Religion & Law

MT: Man pleads innocent to child-porn charges

Posted on January 14, 2011
Daily Inter Lake: "Kelly Burris entered his plea during a federal court session in Missoula Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch."

NC: Man sentenced to 4 years in child pornography case

Posted on January 14, 2011
News & Record: "Joseph James Ptacin Jr., 63, will be on 20 years of supervised release after the prison sentence, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Ripley Rand."

NY Judge defies prosecutors on pornography sentence

Posted on January 14, 2011
New York Times: "A man whose conviction on child pornography charges won him an unusual champion ? the trial judge, Jack B. Weinstein ? was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison, the minimum sentence required by law. Even then, Judge Weinstein, of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, was compassionate toward the defendant, allowing him to remain free for two more months, and dismissive of the government?s efforts to get a longer sentence...

26 year old Alabama man sentenced on child pornography charge

Posted on January 14, 2011
7th Space: "Former Salem resident Kenneth Allen Ballard, age 26, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison for knowingly distributing and receiving child pornography over the Internet, United States Attorney Leura G Canary announced today."

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CA: 66 year old San Jose man guilty of child pornography charges

Posted on January 14, 2011
San Francisco Chronicle (AP): "A 66-year-old San Jose man is in federal custody after being convicted on child pornography charges."

Maine teacher investigated in NH for child photos

Posted on January 14, 2011
Boston.com (AP): "A Jackman, Maine, kindergarten teacher facing child pornography charges was investigated in New Hampshire 13 years ago for taking photos of students undressing."

NH: Child-porn producer sentenced to 60 years

Posted on January 14, 2011
Sea Coast Online: "Ronald Goergen, 47, was sentenced Thursday at U.S. District Court in Concord. He pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of children last year."

DE: Airman sentenced to six years in prison for child pornography

Posted on January 14, 2011
Delaware Online: "A technical sergeant at Dover Air Force Base was sentenced in federal court Thursday to six years in prison for distributing child pornography."

NJ: Ex-military camp leader pleads guilty to child porn

Posted on January 14, 2011
WPIX (AP): "The former head of a faith-based military academy for children in New Jersey has pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge."

Nebraska man held in Arizona for possession of 124,000 child porn images

Posted on January 14, 2011
NECN: "Authorities in northeastern Arizona say they've arrested a Nebraska man after finding a computer hard drive in his car that reportedly contained more than 124,000 child pornography images."

Supreme Court to consider appeal in child porn case that predates federal child porn law

Posted on January 14, 2011
CNSNews: "'This is a child pornography case that does not involve a child,' Peel's lawyers told the court in their brief. They are claiming violations of the First Amendment and of the Constitution's bar against ex post facto convictions for violating laws that were not in place when an alleged crime occurred...

New imam named for NYC Islamic center

Posted on January 14, 2011
Associated Press: "The organization planning to build an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center said the imam who has been the public face of the project, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, will be playing a reduced role in the facility."

If ?progressives? care about the poor, they should care about marriage

Posted on January 14, 2011
R.R. Reno writing at First Things / First Thoughts: "Why don't progressives call for an end to no-fault divorce, or at least hector the popular media to put an end to the Sex-in-the-City glorification of the sexual revolution? If they care about the poor and the almost poor, then the data suggest that high on the to-do agenda should be strengthening the culture of marriage for everyone...

West Virginians to vote on marriage?

Posted on January 14, 2011
The Engage Family Blog: "In a prepared statement Tuesday, West Virginia Family Foundation spokesman Kevin McCoy discussed a marriage amendment set to appear in the West Virginia legislature. He called the amendment an effort of bi-partisan lawmakers and spoke frankly on what the amendment would accomplish...

Canada: ?Told you gay rights would trump religious?

Posted on January 14, 2011
Susan Martinuk writing in the Calgary Herald: Then-Justice Minister Irwin Cotler vociferously denied that his proposed changes to the federal Civil Marriage Act would eventually put religious freedom to the test. But if his protests rang hollow then, they seem downright laughable now ...

Child Pornography Coverage in Today?s ADF Alliance Alert

Posted on January 14, 2011
In the "Miscellaneous" section of today's ADF Alliance Alert, we have covered numerous child pornography prosecutions around the country. All or nearly all of the reports are from today or yesterday. This is just a small sample of available media reports that evidence an overwhelming epidemic affecting every area of the country and all ages...

