Religion & Law

Collateral Defendants Settle In Suit Claiming Religion In Class of Ohio Science Teacher

Posted on August 28, 2009
In June 2008, a Mt. Vernon, Ohio family filed a federal civil rights suit against controversial Middle School science teacher John Freshwater, claiming that he taught religion in his classroom. Also named as defendants in the lawsuit were he school board, Superintendent Steve Short and middle school principal William White...

Court Says There Was No Discrimination Against Muslim School Employee

Posted on August 28, 2009
Mohammed v. Wisconsin Insurance Security Fund, (WI App., Aug. 27, 2009), is a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by a Muslim man who was employed as a hall monitor by the Racine (WI) school system. The suit was originally filed in federal district court, but ended up being litigated before the Wisconsin Insurance Security Fund after the school district's insurance company became insolvent and a court barred actions against the company's insureds...

Cert. Filed In Case Invoving Religious Speech By High School Valedictorian

Posted on August 28, 2009
Yesterday a petition for certiorari (full text) was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Corder v. Lewis Palmer School District No. 38. In the case, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected constitutional claims brought by a Colorado high school valedictorian who was forced to apologize after she delivered remarks at a high school's graduation ceremony encouraging students to accept Jesus Christ...

Group Challenges Toledo City Council Invocations

Posted on August 28, 2009
Continuing its efforts around the country to challenge invocations offered to open city council meetings, the Freedom from Religion Foundation announced yesterday that it had written to the mayor of Toledo, Ohio and the City Council president objecting to sectarian prayers that have been offered by clergy at Council meetings...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

New York Releases 2008 Hate Crime Statistics

Posted on August 27, 2009
Last week, New York's Division of Criminal Justice Services released its 2008 report on hate crimes in the state. (Full text of report.) It identified 596 instances, involving 610 victims. Two-thirds were crimes against persons (particularly assault and intimidation), while one-third were property crimes...

Court Says No Establishment Clause Violation By Orthodox Jewish School Board Majority

Posted on August 27, 2009
In Incantalupo v. Lawrence Union Free School District, (ED NY, Aug. 24, 2009), a New York federal district judge issued an unusually strong opinion rejecting an Establishment Clause challenge to the Lawrence (NY) School Board's consolidation plan that would close one of the district's school buildings...

Bangladesh Court Orders Police To Investigate Fatwa and Village Arbitration

Posted on August 27, 2009
Bangladesh's High Court has issued a directive to police to investigate extra-judicial punishments that are being meted out by village mullahs as self-appointed arbitrators who pronounce fatwas. Dhaka's Daily Star today says that poor women have often been the victims of the so-called fatwa and village arbitration...

Florida Standardized Test Dates Conflict With Holidays In 2011

Posted on August 27, 2009
The Miami Herald yesterday reported that when Florida's legislature in 2008 moved the dates for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test later in the year to give students more time to prepare, they failed to consider possible conflicts with religious holidays...

TRO Lets Parochial School Musician Into Public School Band

Posted on August 27, 2009
Yesterday a Pennsylvania federal district court granted a temporary restraining order allowing Alexander Trefelner, an eighth grade saxaphone player, to remain in the Burrell (PA) High School band, even though Trefelner will be a student at St. Joseph Catholic High School...

Kentucky's Required Display of Findings On God Violate Establishment Clause

Posted on August 27, 2009
In American Atheists, Inc. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, (Franklin KY Cir. Ct., Aug. 26, 2009), a Kentucky trial judge struck down a provision in state law requiring the state Department of Homeland Security to promote and display specified findings of the state legislature...

Court Preliminarily Enjoins Enforcement of Illinois Pharmacy Board Rule

Posted on August 27, 2009
A release this week from the American Center for Law & Justice reports that last Friday, an Illinois trial court judge granted a preliminary injunction, pending a decision on the merits, preventing enforcement of a State Pharmacy Board rule requiring pharmacies to dispense Plan B and other forms of emergency contraception...

Sen. Ted Kennedy Dies; Remembering His Views On Religion In Public Life

Posted on August 26, 2009
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy died last night of brain cancer. (AP). President Obama eulogized him, calling him "the greatest United States Senator of our time." (Full text of President's statement.) Sen. Kennedy was a strong supporter of religious freedom and church-state separation...

3rd Circuit Dismisses Abortion Protesters' Bid To Stand On Handicapped Ramp

Posted on August 26, 2009
On Monday, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a free exercise claim by protesters who sought access to a handicapped entrance ramp outside an abortion clinic in York, Pennsylvania. The protesters claimed that their Christian religious beliefs required them to share their pro-life views with others...

Catholic Magazine Publishes Reflections On the Obama-Notre Dame Controversy

Posted on August 26, 2009
The new issue of America magazine carries two articles reflecting on the controversy earlier this year surrounding Notre Dame's awarding of an honorary degree to President Barack Obama. (See prior posting.) One article is by John M. D?Arcy, bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, where Notre Dame is located...

Washington State Bans All Holiday Displays Inside Capitol Building

Posted on August 26, 2009
As reported by the Everett (WA) Herald, the state of Washington's Department of General Administration last week adopted a new interim policy (full text) on the use of public areas of the Capitol. Earlier this year, the state began rule making proceedings to avoid the confusion that resulted last year from numerous competing requests to put up holiday displays...

