Daily Archives: February 11, 2010

ABC: “A legal tussle over abortion is developing in Wake County that could drag in cities and counties across North Carolina. Wake County Commission Chairman Tony Gurley says it’s illegal for the county’s health insurance plan to fund abortions for county employees – citing the 30-year-old NC State Supreme Court ruling Stam v. State . . . ”

MyFoxPhoenix.com: “. . . For each judicial vacancy, nonpartisan commissions review applications and send the three most qualified candidates to the governor, who selects one. Voters decide whether to retain judges or remove them from office. Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, proposes that judges instead be nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, similar to the federal system. Judges would have to be reconfirmed by the Senate every four years . . . ”

ADF on Google Buzz here:
http://www.google.com/profiles/alliancedefensefund

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KFSM.com: “The bills dealt with the use of the RU-486 “abortion pill,” prohibited abortions based on the gender of the fetus and prevented discrimination against medical employees who refuse to participate in abortions.”

ADF Attorney David French writing at Phi Beta Cons: “Jere Surber’s “explanation” for liberal bias in the academy has touched off quite a bit of commentary, both here and elsewhere, yet not much of it has examined the issue from a legal perspective. How much of the bias is the result of systematic and unlawful discrimination? And (more important) how do we identify discrimination in the absence of overt bans on conservative applicants?”

Winston-Salem Journal: “A group trying to get the county to appeal a court ruling against sectarian prayer pledged $100,000 to the effort today, in addition to the $55,000 the group raised last year. … A national group called the Alliance Defense Fund is backing the county’s defense financially, but will not pay judgments awarded to the ACLU should the county ultimately lose. That’s where the N.C. Partnership has stepped in with its pledge.”

LifeNews: “After an outpouring of opposition from pro-life advocates across the state, Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish will allow a pro-life teen to receive an award form the legislature.”

LifeSiteNews: “Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, Oregon has cautiously expressed concern after reports this week that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is listed as a member of a coalition that promotes homosexual ‘rights’ and access to abortion.”

” . . . the plaintiffs, who want to redefine marriage, have focused unabashedly on a systematic attack of orthodox religious beliefs.”

East Valley Tribune: “Rep. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, the sponsor of HB2650, said she believes that requiring couples to wait 180 days will result in more people deciding they should stay together. As proof, she said the divorce rate is lower in states with longer waiting periods than it is in Arizona, where a marriage can be ended in as few as 60 days.”

BBC News: “Local chiefs and Kenyan officials have prevented a planned ‘gay wedding’ in Kenya – where such unions are illegal.”

TheLedger.com: On Sept. 7, 1774, at the request of Benjamin Franklin, the Continental Congress asked an Episcopal rector, the Rev. Jacob Duché, to give an invocation. Duché prayed for the success of the independence effort, that God would “unnerve” the hands of British soldiers and concluded with the words, “All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, thy Son and our Savior.”

CNA: “A pro-life billboard campaign has caused controversy in Georgia for saying that black children are an ‘endangered species’ because of the disproportionately high abortion rate among African-American women.”

CNET.com: “Even though police are tapping into the locations of mobile phones thousands of times a year, the legal ground rules remain unclear, and federal privacy laws written a generation ago are ambiguous at best.”

State Rep. Virgil Peck, R-Tyro, said House Bill 2564 would require people who want health insurance that covers abortion to pay extra for that and get a separate rider for their policy.”

Rob Vischer writes at the Mirror of Justice Blog: “The fact that this practice is now forbidden to Christian believers reflects the higher standards of holiness prevailing under the new dispensation. In terms of legal language, polygamy is a mala prohibita offense, something forbidden by law in some societies but not others, rather than something evil in itself, mala in se, which all reasonable people know to be wrong . . . ”

Chicago Sun-Times: “The GOP gubernatorial front-runner [Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington)] Wednesday proposed changing the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, make it more difficult to pass state tax increases, impose term limits on lawmakers and overhaul the process of redrawing legislative boundaries.”

Christian Newswire: “As thousands of Iranian opposition activists take to the streets, Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran are calling on Congress to reconcile the two versions of the Iranian sanctions bills they have passed and get a single version to President Obama’s desk ., . . ”

Christian Post: “The Haitian judge overseeing the case is expected to rule mid-afternoon on whether to release the ten Americans who attempted to transport 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic without permission.”

