Daily Archives: April 7, 2010

NPR: “With U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens talking openly about retirement, attention has focused on the ‘who’ — as in who is on President Obama’s short list of potential nominees. But almost nobody has noticed that when Justice Stevens retires, it is entirely possible that there will be no Protestant justices on the court for the first time ever.” | See Razib Khan’s April 6th post, recently linked at the ADF Alliance Alert, on this same issue: America, 2010

Washington Post:  Senate Democrats defended Goodwin Liu’s candidacy for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday, a day after the GOP suggested his nomination might be in jeopardy because he had not provided enough information to a Senate committee.”

Office of the Press Secretary: “One of my hopes upon taking this office was to make the White House a place where all people would feel welcome. To that end, we held a Seder here to mark the first Passover. We held an Iftar here with Muslim Americans to break the daily fast during Ramadan. And today, I’m particularly blessed to welcome you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, for this Easter breakfast. . . . We are awed by the grace He showed even to those who would have killed Him. We are thankful for the sacrifice He gave for the sins of humanity. And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection.” | TIME’s Swampland blog has more information on the breakfast.

ADF Attorney Greg Baylor writing at the Academic Freedom File: “[Marci Hamilton's] column states that this case will cause the Supreme Court to ‘wade into the culture wars morass.’ To be sure, this case arises out of a leftwing university’s attack on a theologically orthodox religious group. However, the legal principles involved transcend the particular positions taken by the contending sides on religious and moral questions. At stake is the freedom of all student groups to choose leaders who share their respective missions, free from undue government pressure . . . There is no need for the Court to ‘choose sides’ in the culture war. It simply needs to uphold the Constitution.”

Bellevue Reporter: “The city is coming down on [Adrianne] Peterson [the owner of Touchdown Espresso, a new 'bikini barista' stand that opened March 1] for operating a drive-through, which is prohibited at the location of her business . . . A code-enforcement officer visited Touchdown Espresso on April 2, requesting that Peterson renew her building permit and take measures to block drive-through customers . . . The planned revision could result in a stricter definition of adult entertainment, one that includes bikini-clad baristas.”

Fairbanks Daily News Miner: “Oral arguments are set for May 20 in a case seeking to keep a proposed abortion initiative off the ballot. The Alaska Supreme Court released the schedule Wednesday.”

Kotatv.com: “The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota wants Rapid City to pay $800,000 to a lesbian and former Air Force staff sergeant outed by two police officers . . . ”

“The state Supreme Court today ruled a conversation a man had with a pastor about allegations the man sexually abused his daughters is protected by the cleric-penitent privilege . . .”

ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks appeared on the Michael Medved Show to discuss the ongoing NJ marriage battle.

The MP3 runs approximately 34 minutes.

Dallas Morning News: Plano’s long-running ‘religious candy cane case’ resurfaced today, when a federal appellate court heard arguments surrounding the responsibility of two school principals named as defendants in a religious-freedom suit . . . ‘We are very encouraged,’ Kelly Shackelford, president of Liberty Institute, said as everyone filtered out of the small, carpeted courtroom. ‘We finally got a day in court to get to the real issues – that elementary school kids do have First Amendment rights.”

Pride1Radio (“gay radio station”): “According to a report of Info magazine GGG.at the Styrian EPG Adjustment Act [is currently under review]. [Everywhere Styrian state law uses "spouse" it should also add gay and lesbian partners].” [Google Translation]

The Hill: “Sen. Arlen Specter says he has an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to become the next chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but three senior Democrats are blocking the deal . . . ”

LifeNews: “The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee has said he has no plans to delay the hearing on the abortion advocate President Barack Obama selected for an appeals court position . . . ”

Hot Air: “While more than a dozen state Attorneys General plan to challenge the individual mandate of ObamaCare in court, Minnesota’s Lori Swanson has a different idea. She plans to defend the expansion of federal power by filing amicus briefs on behalf of the Obama administration . . . ”