Mosques Will Aid Malaysian State Officials In Syariah Enforcement

Posted on August 26, 2009
In Malaysia, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) has issued authority letters to more than 370 mosques authorizing 4 leaders in each mosque to aid the government in enforcing the Selangor Syariah Crimes Enactment 1995. Yesterday's Malay Mail reports that the mosque officials were given authority to note information about any Muslim found drinking alcohol in public and to hand them over to police or religious enforcement officers...

Suit Will Charge Judge With Improperly Requiring Removal of Hijab

Posted on August 26, 2009
The Detroit News reports that the Michigan chapter of CAIR today will file suit against Wayne County Circuit Judge J. William Callahan. The suit will claim that the judge ordered a Muslim woman, Raneen Albaghdady, to remove her headscarf (hijab) during a hearing on her application to change her name...

Paper Surveys Scope of Tax Exemptions for Church Property

Posted on August 26, 2009
Sunday's Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle carries a lengthy investigative report on tax exemptions for local property held for religious use. It says that in 2008, the value of properties exempted from taxes for religious purposes in Monroe Count (NY) was almost $756 million...

Florida Governor's Western Wall Notes Seem To Work So Far

Posted on August 25, 2009
Florida Governor Charlie Crist told a group of real estate agents that when he visited Israel as part of a trade mission in 2007, he placed a note in the Western Wall in Jerusalem asking God to protect Florida from storms. No major hurricanes hit Florida that year...

Some Claims Against Archdiocese In Clergy Abuse Case Can Proceed

Posted on August 25, 2009
Goebel v. Johnston, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74242 (ED MO, Aug. 21, 2009), is a clergy sexual abuse case which was removed to federal court on diversity of citizenship grounds. This opinion involves rulings on motions by the Archdiocese of St. Louis to dismiss various claims against it that are part of the lawsuit...

Some Claims Dismissed In Sikh's Employment Discrimination Case Against IRS

Posted on August 25, 2009
In Tagore v. United States, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74235 (SD TX, Aug. 21, 2009), a Texas federal district court dismissed a portion of the claims brought by a former Internal Revenue Service employee who was fired after she insisted on wearing her kirpan-- a ceremonial dagger worn by Sikhs-- in a Houston federal office building...

Utah Judge Orders Sale of Supposed Temple Site By FLDS Trust

Posted on August 25, 2009
In a state trial court in Utah yesterday, Judge Denise Lindberg issued an order for the sale of Berry Knoll Farm by the United Effort Plan Trust which holds property that belonged to the FLDS Church. FLDS Church members, many in polygamous relationships, as well as some who are no longer members, live on the land...

School Girls In Gaza Must Wear Traditional Arab Dress

Posted on August 24, 2009
Both Haaretz and YNet News report today that authorities in the Gaza Strip are insisting that girls in government-run schools wear traditional Arab clothing to class. Girls not wearing the ghalabia (in dark blue) and a white head covering will be sent home...

Wisconsin Bishops Object To State's Mandate of Contraceptive Coverage In Health Policies

Posted on August 24, 2009
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference has issued a statement (full text) objecting to provisions in the state's new Budget Bill requiring health insurance providers to include contraceptive services as part of any plan coverage. The statement by the bishops says in part: "This mandate will compel Catholic dioceses, parishes, and other agencies that buy health insurance to pay for a medical service that Catholic teaching holds to be gravely immoral...

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

Posted on August 24, 2009
From SSRN:Ayelet Shachar & Ran Hirschl, The New Wall of Separation: Permitting Diversity, Restricting Competition, (Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 30, pp. 2535-2560, 2009).Andrew F. March, Islamic Legal Theory, Secularism and Religious Pluralism: Is Modern Religious Freedom Sufficient for the Shari'a 'Purpose [Maqsid]' of 'Preserving Religion [Hifz Al-Din]?', (August 14, 2009)...

Foster Care Extended For 17-Year Old Muslim Convert To Christianity

Posted on August 23, 2009
Reports from the Orlando Sentinel and St. Petersburg Times provide details on an order issued Friday by a state court judge in Orlando, Florida in the case of 17-year old Rifqa Bary who fled her home near Columbus, Ohio after converting from Islam to Christianity...

Michigan Amends Faith Based Office's Charter To Reflect Federal Changes

Posted on August 23, 2009
On Thursday, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm announced that she had issued Executive Order 2009-41 to make changes in the document governing the state's office that reaches out to faith-based organizations. The changes to Executive Order 2005-6 are intended to mirror changes made at the federal level by the Obama administration...

College In India Illegally Bans Hijab Under Hindu Student Pressure

Posted on August 23, 2009
In India, conflict between a Hindu student group and Muslim students has surfaced at SVS College in the Indian state of Karnataka. UAE's The National reported yesterday that officials at the private, state-assisted, college imposed an illegal ban on Muslim students wearing the hijab (headscarf) under pressure from the student branch of the right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)...

Bolivia-Vatican Sign Treaty On Social Services

Posted on August 23, 2009
Zenit reports that on Thursday the Vatican and Bolivia signed a Treaty of Inter-Institutional Cooperation. In the treaty, Bolivia recognizes the importance of the Catholic Church's social services in the country. The Church, in turn, agrees to give more attention to the most depressed areas of Bolivia, support government social policies in the framework of Catholic social thought, and to report periodically on its progress in these areas.

10th Circuit Refuses To Stay Order On 10 Commandments Monument

Posted on August 23, 2009
On Friday, by a 2-1 vote, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by Haskell County, Oklahoma commissioners to allow them to keep their Ten Commandments monument in place on the court house lawn while the county seeks review in the U.S...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.