Daily Archives: March 16, 2011

“The New Hampshire Supreme Court says a lower court acted appropriately in ordering an 11-year-old girl to attend public school after her father claimed his ex-wife’s strict Christian teachings were socially isolating the child.”

The New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld a lower court order Wednesday that forced a homeschooled student into a government-run school against her mother’s wishes. The court made clear that it was not addressing larger religious liberty and homeschooling concerns and was basing its ruling only on the narrow and specific facts of the case.

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed two appeals Wednesday with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to resolve a stark disagreement between federal appeals courts as to whether students can challenge college speech codes that regulate every human interaction they have on campus.

MLive.com: “In a letter to the district, the ACLU of Michigan asked South Haven Superintendent Bob Black to put an end to the practice of allowing a school volunteer, who was also a pastor at a local church, to encourage students at the middle school and high school levels during instructional time to become active with the church.”

The Canadian Press on Google: The commission’s proposal does not seek to make divorce and property laws the same in all European Union countries, but only to create rules to determine which country has jurisdiction over the division of property. The aim is to prevent one half of the couple, often the wealthier member, from rushing to court in the country he or she thinks would be most advantageous.

Blog of the Legal Times: “No Republican senators were present to question the two nominees, Paul Engelmayer and J. Paul Oetken, and the two Democrats in attendance called themselves strong supporters.”

Going beyond voting against the first long-term bill House Republicans sent them with the Pence Amendment 19 Senate Democrats today sent a letter to Vice-President Joe Biden vowing to vote against any federal funding bill that contains the Pence Amendment.

CNA: “The European Human Rights Court will issue a ruling March 18 on whether crucifixes should be present in the public schools of Italy.”

Wall Street Journal: “The number of law-school applicants this year is down 11.5% from a year ago to 66,876 applicants, according to the Law School Admission Council Inc. The figure, which is a tally of applications for the fall 2011 class, is the lowest level since 2001 at this stage of the process.”

Freedom from Religion Foundation: “The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national state/church watchdog, and four of its Arizona members, with the legal help of attorneys Richard W. Morris and Marc. J. Victor, filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday seeking to enjoin Arizona Gov. Janice K. Brewer from declaring an “Arizona Day of Prayer” in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer.”

The Hill: “Nearly half the Republicans in the Senate are threatening to vote against increasing the federal debt ceiling unless the president promises to tackle entitlements.”

Don Kroah writes at Townhall: As the Post editorial put it: The bill’s passage in the Senate aroused the passions of a formidable coalition of the unwilling—Republicans, churchgoing African Americans and the Catholic Church—for whom any marriage not between a man and a woman remains not marriage. Their ardent stance struck fear into the hearts of fence-sitters in the House, including, incredibly, some lawmakers who had signed on as sponsors of the same-sex marriage bill—perhaps not expecting they’d ever have to cast a vote for it.

CNSNews (includes video): “She should recuse herself before she makes a decision on this case,” Marshall told CNSNews.com’s Online With Terry Jeffrey

Reuters: An Indianapolis woman who tried to commit suicide by eating rat poison near the end of her pregnancy was charged with murder in the death of her baby, officials said on Wednesday.

Bluefield Daily Telegraph: Lilly said the proposed display would be centered around the Declaration of Independence, but would also include the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Bill of Rights, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the Mayflower Compact and the Ten Commandments.

Jeanne Monahan writes at the FRC Blog: Last night on the House Floor, a number of pro-life congresswomen celebrated Women’s History Month with an incredible discussion of abortion, feminism, and women’s rights. Below are a few of my favorite quotes although it is definitely worth taking the time to read through the entire text . . .

The Spokesman-Review: “Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, has moved to send SB 1165, the bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks, to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.’

OregonFaithReport.com: “At the February 22, 2011, Damascus City council meeting, officials took public comment on whether to include an invocation at the beginning of each meeting. About 20 residents offered opinions from both sides of the issue . . . ”

Union Leader: “The New Hampshire House today passed a parental notification bill on abortion for teenagers that includes language its sponsors say will pass any court review. The bill, HB 329, passed 256 to 102.”

The Christian Institute (includes photo of David): ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman said: “Christian students and churches shouldn’t be discriminated against, censored and excluded in public schools because of their beliefs. “Disallowing a 5th-grade student’s invitation to a Christmas party just because it takes place in a church is simply unconstitutional”, he added, “especially when Hallowe’en parties and promotional events for businesses and other community groups indiscriminately receive a free pass”.

LifeNews: Yesterday, the House voted for HB 63 with an overwhelming 64 to 33 bipartisan vote – nearly three quarters of the members of the state House. This pro-life legislation now heads to the Ohio Senate for additional hearings.

Chicago Sun Times: By a 13-0 vote, before a standing-room-only room of angry abortion-rights supporters clad in “Women are not livestock” T-shirts and buttons emblazoned with a cow, the panel advanced legislation putting new financial burdens on abortion clinics.