ADF encourages churches, schools to celebrate Religious Freedom Day

Posted on January 14, 2011
The Alliance Defense Fund has joined with Gateways to Better Education to encourage churches to celebrate Religious Freedom Day Sunday and help equip their members with vital information regarding religious freedom in public schools.

Republican Party selects pro-life Reince Priebus as new Chair

Posted on January 14, 2011
LifeNews: "Republican Party officials gave their votes, after several rounds of balloting, to Reince Priebus to replace embattled chairman Michael Steele as the party and pro-life movement prepare for the 2012 presidential election."

MI: Court rejects claim that sharia-compliant financing violates the Establishment Clause

Posted on January 14, 2011
Eugene Volokh writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "The opinion is Murray v. Geithner (E.D. Mich.), decided today). I think the result is quite right, for reasons I mentioned when the lawsuit was first filed, and when the court rejected the government?s motion to dismiss...

NAS defends freedom of speech and conscience in Ward v. Wilbanks

Posted on January 14, 2011
National Association of Scholars: "The National Association of Scholars (NAS) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case Ward v. Wilbanks, a case before the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Julea Ward was a student who was expelled from the Eastern Michigan University counseling program after she expressed her religious convictions about homosexuality to some of her professors ...

Zimbabwe: Polygamy centers on selfishness, power

Posted on January 14, 2011
NewsDay: "Polygamy is an institution that has survived many centuries and despite the campaigns to do away with this practice, it is still deeply rooted in Zimbabwe."

House GOP set to defund NPR

Posted on January 14, 2011
Yahoo: "The House Republicans are preparing to strip NPR of its federal funding. Unlike abortive attempts to deny funding to public broadcasting in the 1990s, prospects of success are brighter thanks to the budget deficit and the firing of Juan Williams...

India: Police charge 27 Muslims for chopping Christian lecturer?s hand off

Posted on January 14, 2011
NDTV: "The police has filed a chargesheet against 27 accused in the brutal attack on Professor T. J. Joseph, a private college lecturer in Kerala. His right hand had been chopped off allegedly by activists of the radical outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) on July 4, 2010...

Ultrasound machines ?save babies? lives?

Posted on January 14, 2011
Baptist Press: "On the heels of the placement of a portable ultrasound machine in Florida, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission's Psalm 139 Project quickly redirected its attention to raising funds for a similar machine to be placed in New Life Pregnancy Centers in Phoenix, Ariz...

U.S. passed 53 million abortion mark in 2010

Posted on January 14, 2011
Baptist Press: "At some point in 2010 -- 37 years removed from the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision -- a doctor in the United States performed the nation's 53 millionth legal abortion, a sobering stat that ethicists say should drive the public to speak up for the unborn...

Same-sex unions ?penalize? traditional marriage, pope says

Posted on January 14, 2011
Catholic News Service: "Same-sex unions 'penalize' traditional couples and distort the true nature of the family, Pope Benedict XVI said. The many crises that families face are 'caused by the rapid social and cultural changes' in society, the pope said Jan...

New European Union school calendar omits Christian holidays

Posted on January 14, 2011
Catholic News Agency: "A 2011-2012 school calendar published by the European Union has omitted Christian holidays, while continuing to note important Jewish and Muslim celebrations."

Michigan Planned Parenthood meets opposition to Auburn Hills abortion Ctr

Posted on January 14, 2011
LifeNews: "Residents of the area and pro-life people from all over the Detroit Metro area will voice their opposition to the proposed Planned Parenthood abortion business at the recently-purchased location of 1625 N. Opdyke Road at a Saturday rally. at 1:00 p...

Obama to ease Cuba travel restrictions for students and church groups

Posted on January 14, 2011
Associated Press: "President Barack Obama plans to loosen Cuban travel policy to allow students and church groups to go to the communist country, the administration announced Friday."

NLRB threatens to sue states over curb on unions

Posted on January 14, 2011
Blog of LegalTimes: "In Jan. 13 letters, the NLRB advised the attorneys general of Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah that their states' voter-approved amendments conflict with federal labor law and are preempted by the Supremacy Clause of the U...

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