CNA: “The Pontifical Academy for Life began its 16th plenary meeting Thursday afternoon under the theme of ‘Bioethics and Natural Law.’ The sessions of the congress will seek to “regain” an understanding of natural law.”

ABC 4: “But Wednesday, it was a poem instead of a prayer. And it was read by openly gay legislator, Christine Johnson who is pregnant and carrying a baby for two gay men.”

Georgia Public Broadcasting: “The State Board of Education has upheld recent approvals of charter schools by the state’s Charter School Commission. That means two more school districts will be suing the state over charter school funding.”

Reuters: “Marriage rates in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest level since records began in 1862 as a rising population increasingly shuns wedlock, government statisticians said on Thursday.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “But that hasn’t slowed the would-be dancers lining up to apply for the $350 permit to work in the city’s 19 clubs, Atlanta police say. Among the usual aspiring actresses and dancers, there are more college students, single mothers trailing toddlers, health and office professionals and even a few age-defying grandmothers — all looking for well-paid work in a city with unemployment above 10 percent.”

AP: “The Saudi religious police launched Thursday a nationwide crackdown on stores selling items that are red or in any other way allude to the banned celebrations of Valentine’s Day, a Saudi official said.”

Liberty Counsel: “Tomorrow, young people in America and around the world are beginning Valentine’s celebrations by committing to sexual purity and encouraging their peers on the value of purity. This is the seventh annual Day of Purity, which helps educate youth to remain sexually pure until marriage . . . ”

Richmond Times Dispatch: “State education groups today called Gov. Bob McDonnell’s initiative to loosen charter school laws part of a ‘political agenda,’ that would send precious education dollars to schools that are not needed in a time of drastic budget cuts.”

KC Star: “The legislation would ban nudity at strip clubs and force partly nude employees to stay 6 feet away from customers. It also would make strip clubs and adult video stores close by midnight and restrict the location of new adult entertainment businesses.”

The Charleston Gazette: “The Family Policy Council of West Virginia issued a news release Wednesday saying that policies that help adolescents access birth control would lead to more teen sex.”

KETV: “The Iowa Court of Appeals will allow dancers to continue to perform at a controversial strip club.”

Catholic News Agency: “Responding to a call by Archbishop Cristian Caro of Puerto Montt in Chile, numerous family organizations are urging a campaign to halt the distribution of pro-homosexual material in public schools.”

Blog of the Legal Times: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) today criticized the American Bar Association’s process for evaluating federal judicial nominees, saying the ABA should not penalize a nominee for not having prior experience on the bench.”

Tony Mauro writes at The Blog of Legal Times: “The Judicial Confirmation Network, which has been a significant conservative voice in recent Supreme Court confirmation battles, is expanding its mission and adding urgency to its name: from now on, you can call it the Judicial Crisis Network. It will take on state as well as federal judicial battles and the Department of Justice, and issues relating to limited government, a fair judiciary and the rule of law. It is keeping the same Web site . . . ”

The Hill: “Democrats are hoping to fast-track a set of sweeping new campaign finance regulations to prevent the Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United decision from affecting the November midterm elections.”

Religion Clause Blog: “In The Queen on the Appliation of Ghai v. Newcastle City Council, (Eng. & Wales Ct. App., Feb. 10, 2010), Britain’s Court of Appeal upheld the right of a Hindu man to be cremated in England on a traditional funeral pyre according to his religious beliefs.”

Associated Press: “The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Arkansas Family Council on Wednesday filed motions for summary judgment with a Pulaski County judge.”

ISI’s First Principles Web Journal has posted Russell Hittinger’s entry on Natural Law in American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia: “Among conservatives, nothing discredited theories of natural rights more than the French Revolution, in which appeals to the ‘rights of man’ were used to overthrow the social, political, and ecclesiastical orders. Both Jeremy Bentham’s positivism and Edmund Burke’s defense of custom and tradition represented reactions to the revolutionary effects of natural-rights theories on the Continent. The waning of natural-law jurisprudence in the English tradition was due in large part to the revulsion caused by the French experiment.”

Religion Clause: “A federal lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles on Monday by a Christian evangelist challenging the breadth of a rule banning the distribution of leaflets and educational or counseling activities within 100 feet of any courthouse door. … Alliance Defense Fund issued a release announcing the filing of the case.”

phillyburbs.com (AP): “City Solicitor Dan Regan says the fees sought by the Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz., are ‘excessive’ and is challenging the request.”

