Daily Archives: June 12, 2009

Matthew Campbell reports at CBS Springfield: “Days after a shooting rampage at a Springfield strip club, the establishment has closed, and it’s license may be revoked.”

Citizen Media Law Project: “In a recent decision, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Colorado District Court’s rejection of a student’s First Amendment and Equal Protection claims over a forced apology resulting from her valedictory address . . . during the graduation ceremony she presented a different speech, telling the students about Jesus Christ and encouraging them to ‘find out more about the sacrifice He made for you.’”

LA Times: “Is it really a bad thing that charters put pressure on low-performing public schools? Lisa Snell and Ralph E. Shaffer finish their debate.”

Colleen Raezler writes at the Culture Media Institute: NPR glossed over some of the most troubling aspects of the tendency of young adults to choose “hook ups” over dating relationships during its June 8 “Morning Edition” and acompanion piece on its Web site.

Catholic News Agency: A commission charged with revising the Dominican Republic’s constitution has rejected the legalization of same-sex “marriages” and affirmed that the family based on a union between one man and one woman is the foundation of society.

Christian Telegraph: Poland’s civil rights ombudsman, Janusz Kochanowski, said British ambassador Ric Todd was “being improper and doesn’t understand the role of a diplomat” following the disclosure that Todd gave homosexual activist leaders a copy of the “UK Guide To Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender People And Their Rights,” translated into Polish, earlier this week, reports Thaddeus M. Baklinski, LifeSiteNews.com.

Boston Globe (AP): “Gov. Don Carcieri has vetoed legislation allowing stores to sell marijuana to medical patients, a proposal that would make Rhode Island the third state in the nation to adopt such a course.”

Baptist Press:

If California can do it, then so can Maine — that’s at least what Carole Edgerly of Farmington Baptist Church in Maine believes . . . IRS regulations are very clear that a church is allowed to support or oppose legislation — including initiatives and referendums — as long as it does not constitute a substantial part of the church’s activities,” Erik Stanley, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization, told Baptist Press. “… Basically, if it’s under about 15 percent of a church’s activities overall, a church is allowed to do that. That’s such a high threshold. Most churches never have more than that.”

A church, Stanley said, can gather signatures, address the issue from the pulpit and even take a church vote to formally endorse the People’s Veto effort.

“All of that is perfectly permissible,” he said. “No one is going to get in trouble with the IRS for doing that.”

Will Hall writes at Baptist Press: “The following is the last of four articles which address research that has been published within the last year or so about people of faith in the U.S. The series examines Christianity in America, what the numbers mean for the Southern Baptist Convention and the imprint of evangelical voters in the public square.”

ACLU: “We are very surprised and deeply disappointed in the manner in which the Obama administration has defended the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in a brief filed today in Smelt v. United States, a lawsuit brought in federal court in California by a married same-sex couple asking the federal government to treat them equally with respect to federal protections and benefits.”

Americans United for Life: “We’ve just launched a new website — Sotomayor411.com — to get the facts out on Judge Sotomayor’s life-related record.”

Mercury News (AP): “. . . the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health requires that safe sex be practiced on all adult movie sets. ‘But we have persistent reports that that is not the case,’ he said, adding his department receives an average of 15 reports a week from the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation of actors testing positive for other sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and chlamydia.”

Alysa Rosenberg reports at Government Executive: “In some of the most pointed remarks on the subject by an Obama administration official, OPM Director John Berry, the highest ranking openly gay person to serve in the executive branch, affirmed the president’s support for gay Americans, saying, ‘with the help of a president who supports our cause, the aid of courageous fellow countrymen and women who love liberty, and with God’s grace, we shall prevail’ in the quest for civil rights.”

SSRN: “This essay further differs from previous works concerning originalism. First, the essay shows that originalism is a radical departure from the Supreme Court’s well-established jurisprudence of a living Constitution. From its very inception, constitutional law has been a dynamic process of creativity and the vast majority of Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Constitution have been non-originalist in their methodology. Originalism cannot explain the large body of constitutional doctrine that has developed over the years since the Constitution was adopted.”

Morning Sentinel: “Towns and cities across central Maine are scrambling to avoid getting caught with their pants down. By which we mean a number of them are working to fashion municipal ordinances that will restrict, or at least regulate, nudity and what are called ‘adult businesses.’”

Howard Mintz reports in the Mercury News: “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown on Thursday urged a federal judge to keep Proposition 8 in force for now, arguing that it would create too much uncertainty across the state to put the voter-approved ban on gay marriage on hold while the latest legal challenge unfolds in the federal courts.”

A federal judge issued an order Thursday permanently prohibiting the city of St. Louis from banning a Christian ministry from distributing literature and speaking about their religious viewpoint at an annual “PrideFest” event celebrating homosexual behavior.

