In this May 3, 2020, file photo, the setting sun shines on the Supreme Court building in Washington. As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide, the Supreme Court late Wednesday, Nov. 25, temporarily barred New York from enforcing certain attendance limits at houses of worship in areas designated as hard hit…
Judge rejects Tony Spell’s request to quash criminal charges for defying COVID restrictions
Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A judge in Louisiana has rejected a motion filed by controversial Pastor Tony Spell to quash six misdemeanor charges filed against him for holding church services in violation of the state’s pandemic restrictions. Judge Eboni Johnson-Rose of Louisiana’s 19th…
Judge lets criminal counts stand against Central pastor Tony Spell; rejects 1st Amendment challenge
Controversial Life Tabernacle Church pastor Tony Spell talks Wednesday, May 13, 2020, just outside the front door of his residence behind the church. Judge Eboni Johnson-Rose rejected Central pastor Tony Spell’s attempt to throw out on 1st Amendment grounds Monday criminal charges that he violated Gov. John Bel Edwards’ emergency…
small business
Washington D.C., Jan 21, 2021 / 02:34 pm ( CNA ).- A proposal made on the last day of the Trump administration would make religious businesses eligible to receive loans from the Small Business Administration, removing previous restrictions. The U.S. Small Business Administration published a proposal Jan 19. that would…
small businesses
Washington D.C., Jan 21, 2021 / 02:34 pm ( CNA ).- A proposal made on the last day of the Trump administration would make religious businesses eligible to receive loans from the Small Business Administration, removing previous restrictions. The U.S. Small Business Administration published a proposal Jan 19. that would…
Freedom of belief – our original American liberty
National Religious Freedom Day, observed every Jan. 16, is onlyobscurely observed although it officially commemorates the historic day in 1786 when the Virginia Religious Freedom Statute authored by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison separated Virginia and the Anglican Church. They mandated no one “…shall be compelled to frequent or support…
First Amendment 101
Libby Bakalar The events of this week have the First Amendment on top of everyone’s mind, so I thought I would do a VERY basic and quick review of some key questions about when and how it applies. First, here’s the full text, adopted in 1789: Congress shall make no…
Judge grants church’s plea to bolster COVID lawsuit, notes changing mood of courts
Pastor Rob McCoy and the Newbury Park church he leads will be allowed to bolster their lawsuit filed against the county over coronavirus restrictions, a Ventura County judge ruled Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh said the courts freely allow parties in litigation to amend their lawsuits and that the…
Why separation of church and state is so important
Separation of church and state has been a feature of American democracy for over two centuries. As Thomas Jefferson predicted, that separation has served both the state and organized religion well. The Church of England was the official religion of the colony of Virginia. As the British departed, the bureaucracy…
Judge grants church’s plea to bolster COVID lawsuit, notes changing mood of courts
Pastor Rob McCoy and the Newbury Park church he leads will be allowed to bolster their lawsuit filed against the county over coronavirus restrictions, a Ventura County judge ruled Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh said the courts freely allow parties in litigation to amend their lawsuits and that the…
Judge grants church’s plea to bolster COVID lawsuit, notes changing mood of courts
Pastor Rob McCoy and the Newbury Park church he leads will be allowed to bolster their lawsuit filed against the county over coronavirus restrictions, a Ventura County judge ruled Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh said the courts freely allow parties in litigation to amend their lawsuits and that the…
Illinois can’t force kids ministry to pay unemployment taxes, court rules
A Christian afterschool ministry tied to The Moody Church in Chicago is sufficiently religious enough to qualify for an exemption from having to pay into a state insurance program, an appeals court ruled last week. A three-judge panel of the Appellate Court of Illinois on Wednesday upheld a lower court…
Appeals Court Rules for Religious Schools in Latest Challenge to Pandemic Restrictions
A federal appeals court has granted an injunction to nine religious schools in Ohio that blocks application to them of a recent county order shutting down public and private schools amid a COVID-19 surge. A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Cincinnati,…
A Deeper Look at the Law: Federal Courts Reconsider Previous Rulings On Attendance At Houses Of Worship Based On SCOTUS Decision
The United States Supreme Court, in two cases it ruled on together, Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo and Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo, last month issued an order temporarily barring Governor Cuomo from enforcing strict restrictions on the number of people allowed at houses of worship. In…
Should Employment Matters with Religious Connotations be Dealt with in Court or by Mediations?
This article focuses on a specialized class of employment law and human rights issues where there an overlap exists between matters of creed or religion and the legal relationship. In heterogeneous societies, people will disagree, sometimes passionately and fundamentally, over socio-politics, economics, spirituality and other beliefs and conduct. Our societal…
Americana Corner: The Bill of Rights: The 1st Amendment, religion
The First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. This amendment…
On the Supreme Court’s shadow docket, the steady volume of pandemic cases continues
As the Supreme Court winds down for the holiday break, one thing that has not slowed is the flow of litigation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. In November and December, the court handled seven emergency requests for relief related to COVID-19, six involving challenges by religious institutions to state crowd-restriction…
State constitution might protect consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms as a religious act, says N.H. Supreme Court
Consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms as part of a religious ceremony does not automatically “disturb the public peace” even though eating them is illegal, and therefore the act might be protected by the New Hampshire constitution, the state Supreme Court has ruled. Tuesday’s unanimous Supreme Court ruling does not mean that consuming…
Arguments For Religious ‘Accommodation’ Have Become Tyrannical
It is undeniable that religious groups, even recently, have faced serious and vile prejudice from government-run organizations, particularly on college campuses. It is also important to note that our nation’s courts at the time rightfully stepped in to prohibit and correct this vile prejudice wherever claims were brought. Perhaps due…
Thousands Gather to Protect Religious Freedom from Government Interference
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Thousands from around the world will convene in an online rally organized by Right To Believe to call out gross judicial overreach by the DC Courts and denounce the way the DC Court has handled Case 2011 CA 003721 B. Thousands from around the…
Thousands Gather to Protect Religious Freedom from Government Interference
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Thousands from around the world will convene in an online rally organized by Right To Believe to call out gross judicial overreach by the DC Courts and denounce the way the DC Court has handled Case 2011 CA 003721 B. "We are rallying today…
Commissioner Smith pushes plan to return invocations before County Commission meeting
Brevard County Commissioner Curt Smith wants to bring invocations back at commission meetings — or at least just before them. Commission meetings haven’t had an invocation since November 2017, as a result of the county being sued in federal court in 2015 by three atheist, agnostic and humanist organizations and…
Are Christmas Carols, Cards, and Greetings at School Constitutional?
Are Christmas Carols, Cards, and Greetings at School Constitutional? – By Harold Pease Ph.D. – In the present year of COVID-19 tyrannical governors shut down religious services, a 1st Amendment right, as fast as they could. During the summer months Antifa defaced and with ropes tore down statues of our…
Funds to faith based schools in Vt.?
Vermont tax dollars may soon be going to faith-based elementary and secondary schools, if a case filed last week in Federal district court succeeds. The case is styled Valente v. French. The lead plaintiffs are Mt. Holly parents who send their son to the Roman Catholic Mt. St. Joseph Academy…
Ninth Circuit Rules for Calvary Chapel, Calls Diocese Case “Seismic Shift in Free Exercise Law”
In July, the Court ruled against Calvary Chapel, a church in Nevada. The unsigned opinion, which split 5-4, did not offer any analysis. Presumably, Chief Justice Roberts was willing to quietly stand by his South Bay concurrence. And the other four couldn’t be bothered to reply to the excellent dissent…