Tag Archives: State: Idaho

One News Now: “An Idaho pastor has condemned child trafficking as a ‘wicked and evil practice.’ He is defending members of his congregation detained in Haiti after they tried to bus 33 children into the Dominican Republic.”

Idaho Statesman: “[S]ome information sought by the commission was not provided, the result of differing legal opinions between attorneys for the commission and the school . . . From its founding last year, the classical academy included the Bible, Quran and Book of Mormon among 137 books listed in the school’s core reading list. Board members said the books would be used for secular history and literature lessons, not religious teaching. But the charter commission and attorney general’s office contend those plans violate the state constitution, and the Alliance Defense Fund filed a federal lawsuit on the school’s behalf in September.”

Idaho Press-Tribune: “The Coeur d’Alene school’s use of the Bible shows the state has singled out Nampa Classical Academy by prohibiting it from using religious texts, Nampa Classical Academy attorney David Cortman said. Cortman works for the Alliance Defense Fund, which describes itself as ‘a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth,’ on its Web site. It has taken the case for Nampa Classical Academy without charging the school for its services.”

Associated Press: “One of the largest public charter schools in the state has drafted a plan to fix several problem areas identified by Idaho officials last month.”

ADF attorney David Cortman appeared on AFR’s Focal Point with Brian Fisher to discuss this: Lawsuit filed after Idaho commission bans all religious texts from curriculum.

The MP3 runs between 14 and 15 minutes.

“What interest could it possibly serve … to say that you can study, for example, Job in literature class … only if you read Job from a source that has copied it verbatim, but not from the book of Job if it is still attached to the scriptures?” . . . “It seems to be a distinction without a difference, and a bit silly at that.” (Idaho Press-Tribune)

ADF attorney David Cortman appeared on The Michael Medved Show to discuss this: Lawsuit filed after Idaho commission bans all religious texts from curriculum.

The MP3 runs just over 31 minutes.

Idaho Press-Tribune: “When the question of whether the meeting should be recorded and posted on the school’s Web site came up, acting school board chairman Mike Moffett and teacher and director of operations Isaac Moffett questioned the idea . . . ‘I would be talking to Mr. (David) Cortman about that,’ Isaac Moffett said about recording the meeting, referring to the school’s Alliance Defense Fund attorney in the religious texts lawsuit.”

AP: “The lawsuit was filed against the state in 2008 by Wendy Knox and Richard Dotson, who argued the gaming machines at the tribal casino violate the Idaho Constitution’s prohibition on gambling.”

Mercury News (AP)a: “The Alliance Defense Fund said the school doesn’t have to hand over anything because of a federal lawsuit it filed in September against the state concerning the school’s plan to use the Bible. The group said in the letter that it is considering a second lawsuit against the state to determine whether the school is operating within the boundaries of state law.”

Idaho Press Tribune: “The school and Charter Commission have clashed over the use of the Bible and other religious texts in the Academy’s classrooms. Cortman, of the Alliance Defense Fund, represents the school in a federal lawsuit against the state asking a judge to allow the school to use religious texts in a cultural context . . . ‘The purpose of this is to keep the school open but also to protect its Constitutional rights,’ Cortman said of the lawsuit.”

“‘I think this will be played out in the courts,’ Makrush said, referring to a federal lawsuit the Alliance Defense Fund filed on the school’s behalf in September.” (Idaho Statesman)

Idaho Press-Tribune: “The Alliance Defense Fund brought a lawsuit against the Charter Commission and state officials Sept. 1 in federal court on behalf of the charter school arguing for the school’s right to use religious texts as part of its curriculum. A Wednesday letter from the group addressed to Baysinger threatens to sue the state panel if it continues to seek information regarding the school’s possible use of the Bible and other religious texts.”

2 News (AP): “The case will set precedent, said the Alliance Defense Fund’s senior legal counsel, David Cortman . . . ‘The reason is, we have claimed, prohibiting the use of religious texts in the classroom violates the schools’, the teachers’ and the students’ federal constitutional rights,’ Cortman said.”

Charter Schools Examiner: “The controversy over Idaho’s Nampa Classical Academy’s alleged use of religious texts has turned into a tug-a-war between the Idaho Attorney General’s office and the Arizona based religious liberty group, The Alliance Defense Fund.”

Salt Lake Tribune: “The Idaho Attorney General’s office has told Nampa Classical Academy officials the state won’t back down from pursuing information about the charter school’s possible use of the Bible and other religious texts . . . The Alliance Defense Fund said the school doesn’t have to hand over anything because of a federal lawsuit it filed in September against the state concerning the school’s plan to use the Bible.”

Local News 8 (AP): “In an e-mail sent Friday to school officials and obtained by the Idaho Press-Tribune, deputy attorney general Mike Gilmore says the Idaho Public Charter School Commission and its program manager, Tamara Baysinger, will not comply with a Wednesday letter sent by the Alliance Defense Fund to the commission.”

