Yes, here we go again. The first time I read through this Washington Post story — “ Firing of gay Catholic school teacher could test latest Supreme Court ruling” — I thought it was another botched mainstream press story about a case in which a doctrinally defined academic community (in…
Judges Probe High Court Ruling’s Reach in Photographer’s Challenge to Anti-LGBTQ Bias Law
Federal appellate judges probed the scope of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling during arguments Friday in a challenge to a Louisville anti-discrimination ordinance brought by a Christian photographer opposed to shooting same-sex weddings. In 303 Creative v. Elenis , the high court’s conservative majority ruled for a Denver website…
Judge dismisses church’s lawsuit challenging Washington law mandating abortion coverage
A federal judge has rejected a church’s argument that a Washington state law forcing faith-based organizations to cover elective abortions in their employee health plans violates the church’s religious freedom rights. In a Tuesday ruling , Judge Benjamin Settle of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington…
Revised Lawsuit Filed By Mendham Church Over Taxpayer Money
Earlier this spring, two churches filed a federal lawsuit against Morris County, alleging discrimination after being denied grant funding. Vianella Burns , Patch Staff Earlier this spring, two churches filed a federal lawsuit against Morris County, alleging discrimination after being denied grant funding. (Google Maps) MENDHAM, NJ — Two Morris…
Revised Lawsuit Filed By Long Valley Church Over Taxpayer Money
Earlier this spring, two churches filed a federal lawsuit against Morris County, alleging discrimination after being denied grant funding. Vianella Burns , Patch Staff Earlier this spring, two churches filed a federal lawsuit against Morris County, alleging discrimination after being denied grant funding. (Google Maps ) LONG VALLEY, NJ —…
Fair’s Fair — Even in the Culture War
The end of the Supreme Court’s term brought two rulings unquestionably favorable to religious interests. A U.S. flag flies in front of the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York City. (photo: mariakray / Shutterstock) According to recent opinion polling, most Americans think the Supreme Court is friendly to…
Ex-Kings Announcer’s ‘All Lives Matter’ Case Advances in Court
Former Sacramento Kings announcer Grant Napear could now see part of his case over firing for an "All Lives Matter" tweet go to discovery. A federal judge on Wednesday partially denied a motion to dismiss former Sacramento Kings play-by-play announcer Grant Napear’s case that he was illegally fired and discriminated…
Washington prevails in church’s challenge against mandated abortion coverage
(CN) — The state of Washington defeated a lawsuit brought by a church that challenged a 2018 law requiring health insurance plans that provide maternity coverage to also provide substantially equivalent abortion coverage. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma on Tuesday issued summary judgment in favor of the state.…
Is the Supreme Court giving favorable treatment to religion?
Supreme Court Have religious zealots coopted the Supreme Court? The left seems to think so. Pieces written about its last two terms, in particular, make various versions of this claim. They’ve said the court allegedly wishes to end the separation of church and state . They’ve said the majority of…
Examining Implications for Freedom of Speech, Religious Accommodation, LGBTQ Rights After Recent Rulings
Michael Maslanka A birthday ending with a “0” is bearing down on me. As with other Baby Boomers, thoughts pivot from temporal concerns toward transcendent ones. So, a very recent trifecta of cases involving religion in the workplace snagged my attention: two from SCOTUS and one from the Fifth Circuit.…
James W. Pfister: Creativity, discrimination and commerce
The last case of the Supreme Court term this year was provocative: It would allow a graphic designer, Ms. Smith, in a business open to the public, to discriminate against a gay couple regarding their marriage if she had a sincerely held belief that same-sex marriages are morally wrong. Her…
Supreme Court Fortifies Standard for Religious Accommodations
Employers will need to prove religious accommodations inflict substantial costs before denying them The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that employers can only deny an employee’s request for a religious accommodation under federal law if they can prove it would result in substantial increased costs for the business. In a…
Religious Charter Schools: Another Brick in the Wall of Separation?
The idea that religion should be isolated from our civil institutions has overwhelmingly captured the American popular imagination . Recently however, the U.S. Supreme Court has been dismantling this “wall of separation” narrative, brick by brick, to allow more freedom for private religious expression and activity. Over the past year,…
Is Refusing To Provide ‘Expressive Service’ a Legal Right or Discrimination? The Supreme Court May Have Decided
Late last month, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a split decision that Colorado can’t force, through its anti-discrimination law, a business owner who provides expressive services like graphic design and website creation to make wedding websites for same-sex couples. To do so, the court found, would violate the…
Getting the Get: Contract Law May be the Solution
Photo: Adobe Stock As attorneys focusing their practice on divorce, we are often involved in trying to procure a Jewish divorce, also known as a “Get” for our clients. Why does this issue arise during a civil divorce and what can be done when one spouse refuses to give the…
How the First Amendment can save affirmative action
People walk through the gate on Harvard Yard at the Harvard University campus on June 29, 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Supreme Court recently ruled that race-conscious admission policies used by Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitution, bringing an end to affirmative action in higher education.…
Fort Worth faces legal battle over censorship claims by atheist organization
The Metroplex Atheists group hung "In No God We Trust" banners on Fort Worth, Texas, lampposts in July 2019. Photo via Atheists.org (RNS) — Metroplex Atheists, a Texas-based nonprofit advocating for the separation of church and state, filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Fort Worth, Texas, after being…
Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Employers Evaluating Religious Accommodation Requests
On June 29, 2023, the US Supreme Court issued a decision clarifying the standard employers must apply in considering an employee’s religious accommodation request under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In Groff v. DeJoy , the justices unanimously ruled that Title VII requires employers who deny such requests…
We’ve Entered a New Era of Tiered Constitutional Rights
(Photo by Celal Gunes / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) In 1943, as the end of World War II was nowhere in sight and when patriotic national unity around the defeat of fascist aggression from Germany and Japan was at its height, the US Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia…
Peoria school board member will stop quoting scripture at public meetings—legal warnings, public opinion prompted compliance
Peoria Unified School District Administration Building Last month the Peoria Unified School District received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation stating grounds of “imposing religion” on those in public attendance and if continued, “could subject the district to unnecessary liability and potential financial strain.” During Thursday’s meeting, Bible…
Judge says SCOTUS ruling for Christian web designer means she doesn’t have to marry same-sex couples
Waco, Texas Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley (screengrab via First Liberty Institute). The fallout from a Christian web-designer’s victory in the Supreme Court continued as a Texas judge attempted to use the ruling to deny marriage to gay couples. Dianne Hensley, a justice of the peace in Waco, Texas,…
Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Employers Evaluating Religious Accommodation Requests
On June 29, 2023, the US Supreme Court issued a decision clarifying the standard employers must apply in considering an employee’s religious accommodation request under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In Groff v. DeJoy , the justices unanimously ruled that Title VII requires employers who deny such requests…
Amish Religious Freedom Wins Out Over Septic Tank Rules
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Members of a deeply conservative Amish community in Minnesota don’t need to install septic systems to dispose of their “gray water,” the state Court of Appeals ruled Monday in a long-running religious freedom case that went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. A three-judge…
Supreme Court bringing American politics to a new low
The U.S. Supreme Court made a colossally misguided ruling in a case involving a website designer who doesn’t want to serve same-sex clients. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | Has America hit political bottom? The Supreme Court may have demonstrated that there is no bottom to which America can descend,…
Court sides with Amish in case pitting septic tank rules against religious beliefs
Stock image What to Know A state appeals court says members of a deeply conservative Amish community in Minnesota don’t need to install septic systems to dispose of their “gray water.” The ruling came Monday from the state Court of Appeals in a long-running religious freedom case that went all…