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Free Exercise Objection To Cellular Tower Rejected By Court

By Howard M. Friedman

In Jaeger v. Connecticut Siting Council, 2010 Conn. Super. LEXIS 611 (CT Superior Ct., March 15, 2010), a Connecticut trial court held that plaintiff lacked standing to intervene to object to the issuance of a certificate of environmental compatibility for the construction of a cellular tower in Canaan, Connecticut. One of plaintiff's claims was that she has become interested in the Native American spirit world, including reverence for certain birds, and that the tower will make it less likely that hawks, eagles and woodpeckers will fly over her property. Relying on the 1988 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Assoc., the court held that: "Free exercise of religion does not allow the claimant to dictate to the government whether it may give permission for use of property."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on April 18, 2010 (boomark / email).