Idaho Press Tribune: “Nampa Classical Academy’s attorney has advised the school to defy an order from the state’s Public Charter School Commission and use religious texts in its classrooms . . . The Wednesday letter from ADF says the Charter Commission’s recent reprimands of the school are in direct ‘retaliation’ for the lawsuit.”

The Olympian: “Nampa Classical Academy declined the public records request from the state Public Charter School Commission because attorneys advised it could jeopardize an ongoing lawsuit, said Michael Moffett, the school’s acting board chairman.” Related ADF Media Information page

KIVITV.com: “Boise police have arrested an Idaho City man on a charge of second degree murder. Police say 31-year-old Tariq McWilliams stabbed a man outside the Torch Lounge early this morning.”

Religion Clause Blog: “In Intermountain Fair Housing Council v. Boise Rescue Mission Ministries, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82459 (D ID, Sept. 10, 2009) . . . also held that both in the homeless shelter and in the Rescue Mission’s second component– a residential recovery program for individuals with drug or alcohol dependency– the Religious Freedom Restoration Act bars application of the Fair Housing Act to prohibit the Rescue Mission’s religious activities or religious favoritism of certain participants.”

Idaho Press-Tribune Editorial: “The leadership of the new Nampa Classical Academy made an about face last week and decided to include the Bible in lessons even though state officials ruled they could not . . . Last week, ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman argued instead that the attorneys are prepared to ask a court to stop the commission from issuing a notice of defect because the school uses the Bible.”

ADF attorney David Cortman appeared on American Family Radio Focal Point with Bryan Fischer to discuss Idaho’s censorship of the Bible as a text in a classical curriculum at a Charter School in in Nampa, Idaho.

The MP3 runs just under 13 minutes.

ADF Media information page: ADF to Idaho Public Charter School Commission: Bible is not a banned book

OneNewsNow: “Nampa Classical Academy is set to open its doors for the first time in a few days; however, the school’s curriculum has been rejected by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission . . . ‘Well, it’s interesting. Originally the focus was on prohibiting the use of the Bible, but then the defendants opened that up to exclude what they considered to be all religious documents and texts from the public school curriculum and from the classroom itself, which not only includes the teachers, but it also includes the students,’ [David] Cortman explains.”

WorldNetDaily: “‘The Bible shouldn’t be singled out for censorship in public schools, especially since the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that it is entirely constitutional for it to be studied objectively as an educational resource,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman. ‘The commission is basing its determination to revoke the charter on its mistaken interpretation of the state constitution’s establishment clause. The authors of the Idaho Constitution clearly understood that history cannot be adequately taught without reference to significant religious texts. The commission’s interpretation is quite obviously not what constitution’s authors intended.’”

CitizenLink: “The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Nampa Classical Academy, in defense of their use of the Bible as part of its curriculum.”

Idaho Statesman: “The Nampa Classical Academy has filed a lawsuit against the state after it ruled the public charter school cannot use the Bible as an instructional text. The Academy, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund . . . claims the state has “decided that the Bible is now a banned book in every public school throughout the State of Idaho.’”

The Olympian (AP): “A public charter school sued Idaho officials in federal court Tuesday, saying the state illegally barred use of the Bible as an instructional text . . . ‘I’ve never seen such a broad-reaching ban on using the Bible at all as an educational resource in public schools,’ said David Cortman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.”

New York Times (AP): “A public charter school is suing Idaho officials, saying the state illegally barred use of the Bible as an instructional text. The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund filed suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boise on behalf of Nampa Classical Academy in Idaho.”

Idaho Press: “ADF’s Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman said Nampa Classical Academy plans to begin using the Bible in its curriculum when classes begin Sept. 8, and attorneys are prepared to ask a court to stop the commission from issuing a notice of defect.”

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Idaho Public Charter School Commission on behalf of Nampa Classical Academy, which was threatened with the revocation of its charter if it utilizes the Bible or any other religious documents or text as part of its curriculum resources.

Grand Forks Herald: “A[n Idaho] education panel has blocked a school’s plan to teach about the Bible . . . The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund, a religious liberty group, represented the academy and had argued that the writers of Idaho’s Constitution ‘sought assurances that the right of public schools to use the Bible as a teaching tool would be protected.’”

OneNewsNow: “An Idaho charter school is being threatened by the ACLU over its decision to use the Bible in the school curriculum . . . NAMPA is planning to open in early September, but is facing a court date just before that. David Cortman is with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the school. ‘And we certainly defend the principle that it is constitutionally permissible to study the Bible in an objective manner in public schools, and I think it’s important that we do so,’ he contends. ‘I mean, it’s certainly a sad day in America when the government decides that it’s appropriate to ban the Bible in public schools.’”

KXnet.com (AP): “An Idaho charter school’s plan to teach about the Bible has been blocked . . . The Alliance Defense Fund, which represented the school, argued that the writers of Idaho’s Constitution ‘sought assurances that the right of public schools to use the Bible as a teaching tool would be protected.’”