HotAir.com: “Even with Minnesota and Wisconsin’s Democratic Attorneys General opting to side with the feds rather than defend state sovereignty, the decision to fight ObamaCare in the courts over federal encroachment has become popular . . . ”

Christian Post: “A U.S. citizen who is said to be a devout Christian was sentenced to eight years of hard labor by North Korea, the North’s official news agency reported Wednesday . . . Aijalon Mahli Gomes, 30, was convicted of illegally entering North Korea and ‘hostile acts’ against the country, said the Korean Central News Agency. In addition to the prison sentence, Gomes was also fined 70 million North Korean won, the equivalent of about $700,000.”

News8: “‘I believe all of them will pay political consequences for their actions,’ said Bob King, who has teamed up with Bishop Harry Jackson and the National Organization for Marriage to form a political action committee. It will support D.C. candidates who oppose same-sex marriage, including, for example, mayoral candidate Leo Alexander.”

Catholic Culture: “The birthrate in the United States fell 2% in 2008 and is now below the population replacement level of 2.1 children per woman, according to a report released April 6 by the National Center for Health Statistics.” (links to the report)

LifeNews: “President Barack Obama wasted little time after his election in promoting abortion abroad by overturning the Mexico City Policy and forcing Americans to pay for abortions and abortion promotion in other nations. Now the Obama administration is attempting to get Kenya to legalize abortion . . . ”

Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel Byron Babione and ADF Litigation Counsel Sara Tappen will be available for media interviews Thursday following a hearing in the lawsuitCole v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against Act 1

Wisconsin Law Journal: “Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard, 51, easily won the race in District IV over Richland County Circuit Court Judge Edward E. Leineweber, 61, with 63 percent of the vote . . . The race in Waukesha was closer, as circuit court Judge Paul F. Reilly held off fellow trial court judge Linda M. Van De Water.”

Macon.com: “The Macon chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is holding the ‘rally for equality’ at 6 p.m. Friday and says the student, Derrick Martin, as well as Deonna Sage, who performs in drag, will attend.”

WGAL.com: “Cole Goforth, 15, said he was sent home from Greenbrier High School on Monday for wearing a shirt that said ‘I Heart Lady Gay Gay,’ a takeoff on the name of performer Lady GaGa.”

WBIR.com: “Legislation that would prohibit teaching about gay relationships in Tennessee public schools has likely failed again . . . Read HB0821/SB1250 at http://capitol.tn.gov”

ACLJ: “The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is urging a federal appeals court to uphold the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance – including the phrase ‘under God’ – on behalf of more than 40 members of Congress and more than 80,000 Americans. The ACLJ today filed an amicus brief . . . ”

Sydney Morning Herald: “A Sydney transsexual has filed a sex discrimination complaint against state and federal governments over a refusal to change his birth certificate to ‘male’ . . . His passport says he is male but the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages will not convert his birth certificate because he has not had genital surgery. Mr Montgomery has added the federal government to a claim he is making against the Human Rights Commission. He is arguing under its laws, his conflicting documents may mean he cannot marry. He also presented a petition of 500 signatures in support of his case to the commission.”

NY Law Journal (Law.com): “On Monday, in Caviezel v. Great Neck Public Schools, 10-civ-052, Eastern District Judge Arthur D. Spatt denied the injunction, ruling that Caviezel had not established that she held ‘genuine and sincere religious beliefs which prohibit vaccinations.’”

Guardian: “Teachers’ leaders had mixed feelings on hearing that huge sections of an education bill were dropped today in the rush to pass legislation ahead of the dissolution of parliament . . . Schools would have had to teach about contraception and the importance of stable relationships, including marriage and civil partnerships. Faith schools would have been free, as now, to express the views of their faith, but would not have been allowed to suggest that their views are the only ones.”