WMTW.com: “The ordinance restricts the businesses in terms of location, layout and signage.”

“Adult businesses are not entitled to challenge whether they cause adverse effects in their neighborhoods after a new zoning law has been enacted, a federal appeals court has ruled . . . ”

ACLU of Ohio: “The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio urged lawmakers to reject an amendment to the state budget, House Bill 1, that would prohibit school districts from deciding whether or not the Pledge of Allegiance will be recited in their classrooms.”

Religion Dispatches: “Cultural and religious forces are often arrayed against girls when it comes to the right to education. Religion, in particular—whether it’s Islamic legal law or an evangelical Christian aversion to evolution—is often evoked to bar girls from school.”

KETV.com: “Bellevue abortion provider Dr. Leroy Carhart said he will begin training his staff to perform late-term abortions.” The announcement was met with a strong response from Nebraska’s Attorney General.

SMH.au: “A LIFE education program created by an organisation with ties to anti-abortion groups in Australia and the United States was endorsed by the NSW Education Department for use in public schools. But after the links were raised by the Herald , the department yesterday banned the group from visiting schools and announced a review of the processes that led to its approval.”

Legal Writing Competitions Blog: “The Alliance Defense Fund has released the new rules for the 2009-2010 William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship writing competition. Nothing but the dates have changed from your post last year. $2,500 cash prize; papers must be submitted by April 15, 2010.”

Andrew Sullivan writes at the Atlantic Monthly’s Daily Dish: “John Aravosis gets ahold of the government’s brief in a California DOMA case. He writes: ‘It reads as if it were written by one of George Bush’s top political appointees. I cannot state strongly enough how damaging this brief is to us. Obama didn’t just argue a technicality about the case, he argued that DOMA is reasonable. That DOMA is constitutional. That DOMA wasn’t motivated by any anti-gay animus. ‘”

Black Christian News Network: “This mix of charter and after-school tutorial is the model that presents a real challenge to private, religiously focused day schools. One variation on the model may soon be attempted in Englewood, N.J., where a coalition of parents has proposed a program that would inject Hebrew-language instruction into the public-school system and offer supplementary religious education to families who are interested . . . ”

Google (AP): Student Christina Popa’s statement read, in part, “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
The student affairs adviser for the department objected to the Jesus reference and asked her to substitute it with “I want to thank God” instead, according to the Alliance Defense Fund, a religious-freedom group that took up Popa’s cause.

LifeSiteNews: “The Indian government has rejected western-style sex education programs, saying they do nothing to solve the problem of teenage pregnancy but only exacerbate the problem by promoting sexual promiscuity.

Washington Post: “Many single women in Gaza say it’s becoming more difficult to find a husband as a economic hardship in Gaza increases amid a harsh Israeli blockade of the territory. They are relying more on matchmakers, and the Tayseer Association, run by Hamas loyalists, is the best in the business.”

Emory Law Journal: “Over the past six decades, the term ‘judicial activism’ has become an immensely popular tool for criticizing judges’ behavior. Despite the term’s prominence, however, its meaning is obscure, and its origins have been forgotten. This article seeks to correct such deficiencies through a detailed conceptual and historical analysis of judicial activism.”

AP: “Californians could legally possess up to one ounce of pot and cities could sell and tax the drug under an initiative marijuana advocates want to place on the state’s 2010 ballot. The Control, Regulate and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 . . . ”

www.taxcannabis2010.org

Farahad Zama writes at the New York Times: “Economics and social acceptability must be big factors in its galloping rate of marital breakdowns. But dashed expectations must play a large part, too. I think that in arranged marriages one starts with lower expectations and realizes the need for compromise that is essential in a successful bond, and that is probably its biggest benefit.”

LifeNews: “The Empire State Stem Cell Board has agreed to a new plan, that has been soundly criticized by pro-life advocates, using taxpayer funds to pay women who allow for the extraction of their eggs for research purposes. The board will use money from the $600 million in state taxpayer funds it oversees.”

LifeNews: “A Kansas pro-life group says the state medical board should move ahead with efforts to revoke the medical licenses of abortion practitioners who were colleagues of slain late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller.”

Jonathan Adler writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: “Senator John Cornyn has announced that he will pose a ‘daily question’ raised by Judge Sotomayor’s record and opinions every business day from now until the start of the confirmation hearings on July 13. As the press release explains . . . Today’s question is “What is the proper role of foreign and international law in interpreting the United States Constitution?” In his release, Senator Cornyn explains how this question has been raised in some of Judge Sotomayor’s speeches and decisions, in particular a 2009 speech before the ACLU of Puerto Rico.”

Guampdn.com: “Bill 138 would allow same-sex couples who have lived on Guam for at least five years to apply for civil union licenses.”

