LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Justin Walker granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing Louisville, Kentucky Mayor Greg Fischer from blocking On Fire Church from holding drive-in services on Easter. The TRO was filed yesterday in the United States District Court…
County sued over mask requirement, ban on in-person religious gatherings
A San Francisco-based law firm is suing San Bernardino County over its order that residents must cover their faces in public and its ban on in-person religious gatherings. A letter sent by Dhillon Law Group on Wednesday, April 8, to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, says the order…
Kenneth D. Wald: Religious groups should follow CDC guidelines
Apr 14, 2020 at 12:03 AM A number of religious organizations — mostly evangelical Protestant denominations — have issued challenges to state or local "shelter in place" regulations that prohibit religious gatherings. These challenges have no legitimate position in law. Yes, the U.S. Constitution has two provisions that might seem…
Religion Triumphs Over Virus Rules, Raising Judge’s Profile (2)
A woman follows along in her bible during the sermon at a drive-in service on April 5 in Louisville, Ky. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic limiting gatherings of people, churches have responded with alternate ways to have their services. Restrictions discriminate against religion Lengthy opinion possibly could have been avoided…
CHRISTINE FLOWERS: Thank God for Supreme Court’s look at same-sex foster parents
A few years ago, an LGBTQ couple approached Bethany Christian Services and expressed an interest in becoming foster parents. Bethany Christian, which maintained a contract with the city of Philadelphia to provide foster care, turned them down based on a religious opposition to same-sex unions. The Inquirer ran a story…
The origin of the current voucher calamity in Ohio, Part VII
Comments (0) Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding www.ohiocoalition.org A group of taxpayers in the Cleveland area filed a case against the Cleveland voucher program pleading that the government could not pay tuition for students to attend religious schools. The local federal district court and the 6th…
Why The Government Can Shut Down Church Gatherings During Pandemics
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper. This weekend the Kansas Supreme Court ruled with the Governor in upholding her order to close church services over 10 persons. That is particularly notable since, as mentioned in the column, Kansas is a state with enhanced protections for the free exercise…
Kentucky court rules for Louisville church
LOUISVILLE, KY – On Saturday afternoon before Easter, Federal District Judge Justin Walker issued a temporary restraining order against Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s ban on "religious services, even if the congregants remain in their cars during the service." On Fire Christian Center is represented by First Liberty and a Louisville…
DOJ: ‘Expect action’ on government regulation of religious services amid COVID-19 outbreak
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Jay Town joins Jon Scott to discuss how criminals take advantage during a pandemic. Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here . The Justice Department (DOJ) may take action next week against…
DOJ: ‘Expect action’ on government regulation of religious services amid COVID-19 outbreak
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here . The Justice Department (DOJ) may take action next week against local governments that have cracked down on religious services as widespread parts of the country are shut down due to the coronavirus…
Breaking: Judge Grants Restraining Order Against Louisville, KY Mayor in Dispute Over Drive-in Church Service on Easter
LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Justin Walker granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing Louisville, Kentucky Mayor Greg Fischer from blocking On Fire Church from holding drive-in services on Easter. The TRO was filed yesterday in the United States District Court…
DOJ: ‘Expect action’ on government regulation of religious services amid COVID-19 outbreak
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here . The Justice Department (DOJ) may take action next week against local governments that have cracked down on religious services as widespread parts of the country are shut down due to the coronavirus…
Federal judge denies church’s bid to hold Easter service despite coronavirus stay-home orders
Federal courthouse building in downtown San Diego.(San Diego Union-Tribune) Federal courthouse building in downtown San Diego. SAN DIEGO — A federal judge declined on Friday to allow a small Campo-based Christian church to assemble for Easter services on Sunday, turning aside a lawsuit the church had filed against San Diego…
Church Locked Out of Building for Violating Stay at Home Order Takes Legal Action
A California church, which planned to hold Palm Sunday services at its rented sanctuary despite a state-mandated stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus, was thwarted when its landlord—another church—changed the locks to prevent entry. The landlord, Bethel Open Bible Church, took action after the San Joaquin County Public Health Officer…
Interim final rule clarifies CARES Act includes churches
NASHVILLE (BP)—An Interim Final Rule published by the U.S. Small Business Administration provides assurance that churches and other ministries are in fact eligible to receive loans as part of a massive financial stimulus bill passed by Congress. Some experts view the interim final rule as providing assurance faith-based nonprofits will…
A Conservative Houston Lawyer is Saying the COVID-19 Stay-Home Order Violates Rights
people raise arms at Christian music concert Houston lawyer Jared Woodfill, no stranger to controversial cases, is at it again with a legal challenge claiming Harris County’s COVID-19 stay-home order violates religious liberty rights. Woodfill has made headlines in the past by fighting against Houston’s LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance and objecting…
The Legal Incoherence Of Wannabe Theocrats Is On Full Display This SCOTUS Term
Although the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily suspended its remaining docket due to our current public health crisis, two cases with far-reaching implications to religious education are still going to be decided this term. Taken together in fact, these two cases reveal a fundamental incoherence to the legal strategy utilized…
Sask. Court of Appeal sides with Catholic divisions in school funding case
The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan/Court of Queen’s Bench in downtown Regina. Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court decision that found provincial funding for non-Catholic students in Catholic schools unconstitutional. The unanimous decision means the government will not have to invoke the notwithstanding clause — as it…
Lawyer says Colorado Springs church’s argument to stay open amid public health order isn’t valid
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Leaders at a Colorado Springs church said that they had the Constitutionally protected right to keep their in-person services despite a public health order, but a legal expert says that argument may not have merit. Colorado Springs Fellowship Church tells KRDO it is exercising its First…
Judge upholds governor’s power to ban large gatherings
Buy Now A Merrimack County Superior Court judge rejected a lawsuit charging the ban on large gatherings due to risks from COVID-19 violates constitutional rights to free speech, free assembly nd religious freedom. Here, Gov. Chris Sununu walks to the podium before speaking at a press conference on the coronavirus…
Court delays arguments; religious liberty, abortion rulings await
WASHINGTON (BP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has paused part of its work in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) with decisions in important cases regarding religious liberty, sexuality and abortion still to be announced. The high court announced March 16 it has postponed oral arguments scheduled for March 23-25 and…
Texas judges say religious beliefs allow them to refuse same-sex weddings
In this April 28, 2015 file photo, demonstrators stand in front of a rainbow flag of the Supreme Court in Washington, as the court was set to hear historic arguments in cases that made same-sex marriage the law of the land. Two Texas judges say their religious beliefs allow them…
These Churches Refuse To Close Over COVID-19. Does the Constitution Protect Their Right To Remain Open?
State governments have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by ordering residents to avoid gathering together in large groups, including gatherings held for the purpose of religious worship. Some churches are reportedly refusing to comply with such edicts and holding in-person religious services anyway. As the Associated Press reports : Rodney…
Texas judge sues for the right to refuse to marry gay couples
A judge in Texas is suing a state commission because he wants to be able to refuse to marry same-sex couples. Jack County District Judge Brian Umphress sued all 13 of the members of Texas’s Commission on Judicial Conduct because they gave another judge an “official warning” for refusing to…
The Perils of Relying on the Wrong Clause—Grounding the Ministerial Exception at the Supreme Court
After a quiet stretch in the wake of Employment Division v. Smith (1990), cases about the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment are proliferating at the U.S. Supreme Court. Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer and Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission recently signaled the potential for large changes…