The Phnom Penh Post: “Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema has ordered city authorities to inspect bubble tea shops suspected of doubling as pornography theatres and drug dens, and Daun Penh district officials said they were also enforcing a crackdown on restaurants and bars that play loud music after midnight.”

WDSU: “Monday, the ACLU sent St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro a letter criticizing his decision to wash employees feet Thursday. ACLU Executive Director Marjorie Esman said Taffaro’s actions violate the law of the country . . . Taffaro said the washing of feet was not mandatory nor meant to be a public display. He said he doesn’t see it as a religious act, but an act of public service.”

Metropolitan News-Enterprise: “Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth A. Grimes was unanimously confirmed as a justice of this district’s Court of Appeal, Div. Eight following a public meeting of the Commission on Judicial Appointments yesterday.” | Via LA Legal Pad

ADF attorney Matt Bowman appeared on Reality Check Live with Mike and Claire Monokian to discuss the right of conscience.

The MP3 runs approximately 12 minutes.

Santiago Times: “Six years after judge Karen Atala lost the custody of her three daughters, the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ruled in her favor, proclaiming the Chilean Supreme Court had been biased in her case because she is a lesbian . . . The IACHR recommended Chile change some of its laws and public policies so discrimination based on sexual orientation could be eliminated.”

AP: “A crusading Chinese rights lawyer whose disappearance more than a year ago caused an international outcry said Wednesday that he is abandoning his once prominent role as a government critic in hopes he’ll be allowed to reunite with his family . . . ”

Press Democrat: “It took five years to get a once controversial gay and lesbian retirement project before Santa Rosa’s City Council for final approval but when it got there Tuesday it only took 30 minutes to approve it.”

McClatchy DC News Service: “They’re saying, ‘Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?’ said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com.”

Freedom from Religion Foundation: “The Freedom From Religion Foundation says sectarian prayers to God and Jesus in heaven from the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives in Springfield directly violate the U.S. Constitution . . . ”

FoxNews: “President Barack Obama’s advisers will remove religious terms such as ‘Islamic extremism’ from the central document outlining the U.S. national security strategy and will use the rewritten document to emphasize that the United States does not view Muslim nations through the lens of terror, counterterrorism officials said.”

ADF attorney Joel Oster appeared on the Bell Show to discuss efforts by some groups to stop the National Day of Prayer.

The MP3 runs approximately 17 minutes.

James Ahearn writes at NorthJersey.com: “Lambda Legal, a gay-rights advocacy organization, contends that civil unions are a failed legislative experiment, that only marriage will provide true equality and that the Senate ignored evidence to the contrary. What evidence? Emotional, unverified testimony by gay and lesbian couples that they had been denied rights to which they were entitled . . . ”

AP: “Nevada Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of overruling a lower court decision on a ballot initiative that would reshape state abortion law.”

Wisconsin State Journal: “A Wisconsin prosecutor is warning that teachers who teach the state’s new sex education curriculum could be arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of children. Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth told the Wisconsin State Journal that the state’s sex education law, which was signed by Gov. Jim Doyle in February, is a ‘sick and shameful piece of legislation’ that encourages illegal sex among minors.”

Christian Post: “An interdenominational coalition of clergy in Houston is pressing its mayor to rescind the executive orders she issued recently that added sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes in Houston.”

Peter Berkowitz writing in the Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Sarkozy’s ban on the full veil represents a draconian measure for a free society. Arguably, it is necessary and proper. But it won’t prevail without a fight . . . In America, the separation of church and state is designed to protect the state from religious interference and to protect religion, which always has a public component, from government interference . . . the doctrine of laïcité—which is inscribed in Article 1 of the French Constitution and proclaims France a secular republic—separates church and state differently than in America. For many French, laïcité, roughly translated as national secularism, has acquired a militant meaning, according to which government must confine religion to the private sphere. This sensibility undergirded the ban on headscarves in schools.”