Freedom from Religion Foundation: “The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a strong letter of complaint to officials in Philadelphia after the City Council unanimously passed a resolution March 10 that violates the constitutional boundary between state and church. The resolution, introduced by council member Jannie Blackwell, calls for the council’s Committee on Education to hold hearings on prayer in Philadelphia Public Schools . . . ”

Yahoo News: “The Missouri House is considering a bill to ask voters in 2012 to amend the Missouri Constitution. At issue is whether or not Sharia law should be considered in Missouri’s legal system.”

MSNBC: I had never been a guy to turn to religion but then as my marriage was coming to an end, I needed help to explain it to my children and make sense of it all…Because once you are a divorced guy, being a father is a whole different thing.”

Journal Gazette: “The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony Wednesday to move forward a measure that would ban gay marriage in the Indiana Constitution but held off a vote until next week.”

The American Independent: National anti-abortion rights law and policy group American United for Life, which credits itself with informing anti-abortion and other health-care related legislation, this month released its Defending Life 2011, a comprehensive guide of model legislation specifically for abortion, legal recognition and protection of the unborn, bioethics and biotechnology, end of life and health care rights of conscience

New American: “Planned Parenthood, for instance, has always enjoyed the support of a notable component of the Republican Party, especially its moderate or Rockefeller wing, comprised of influential Establishment elitists, internationalists, and environmentalists. The seven Republicans who voted in favor of retaining federal funding for Planned Parenthood, in addition to Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and Olympia Snowe, all hail from this tradition.”

LifeNews: President Barack Obama has nominated former Kansas Attorney General Stephen Six as a judge on the Federal Appeals Court in Denver. Six was involved in obstructing the prosecution of Planned Parenthood on 107 criminal charges and, according to some, tied the hands of the prosecutor in the 2009 criminal case against George Tiller.

NY Times: The labor boss stood looking down at a man and his four sons squatting in the dirt, the boys mechanically rolling and slapping mud as they made line after line of dull gray bricks.

Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: A unanimous 11-member en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit has just reversed a decision that I blogged about last year, and held that the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act secures a limited right to religious accommodations in court holding cells, and not just in prisons and jails. (My former boss, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, dissented from that earlier decision; his conclusion has now carried the day before the en banc panel.) Here is an excerpt explaining the issue . . .

Iowa Independent (includes video): “Speaking before a conservative-minded crowd of around 400 on the west steps of the Capitol, Rev. Keith Ratliff criticized gay rights activists for equating their struggle with the civil rights movement of 50 years ago.”

UPI: U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, “shocked” no openly gay men served as federal judges, says gay candidate J. Paul Oetken possesses legal excellence and moderate views.

Politico: “The legislative roll out comes a day after a interest-group-sponsored poll was released revealing that 51 percent of voters oppose DOMA, while just 34 percent favor it. The poll, a collaboration of gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research . . . ”

Fox19.com: “Executives of Eli Lilly and Co. and Cummins Inc. argued Tuesday that the constitutional ban could hurt Indiana’s image. State law already bans gay marriage, but supporters told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the amendment would prevent courts from overturning the law.”

JTA.org: Terri Bonoff, a Democrat, plans to ask the body’s leadership to change the standard letter given to clergy to say that it requires prayer to be “interfaith and nonsectarian” rather than the current “request.”

The court has lost credibility with the people of Iowa, and doing ‘Van and Bonnie’ or giving away free pizza, whatever they might do, is not going to change that,” he said.

Religion Clause Blog: The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday in an en banc decision in Khatib v. County of Orange, (9th Cir., March 15, 2011), concluded that the holding facility at the Santa Ana (CA) courthouse is a “pretrial detention facility” that is covered by RLUIPA.

St. Petersburg Times: Nature Coast 9.12 Groups: 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Spring Hill Lanes, in the lounge, 3447 Commercial Way. The speaker is Rebecca O’Dell, an appellate attorney that practices before the U.S. Supreme Court, 11th Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeal and Florida Supreme Court. She is an Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney and a member of its honor corps. There will be a question and answer time and a 50/50 drawing. The public is welcome. (352) 597-6756. Web: naturecoast 912groups.org.

MSNBC (AP): “Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group, challenged the law on behalf of a pregnancy clinic that does not provide birth control or abortions, saying it was unconstitutional.”

AP: “Foster children are removed from their homes by the state for their own protection,” said Robert Fellmeth, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Institute. “For the states to turn around and punish them by taking the children’s own money and leaving them destitute when they age out of the system is a violation of these vulnerable kids.”

AP: “California school districts have issued at least 19,000 layoff notices to teachers and other school employees amid heightened uncertainty over the state budget, the teachers union said Tuesday.”

AP: “The crash is illuminating how casinos around New York in many ways treat the city’s Chinese-Americans as their bread and butter, a population with an ancient gambling tradition that will reliably hand over money.”

AP: “All Georgia executions are off after federal drug agents seized the state’s supply of a sedative used in lethal injections that has been challenged by capital punishment critics and death-row inmates . . . ”

AP: “Police said Wednesday they have smashed a huge international pedophile ring, rescuing 230 children from abuse and arresting 184 suspects – including teachers and police officers.”

NBC: Riverside County school administrators say they have “dealt with” a high school teacher who allegedly singled out a student for supporting gay rights, it was reported.