OneNewsNow: “That allotted time at commissioners meetings will now be devoted to a moment of silence instead of prayer. Mike Johnson of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is handling the case and cites the federal court’s ruling. ‘Any reference to a sectarian deity, specifically a reference to Jesus, in a public invocation is somehow inherently unconstitutional,’ he reports.”

Christian Post: “In addition to the appeal, attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have filed a motion to keep a proposed law legalizing gay marriage from going into effect in March, the legal group reported Tuesday. ‘The people of D.C. do not deserve to have a new definition of marriage imposed upon them without their consent,’ said ADF Legal Counsel Timothy J. Tracey. ‘We will continue to fight for the people’s right to vote on this referendum and participate in a legitimate democratic process in the district.’”

Winston-Salem Journal: “A local group supporting the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners in a suit over public prayer said it would announce at 12:45 p.m. today an offer of financial support for appealing a recent court decision against the county … the county is being defended by the Alliance Defense Fund for free, but that group won’t pay the plaintiffs’ legal expenses should the county ultimately lose.”

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization that represents Mary Kathryn Brown in the case, wants about $244,000 for representing Brown in federal court and $115,000 for representing Brown before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.”

Citizen Link: “Kevin Smith, executive director of Cornerstone Action, said House Bill 1523 mandates that all school districts insert the terms ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity and expression’ into policies.”

John Eastman and Erwin Chemerinsky appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss Christian Legal Society v. Martinez.

The MP3 runs just over 4 minutes.

1. CLS summary:
http://www.clsnet.org/center/litigation/christian-legal-society-v-martinez-uc-hastings

2. ADF Media Information – 22 amici briefs briefs filed in support of CLS, including 14 states
http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/3726

3. SCOTUS Blog Wiki (documents and filings):
http://www.scotuswiki.com/index.php?title=Christian_Legal_Society_v._Martinez

4. ADF Alliance Alert coverage:
http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/tag/zz-christian-legal-society-v-martinez/

EduationNews.org: Today the Education and the Public Interest Center (EPIC) at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Education Policy Research Unit (EPRU) at Arizona State University released a study that examines enrollment patterns in schools operated by Education Management Organizations. Schools without Diversity: Education Management Organizations, Charter Schools, and the Demographic Stratification of the American School System finds these schools segregated by race, family income, disabilities, and English language learner status

NCPA: “President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget calls for a 9 percent increase in federal education spending, and he has famously said that the money should go to ‘what works’ in education. So he ought to take another look at Milwaukee, where the nation’s oldest and largest publicly funded school voucher program is showing academic gains, says the Wall Street Journal.”

Wall Street Journal: “Iran’s telecommunications agency announced what it described as a permanent suspension of Google Inc.’s email services, saying a national email service for Iranian citizens would soon be rolled out.”

Daily Mail: Iran is now a ‘nuclear state’, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced this morning. He spoke as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Tehran to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. Despite fears of violence, opposition supporters found themselves largely overwhelmed by the clerical regime and pro-government demonstrators.”

Ann Coulter writes at Townhall: “How about just punishing the guilty? The Democrats can’t do that because the list of Wall Street’s biggest offenders may turn out to be eerily similar to the list of Obama’s biggest campaign contributors. Employees from Goldman Sachs gave more to the Obama campaign than any other organization except the University of California — with Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase quickly following in sixth and seventh place . . . ”

Wall Street Journal: “In an interview this week, Mr. Arpaio said he would ignore Washington’s effort to clip his powers and would train all of his 881 deputies to enforce federal immigration law on the streets.”

Robert Spencer writes at Human Events: “Wilders has stated the problem plainly: ‘I am being prosecuted for my political convictions. The freedom of speech is on the verge of collapsing. If a politician is not allowed to criticise an ideology anymore, this means that we are lost, and it will lead to the end of our freedom.’ And not just in the Netherlands.”

Piero Tozzi, When Conscience Clashes with State Law & Policy: Catholic Institutions: A Response to Susan Stabile (2007). Journal of Catholic Legal Studies, Vol. 46, No. 2, 2007; Catholic Lawyer, Vol. 46, No. 2, 2007. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1549363

“Responding to Professor Susan Stabile’s analysis of the clash between the secular state and the autonomy of religious institutions, the author gives a legal practitioner’s gloss on the subject. Reflecting on three matters that he had litigated, he delves into the increasing encroachment of the secular state upon the free exercise rights of religious institutions and the conscience rights of individuals.”