CBS4: “Boulder City Council was scheduled to talk about streakers in the streets Tuesday evening. The council was expected to hear from the public for the first time on a proposal that would make it illegal to be naked in public . . . Boulder amended its original ordinance to make it okay for both men and women to go topless.”

Wall Street Journal: “Senate Republicans stepped up attacks Tuesday on an Obama administration nominee to a federal appeals court, previewing what could be opposition-party tactics should the president have a Supreme Court vacancy to fill later this year.”

One News Now: “Traditional marriage proponents are warning that homosexual activists and the Obama administration are once again working in concert to ‘manipulate’ federal law.”

Liberty Counsel: “A new website has been launched by the American College of Pediatricians that cautions educators about the management of students experiencing same-sex attraction or exhibiting symptoms of gender confusion. The site http://www.factsaboutyouth.com . . . . ”

Newsmax: “The first woman to sit on the nation’s highest court said Tuesday she wouldn’t be surprised if fewer justices attend State of the Union addresses after President Obama criticized a recent ruling at this year’s address . . . During discussions with students and journalists, she also recommended more diversity on the court, saying more women, non-judges and a Protestant would help. ‘I think that religion should not be the basis for an appointment, but if that were the case, one would expect somewhere in the nine to see a Protestant or two,’ she said. ‘You’ll probably see someone eventually.’”

The Daily Barometer: “The conservative-based OSU Students Alliance publication, The Liberty lost their fight in court against OSU . . . The controversy began over a year ago when OSU facility services removed several distribution bins around campus that belonged to The Liberty and put them in a nearby dumping ground . . . After months of unproductive talks between the publication and administration to have the bins put back, Rogers decided to take legal action, seeking the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative organization that offers legal services.”

East Valley Tribune: “Arizona charter schools are scrambling to determine steps they’ll take in light of state budget cuts in public education for next school year. It’s not just the per student funding that’s impacting them, charter leaders say. The decision to cut full-day kindergarten funding, as well as grants for gifted, prevention and early childhood programs is making it a ‘scary’ time to be operating one of nearly 500 charter schools in the state . . . ”

Religion Clause Blog: “Last Saturday, police in the Australian town of Geelong, Victoria, stopped a graphic depiction of Jesus’ crucifixion being enacted in a busy shopping area. Police say the semi-nude Jesus covered with fake blood violated laws prohibiting offensive behavior in public . . .”

The Hill: “Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Tuesday vowed to block all future spending bills in the Senate that aren’t fully ‘paid for’ with cuts to other spending programs.”

HSLDA: “In a federal lawsuit filed March 3, 2006, and reported earlier in the Home School Court Report, HSLDA sued two child protective service workers who showed up at the Loudermilk family’s door, accompanied by numerous sheriff’s deputies, two months after an anonymous tipster had reported the family . . . The state argued that the family had voluntarily allowed the investigators into the home—an assertion that ignores the fact the social worker had said the Loudermilk children would be removed for 72 hours if the parents did not permit entry! . . . ”

Religion Clause Blog: “Morocco last month expelled around 50 Christians accused of proselytizing Muslims in violation of Moroccan law. (Moroccan authorities say the number was 27.) . . . ”

Blackstone’s Ninth Amendment: A Historical Common Law Baseline for the Interpretation of Unenumerated Rights
Jeffrey D. Jackson, 62 Okla. L. Rev. 167 (2010)

“This article examines the common understanding of rights at the time of the Framing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and argues that the common understanding of rights at the time were not grounded in the high-minded abstractions of the natural law theorists, but rather derived from the rights the Framing generation assumed to be inherited from the English constitutional and common law, tempered by experience as American colonists. Further, for most Americans by the time of the Framing, their conception of these rights was formed by the readily accessible summary of the common law provided by Sir William Blackstone. It goes on to posit a theory for unenumerated rights based on custom and practice, using Blackstone’s Commentaries as a common law baseline from which to start, and then relying on the common law concepts of custom and practice to update rights from the ‘common law rights of Englishmen’ to the ‘rights of Americans.’”