WorldNetDaily: Kiska explained to WND the issue is the four days of “sexual education” mandated by the state schools. They include the stage play called “My body is mine” as well as interactive programs that “promoted a very liberal view of sex and sexuality which strongly contradicted Mr. and Mrs. Wiens’ moral and Christian beliefs.” Kiska told WND there are a total of five families at this point fighting the government over the mandatory sex training. The government has taken the position that they will be punished repeatedly until they give up their children to state indoctrination. The fathers who were ordered to jail today each already had served one term in prison earlier, he said. [more quotes by ADF attorney Roger Kiska]

World Net Daily: The ADF said the county “agreed to a policy change to ensure that peaceful protesters will be protected from undergoing strip searches at the county detention center.” “Pro-life advocates should certainly not be strip searched for peacefully expressing their beliefs,” said Daniel Blomberg, litigation counsel for the ADF. “The county did the right thing by changing its policy so that pro-life advocates will no longer be subjected to such needless and embarrassing searches for lawfully exercising their First Amendment protected right to free speech.”

Kitsap Sun: The big debate was over surrogate parents — whether Washington should allow them to be paid and under what conditions payment should be allowed . . . This bill would make children a commodity to be purchased at a price,” said John Geis, representing the Washington dioceses. Brett Harvey, a Scottsdale, Ariz., attorney representing the Alliance Defense Fund, argued that the bill would trigger many unexpected hazards and unleash numerous new legal issues. “This will turn Washington into a laboratory. … Washington will be blazing new territory,” he said.

One News Now: “The House has indicated that it’s going to take some time to determine its legal strategy, and that soon thereafter it will be filing motions to get involved in all of the current cases that are challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act,” says Campbell.

One News Now: “Now this is a stretch of road where there are plenty of signs of all sorts,” explains ADF attorney Joe Infranco. “They’re the same dimensions. They’re also lit up. In fact, there’s a gas station right nearby — and [yet] the town denied permission to do this because of the content, because it was going to be a religious message.”

Washington Post: “A federal judge has ruled that a portion of a Maryland county law targeting pro-life pregnancy clinics with signage requirements cannot be enforced . . . Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group, challenged the law on behalf of a pregnancy clinic that does not provide birth control or abortions, saying it was unconstitutional.”

One News Now: “A Rwandan immigrant’s life has been spared in Washington, DC, after a court-appointed guardian ordered her feeding and hydration tube removed. . . . Based on statements from the guardian, the reason to “pull the plug” was the expense of keeping her alive. Alliance Defense Fund stepped in and was able to have food and hydration restored 21 days later.”

The measure protects children who are adopted or placed into foster care, but an Arkansas judge struck down the law in a ruling last April that errantly characterized voters as attempting to target “homosexual couples…one politically unpopular group.” Act 1 clearly states that it “applies equally to cohabiting opposite-sex and same-sex individuals.”

Catholic Culture: Muslims in France have asked for the use of empty Catholic churches, saying that this would “prevent Muslims from having to pray in the streets.” Father Samir Khalil Samir, a Jesuit expert on Islam, explains why the proposal is absurd. | Related AsiaNews.it

Ronald Goldfarb writes at The Hill: “The ethics standards of Supreme Court justices are kept sacrosanct, by the justices themselves. So while all state and federal judges on all the trial and appellate courts of the United States are subject to a code of conduct, only United States Supreme Court justices are not bound by such, or any other ethical standards except for the impeachment process.”

AP: “Freedom of speech is no defense for a former nurse who engaged in “lethal advocacy” when he encouraged an English man and Canadian woman to kill themselves after searching for depressed people over the Internet, a Minnesota judge said in delivering a guilty verdict against the man.”

ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco writes at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: Non-profit advocacy groups often raise funds by highlighting the actions of groups their donors oppose, and I have no gripe with Lambda highlighting Julea Ward’s important civil rights case to its donors. In fact, it could be viewed as a form of flattery that Lambda’s letter spills most of its ink on ADF cases. My problem is with the letter’s complete misrepresentation of Ms. Ward’s case (there appear to be other inaccuracies in the letter that exceed the scope of this post).

ADF attorney Jeff Shafer writes at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: Indirect methods of censorship are often government officials’ most effective means of speech control. Because such restraints on speech are not formally directed to interfering with the speaker’s message (only having the effect of doing so), it allows for both better public relations (“we aren’t intending to censor you”) and the resulting likelihood of diminished resistance from the affected speaker.

ADF attorney Joe Infranco writes at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: Advocating for something like eternal truth in an age when anything goes can only mean, as a NY Assistant Attorney General assumed, that the benefit is only to the few faithful who believe that kind of thing, and not to society at large. It is a measure of how much we have lost from the common cultural truths that held us together – imperfectly to be sure – and another reason so many people can look at the good of the Church and fail to see it.

Most of a Montgomery County law forcing pro-life pregnancy counselors to advise women against using their services was put on hold Tuesday by a federal court while a lawsuit against the ordinance moves forward. Alliance Defense Fund attorneys represent a Silver Spring pregnancy resource center in the lawsuit against the county.