Equality California: “We are outraged the Obama Administration filed a brief defending the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act — a law Obama promised to repeal when running for President. It is unacceptable that he is defending DOMA instead of supporting its repeal as unconstitutional.”

“‘I don’t know what the motive of the Office of State Ethics was or is, but I do know that their actions stem directly from our attempts to defend ourselves in the face of two pieces of legislation that were unfriendly to the day-to-day mission of the church,’ Lori told FOXNews.com on Thursday.”

The New Vision: “The US Ambassador, Steven Browning, yesterday expressed concern at the pace at which human trafficking was spreading. He said it was now the third most lucrative crime after the drugs and illegal weapons trade, and warned that Uganda has not been spared by the vice.”

Business Wire: “After the Los Angeles Times reported today that an actress in the adult entertainment industry recently tested HIV-positive, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) renewed its call for California legislation that would require the use of condoms by actors performing in porn videos produced by California’s multi-billion dollar adult entertainment industry—a mainstay of the San Fernando Valley economy.”

Wesley J. Smith writing at Secondhand Smoke (now a First Things blog): “The Journal of Critical Care Medicine, has long supported Futile Care Theory–the putative right of doctors to refuse wanted life-sustaining treatment based on their values as to the quality of the patient’s life . . . But the real agenda is health care rationing and imposing a duty to die– sooner rather than later–based on social policy.”

The LA Times staff blog reports: “Public health officials said today they have had no cooperation from the adult entertainment industry health clinic that recently confirmed a porn actress had tested positive for HIV, hampering their efforts to investigate how she contracted the virus.”

LA Times: “L.A. County health officials say at least 16 performers have been infected in addition to one reported this week. That brings the number of HIV cases in porn performers to 22 in the last five years.”

David Cole reviews four books on same-sex “marriage” in the New York Review of Books: “Eskridge, Spedale, and West also argue that the best forum for achieving lasting victory is legislatures, not the courts. That seems less clear. There is no question that those seeking change cannot restrict their advocacy to the courts; a multitiered strategy is critical. But the recent court decisions suggest that it would be wrong to write off the judiciary.”

Religion Clause Blog: “Forum 18 yesterday reported on the ongoing battles between the government and unregistered churches in Belarus. The Council of Churches Baptist refuses to accept registration requiremen.”

Sen. Pedro Espada Jr: “We all want the Senat Democrats to come in and participate,” he said. “As I get the same sex marriage bill on the floor, they’ll take their seats, they’ll debate it.”

Tony Mauro writes at the National Law Journal: “A ruling last year in a child pornography case is one of dozens of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s opinions that defy easy categorization as liberal or conservative. It shows an ex-prosecutor’s understanding of law enforcement needs, an appellate judge’s deference to Supreme Court precedent and a liberal’s empathy for a defendant ensnared primarily because his e-mail address was found in the wrong place. It’s one of many decisions the Senate will scrutinize in anticipation of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings.”

ADF has announced and released rules for the 13th Annual William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship Competition for law students. Click here for rules and details. The winner of the competition receives a cash award in the amount of $2500.

The writing topic for this competition: “Scholarly material of publishable quality that advocates a legal position consistent with ADF’s perspectives and mission as set forth on its web site at www.telladf.org and that addresses one or more issues in the areas of religious liberty, sanctity of life, and/or family values.”

Please share this information with law students.

The winner of the 2008-2009 competition will be announced later this year in September or October.

EducationNews.org: “Since 2007, the number of homeless students in Charles County has grown more than 50 percent. ‘It’s certainly going to go over 400 for the year,” Student Services Director Keith G. Grier said in early April.’”

CNA: “Publico, a newspaper closely allied with Spain’s ruling Socialist party, reported this week that the government is studying the idea of suppressing religious symbols in military barracks, hospitals, jails and public schools, as well as during State funerals or inauguration ceremonies for public officials.”

AP: “Prejean . . . calls her firing a set up. She says ‘tolerance needs to be a two-way street.’”

AP: “The U.S. Justice Department has moved to dismiss the first gay marriage case filed in federal court, saying it is not the right venue to tackle legal questions raised by a couple already married in California.”

Christopher O. Tollefson writing at The Witherspoon Institute’s Public Discourse: “The ECHR statement suggests that democracy is a necessary condition for pluralism, but this seems unlikely. Far more plausible is the claim that the existence of democratic society is sufficient for a high degree of pluralism. The freedoms that liberal democracy brings inevitably lead to differences and disagreements, even between people uprightly striving to seek the truth. What John Rawls called the “burdens of judgment” make it reasonable to expect that when a question is not solved by empirical evidence, liberty of belief will result in difference of judgment. So some degree of pluralism does indeed seem to be a natural result of liberal freedoms.”

