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Petitions For Cert. Filed In Two 9th Circuit Cases

By Howard M. Friedman

Petitions for certiorari were filed in two church-state cases yesterday. The Pacific Justice Institute announced that a petition for certiorari was filed in Caldwell v. Caldwell. In the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed for lack of standing an Establishment Clause challenge to content on an "Understanding Evolution" website created and maintained by the University of California Museum of Paleontology and funded in part by the National Science Foundation. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Roseville (CA) Press Tribune reported on the filing.

AP reports that several Indian tribes are seeking Supreme Court review in Navajo Nation v. United States Forest Service. In an 8-3 en banc decision in the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not bar the Forest Service from approving the use of recycled waste water to make artificial snow at Arizona's Snowbowl ski resort, which operates on federal land that the tribes consider sacred. (See prior posting). [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 07, 2009 (boomark / email).