage Bill Only If New Religious Protections Are Added

Posted on May 15, 2009
New Hampshire's Governor John Lynch yesterday released a statement saying that despite his personal views on the subject, he will sign the same-sex marriage legislation passed by the state legislature last week only if legislators first amend it to provide more protections for religious institutions...

Contempt Citation Sought For Violation of School Event Prayer Ban In Florida District

Posted on May 15, 2009
Earlier this month, a Florida federal district court formally approved a consent decree barring the Santa Rosa (FL) school district and its employees from including prayers in any school event. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Pensacola (FL) News Journal reports that now the ACLU has filed a motion seeking to hold school clerical employee Michelle Winkler in contempt for violating the consent decree...

Catholic Leaders Urge Removal of Harry Knox From Faith-Based Advisory Council

Posted on May 15, 2009
On Wednesday, two dozen conservative Catholic religious and political leaders sent a letter (full text) to President Barack Obama urging him to remove Harry Knox from the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Among the signers was House Republican Leader, John Boehner...

Australian State Charges Racial Vilification In Posting of Anti-Semitic Video

Posted on May 15, 2009
AP reported yesterday that in Perth, Australia, a 38-year old man has been charged with violating Western Australia's Racial Vilification Act of 2004 by posting a threatening anti-Semitic 10-minute video on YouTube. Under Australian law, defendants cannot be identified by name until their first court appearance...

En Banc Review Sought In Arizona Scholarship Tax Credit Case

Posted on May 15, 2009
The Institute for Justice announced yesterday that it has filed a petition with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seeking en banc review of the 3-judge panel's decision in Winn v. Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization. In the case, a 3-judge panel ruled that, as applied, Arizona's tax credit of up to $500 to individuals who contribute funds to nonprofit "school tuition organizations" violates the Establishment Clause...

Tennessee AG Says Specialty Plate For Church Is Unconstitutional

Posted on May 15, 2009
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Attorney General's Office issued Opinion No. 09-82 finding that a proposed bill to create a specialty license plate honoring the Church of God in Christ would violate the Establishment Clause. SB2145, as amended, provides that the funds produced by sale of the plates will be allocated to Church of God in Christ Charities...

New Monograph Traces Limits On Government Funding of Religion

Posted on May 15, 2009
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life announced yesterday that it has issued a new report titled: Shifting Boundaries: The Establishment Clause and Government Funding of Religious Schools and Other Faith-Based Organizations. The 18-page monograph traces the history-- beginning in the 18th century-- of public funding of religious activity and the development of legal principles restricting funding...

Radical Group Sued By Church Under Little-Known Federal Provision

Posted on May 15, 2009
Alliance Defense Fund on Wednesday announced the filing of an interesting lawsuit in federal district court in Michigan. The Freedom of Access To Clinic Entrances Act, 18 USC Sec. 248, in addition to protecting abortion clinics, contains a little-known provision banning forcible obstruction or intimidation of anyone exercising the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship...

Pope Continues Mid East Trip In West Bank Amid Politics of the Region

Posted on May 14, 2009
Zenit reports on the fifth day of Pope Benedict XVI's Middle Eastern trip. He spent yesterday in the West Bank, delivering four addresses. In at least two of them, he again tread into the politics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During a welcome from Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace in Bethlehem, Pope Benedict spoke (full text) saying in part: Mr...

7th Circuit En Banc Hears Arguments On Condominium Mezuzah Ban

Posted on May 14, 2009
Yesterday, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals en banc heard oral arguments in Bloch v. Frischholz (recording of full arguments). In the case, a 3-judge panel of the Court last July rejected a claim under the federal Fair Housing Act by a Chicago condominium owner who objected to a condo association rule that effectively prevents any Jewish resident from placing a mezuzah on his or her door...

DC Church Gets Demolition Permit Despite Its Historic Landmark Status

Posted on May 14, 2009
Washington, D.C.'s Third Church of Christ, Scientist, has finally won the right to demolish its downtown church building, despite its designation in 2007 as an historic landmark. The concrete building, designed by architect Araldo Cossutta, is an example of "brutalist" architecture...

Canadian Parents Seek Funding For Blind, Deaf, Learning Disabled In Faith Schools

Posted on May 14, 2009
Today's Canadian Jewish News reports on a hearing scheduled for later this month in Ontario Divisional Court in Toronto in a lawsuit seeking government funding of services for blind, deaf and learning disabled children attending religious parochial schools...

West Virginia Mother Sues Over School Immunization Requirements

Posted on May 14, 2009
Yesterday's Charleston (WV) Daily Mail reports on a lawsuit filed in federal court last month by a mother who objects on religious grounds to her 6-year old daughter receiving her required immunizations to attend school. The mother says her beliefs are a combination of Baptist and Pentecostal doctrines...

NY Assembly Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill; Fate In Senate Unclear

Posted on May 14, 2009
The New York Assembly on Tuesday passed, by a vote of 89-52, A07732, a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage. The bill also provides that no member of the clergy is required to solemnize a marriage. The bill now goes to the state Senate where, according to NY1 News, it is unclear whether it will pass...

National Mock Trial Championship Places Asterisks On Standings of Rescheduled Teams

Posted on May 13, 2009
As previously reported, the National High School Mock Trial Competition last weekend, under intense pressure, agreed to reschedule certain rounds for Maimonides High School of Brookline, Massachusetts in order to accommodate the Sabbath observance of Jewish students from the school...

US Elected To Seat On UN Human Rights Council

Posted on May 13, 2009
Yesterday's Washington Post reports that the United States for the first time has been elected to membership on the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council. The U.S. has been strongly critical of the workings of the Council, and in the Bush administration chose not to seek a seat on it...

IRS Says Foundation Did Not Violate Non-Profit Rules

Posted on May 13, 2009
The Dallas Morning News reported yesterday that the Internal Revenue Service has cleared the Niemoller Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, of improper partisan political activity when it funded the Texas Restoration Project that hosted six "Pastors' Policy Briefings" before the 2006 elections...

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