OneNewsNow reports: “‘Haskell County allowed Mike Bush, who is a citizen, to put a monument on the courthouse lawn, along with several other historical monuments, along with the Ten Commandments,’ Theriot notes. ‘They have a monument to the veterans, a monument to the Choctaw Indians, to the class of 1955, and several other historical-type of monuments.’”

OneNewsNow reports: “Attorney Tim Tracy of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) says proponents of the Council’s decision argue banning homosexual marriage violates the city’s human rights law on the basis of sexual orientation. He labels the situation ‘kind of anomalous.’

‘. . . [Y]ou have a non-discrimination law and DC marriage laws that have existed side by side for 32 years,’ he points out. ‘And only now in the last two weeks has anyone ever suggested that those DC marriage laws, defining marriage as between a man and a woman, somehow constitutes [sic] discrimination under the Human Rights Act.’”

Gary Emerling reports in the Washington Times: “‘This referendum would do nothing more than maintain the status quo of what marriage has been and is in the District of Columbia – a union between a man and a woman,’ said Brian Raum of the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, which is working with referendum supporters.”

Christian Examiner: “‘Christian students shouldn’t be silenced when expressing their beliefs at public universities and are entitled to the same rights as all other students,’ said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Heather Gebelin Hacker.

‘We are pleased that UCLA officials understand that denying religious liberty to students is a violation of the First Amendment, not a requirement of it. A personal statement at a graduation ceremony is exactly that—personal—and in no way signifies an endorsement of religion by the school. We commend UCLA for acting quickly to protect Ms. Popa’s constitutional rights.’”

Randy Jelinek writes at One News Now: “The world is changing much faster than we realize. Europe will be a Muslim continent in less than 50 years. In fact, the only Western country that is currently regenerating itself as a Christian nation is the United States — and the only reason that is occurring is due to the steady stream of immigrants flowing in from Mexico.”

Related:

Video: What Will Replace Western Civilization? Muslim demographics

Catholic Culture: “Caritas Christi, the health-care agency affiliated with the Boston archdiocese, is hoping to make ‘acceptable modifications’ in an agreement under which it will provide state-subsidized care for low-income Massachusetts residents. The state government contract requires coverage for abortion and other procedures condemned by the Church.”

365Gay.com: “WNYC is reporting that the uproar in the New York Senate continues. Now, the two Democrats who voted with the Republicans to start a ‘coalition’ government are saying they will bring gay marriage to a vote on Monday – so that Democratic senators will be forced to come to the chamber, and thus recognize the new leadership.”

WorldNetDaily: “Tami Farrell, the newly crowned beauty queen who is replacing the ousted Carrie Prejean as Miss California, apparently holds the same view as her predecessor, Carrie Prejean, and President Obama that marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

PC World: “Internet filtering software that China plans to distribute nationwide blocks content related to a spiritual movement banned in China, despite government claims that the software targets only porn.”

Virginia Law Review In Brief: “This rule hinges, of course, on whether or not it is in fact the government speaking; the doctrine does not, by definition, apply to private speech that takes place on public grounds. Thus, much of the argument in Pleasant Grove centered on whether the city has “adopted” or “effectively controlled” the message of the Fraternal Order of Eagles’ monument by displaying it in Pioneer Park.”

Buffalo Law Review: “This Article considers a recent programmatic shift among law and development scholars who have moved from advocating building rule-of-law processes, rules, and institutions to also building rule-of-law cultures. The Article carefully examines how these scholars envision culture as a tool to refashion the relationship between legal institutions and ordinary individuals. It traces the ways in which they use culture as a means to take law — general, universal, and acultural — and to make law specific, local, and embedded within the consciousness of ordinary people. It then suggests that this turn from law to culture produces a conceptualization of culture uncannily analogous to the conceptualization of law that the turn to culture was meant to supplement and correct.”

SSRN: “This paper concludes that a law school is an educational enterprise; its function is to prepare people skilled in the knowledge and application of a fundamental form of social ordering. However, different societies have different social orderings and so this universal will be realized differently from one society to another. In developing this claim, the Article emphasizes that the relationship between legal education and university education is distinctive.”

Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy: “The question of the place of higher law in the ordinary practice of law is even now dogged by the brooding omnipresence caricature. This Article seeks to introduce and apply a philosophically defensible account of natural law, the one defended by Thomas Aquinas, to various problematics of contemporary law and jurisprudence. The Article argues that such higher law is not so high as to be relevant only to sexy constitutional questions, as is often supposed, but to everything we do in law. The Article argues that liberals and conservatives alike should acknowledge both the place of natural law in the positive law and the contingent/prudential limits on judges’ authority to speak the natural law directly from the bench.”

SSRN: “This book chapter argues for the impact of religion on transitional justice through an examination of 16 case studies. It identifies when, how and under what conditions religion shapes countries’ choices of transitional justice institutions.”

SSRN: