GREG HARTON: Court guards religion as central to U.S. freedoms

Growing up, I had heard about Al Capone, the high-profile, Chicago-based crime boss who violently capitalized on bootlegging during Prohibition. When I became a reporter in Hot Springs, I became aware of a certain tourist-town pride that "Big Al" once owned a suite in the still-renowned Arlington Hotel. He enjoyed,…

Counterpoint: Religious Liberty Scores a Win at the Supreme Court

Counterpoint: Religious Liberty Scores a Win at the Supreme Court

Three religious freedom cases provide constitutionalists with some hope. In a year beset by disappointing decisions from the Supreme Court, a trio of religious liberty cases decided this term provides constitutionalists with some hope. Let’s review: Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania The Little Sisters of the Poor need…

Why Supreme Court liberals joined conservatives on religion, by Noah Feldman

The Supreme Court has decided, 7-2, that teachers in Catholic elementary schools are not covered by employment discrimination law. This is a highly important expansion of religious exemptions from government regulation. The Supreme Court had already given religious institutions an exemption for so-called “ministerial” employees. It has now gone substantially…

Commentary: Why Supreme Court liberals joined conservatives on religion

Commentary: Why Supreme Court liberals joined conservatives on religion

The Supreme Court has decided, 7-2, that teachers in Catholic elementary schools are not covered by employment discrimination law. This is a highly important expansion of religious exemptions from government regulation. The Supreme Court had already given religious institutions an exemption for so-called “ministerial” employees. It has now gone substantially…

Battle for recognition of Muslim marriages heads to Supreme Court of Appeal

Battle for recognition of Muslim marriages heads to Supreme Court of Appeal

The state says objections received from Muslim groups, some of whom accused legislators of attempting to interpret the Qur’an, made it difficult to enact laws recognising Muslim marriages. Picture: www.wallpaperflare.com Objections that the State received from Muslim groups, some of whom accused legislators of attempting to interpret the Qur’an, made…

High court sparks new battle over church-state separation

High court sparks new battle over church-state separation

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen Tuesday, June 30, 2020 in Washington. The Supreme Court elated religious freedom advocates and alarmed secular groups with its Tuesday ruling on public funding for religious education, a decision whose long-term effect on the separation of church and state remains to be seen. In…

High court sparks new battle over church-state separation

High court sparks new battle over church-state separation

By DAVID CRARY and ELANA SCHOR, Associated Press The Supreme Court elated religious freedom advocates and alarmed secular groups with its Tuesday ruling on public funding for religious education, a decision whose long-term effect on the separation of church and state remains to be seen. In Espinoza v. Montana Department…

A troubling fidelity to precedent

A troubling fidelity to precedent

On Monday, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that would have required abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Not only did Chief Justice John Roberts side with the more liberal justices again, he also gave pro-lifers reasons to doubt Roe…

High court sparks new battle over church-state separation

High court sparks new battle over church-state separation

By DAVID CRARY and ELANA SCHOR, Associated Press The Supreme Court elated religious freedom advocates and alarmed secular groups with its Tuesday ruling on public funding for religious education, a decision whose long-term effect on the separation of church and state remains to be seen. In Espinoza v. Montana Department…

Supreme Court hands win to religious schools

Supreme Court hands win to religious schools

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Montana program that excluded religious schools from a student aid initiative violates religious freedoms protected under the U.S. Constitution. The 5-4 majority decision, which fell along ideological lines, said that by making state-backed private school scholarships off-limits to parochial schools, the program…

High court sparks new battle over church-state separation

High court sparks new battle over church-state separation

The Supreme Court elated religious freedom advocates and alarmed secular groups with its Tuesday ruling on public funding for religious education, a decision whose long-term effect on the separation of church and state remains to be seen. In Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the high court ruled 5-4 that…

IDEAS: What is religious freedom?

IDEAS: What is religious freedom?

Note from Community Impact Editor Amelia Robinson: this commentary is set to appear on the Dayton Daily News Ideas and Voices page Sunday, July 5. This week’s guest columnists were asked to reflect on the notions of freedom and/or patriotism. Other columns to be featured on the page are embedded.…

U.S. Supreme Court Declines Review of Education Case on Use of Salary History

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to take up a case about gender-based pay disparities in education, refusing to review a lower-court ruling that invalidated a California county education agency’s policy of considering new employees’ pay history in setting their salaries. The court issued a brief order without comment…

Esbeck on the Establishment Clause after Espinoza v. Montana

Carl H. Esbeck (University of Missouri School of Law) has posted With the Supreme Court having Decided Espinoza v. Montana and Ordering the State to Fund Religious Schools: What’s Left of the Establishment Clause? on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Consistent with the Establishment Clause, the Supreme Court had permitted…

High court sparks new battle over church-state separation

By David Crary and Elana Schor – Associated Press The Supreme Court elated religious freedom advocates and alarmed secular groups with its Tuesday ruling on public funding for religious education, a decision whose long-term effect on the separation of church and state remains to be seen. In Espinoza v. Montana…

Court upholds abortion-related ruling against Catholic Church

Court upholds abortion-related ruling against Catholic Church

ALBANY – A mid-level appeals court Thursday unanimously rejected the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany’s effort to challenge a state regulation that requires health insurers to cover medically necessary abortions. In a 5-0 decision, the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court’s Third Department upheld a January 2019 ruling by state…