Boise Secular Humanist Examiner: “The seemingly never-ending saga of controversy and debates on the use of the Bible by the Nampa Classical Academy seems to have come to a rest for the time being . . . The controversy peaked when on Aug 14, 2009 when a religious advocacy group, the Alliance Defense Fund from Arizona, presented a 15-page document to the Idaho Public Charter School Commission, stating that Nampa Classical Academy’s use of the Bible was consistent with Idaho’s Constitution.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State Blog: “The Alliance Defense Fund had sent a memo in support of the charter school, informing the commission that the U.S. Supreme Court has held the Bible can be studied objectively in public schools . . . Although the commission has seemingly resolved the issue over Nampa Classical Academy’s use of the Bible, there still are plenty of other reasons to be concerned with this charter school.”

Associated Press: “Idaho’s charter school commission told a Nampa academy late last week that it cannot use the Bible as an instructional text . . . ‘The Bible shouldn’t be singled out for censorship,’ ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman told the Press-Tribune in a prepared statement. ‘Not only is the commission on safe constitutional ground to allow the school to use the Bible as an educational resource, it would be unconstitutional to deny the school the ability to include it as one resource among its many other texts.’”

Idaho Press: “The Idaho Public Charter School Commission told the Nampa Classical Academy today it can’t use the Bible as a instructional text. . . . When asked if the school would seek assistance from the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian advocacy group, regarding the commission’s decision, Borger said he didn’t know.”

KTVB (AP): “The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund on Wednesday presented the document to the Idaho Public Charter School Commission on behalf of Nampa Classical Academy.”

Arizona Republic (AP): ‘The Bible shouldn’t be singled out for censorship,’ Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman told the Idaho Press-Tribune in a prepared statement. ‘Not only is the commission on safe constitutional ground to allow the school to use the Bible as an educational resource, it would be unconstitutional to deny the school the ability to include it as one resource among its many other texts.’”

East Valley Tribune: “A religious advocacy group has written a 15-page document . . . to defend a charter school in Nampa being scrutinized for its decision to use the Bible as part of its curriculum. ‘The Bible shouldn’t be singled out for censorship,’ [said] Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman . . . ‘Not only is the commission on safe constitutional ground to allow the school to use the Bible as an educational resource, it would be unconstitutional to deny the school the ability to include it as one resource among its many other texts.’”

ADF attorney David Cortman appeared on Reality Check with Mike and Claire Monokian to discuss efforts by some to ban the Bible as an education resource in an Idaho charter school.

The MP3 runs just over 7 minutes.

ADFMedia.org: ADF to Idaho Public Charter School Commission: Bible is not a banned book

Idaho Press-Tribune: “‘The Bible shouldn’t be singled out for censorship,’ Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman said in a prepared statement. ‘Not only is the commission on safe constitutional ground to allow the school to use the Bible as an educational resource, it would be unconstitutional to deny the school the ability to include it as one resource among its many other texts.’”

OneNewsNow: “‘This is a situation where Boise State University had a policy that they thought was required by the Idaho constitution that essentially said that religious groups couldn’t participate in student activity funding like every other group on campus,’ [Mattox] explains. ‘And in fact, they allowed a group that was an avowedly atheist group to be funded.’”

Despite the commission’s objection, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that it is entirely constitutional for the Bible to be studied objectively as an educational resource.

Idaho Press-Tribune: “Nampa Classical Academy officials have asked an organization that says it defends religious liberty to help the school explain its use of the Bible in its school curriculum. The Alliance Defense Fund, based in Arizona, is a ‘Christ-centered’ organization that ‘aggressively defends religious liberty,’ according to its Web site, and is involved in numerous legal cases.”

Inside Higher Ed: “Religiously affiliated groups will now be able to seek student fee money at Boise State University, under an agreement struck with students who sued the institution. The accord was announced by the Alliance Defense Fund, which (along with the Christian Legal Society) sued Boise State last winter on behalf of six students who alleged that they had been denied funds for Christian groups with which they were affiliated, even though money was provided to atheist groups.”

ecause of a lawsuit filed by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom and the Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom, Boise State University has revamped a critical policy affecting religious student groups.

“The Idaho Department of Correction has settled lawsuits with two transgender inmates who castrated themselves after they were denied feminizing hormone therapy.”

Tabitha Kelly reports in the Idaho Press-Tribune: “The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho will investigate Nampa Classical Academy’s use of the Bible as a classroom text to see if it violates separation of church and state rules.”

Idaho Law Review: “This comment analyzes the constitutionality of the Table Rock cross in six parts. Part II details the history and controversy of the Table Rock cross, while Part III explores the different ways courts have evaluated whether a cross on government land violates the Establishment Clause. Part III also analyzes whether the Table Rock cross’ presence on government land violates the Establishment Clause. Part IV of this comment examines a circuit split between the Seventh and Ninth Circuits regarding the transfer of land beneath a religious symbol, while Part V examines the Table Rock cross land transfer under precedent from both circuits. Lastly, Part VI examines the potential remedies a court could apply to cure the Establishment Clause violation surrounding the transfer of the land under the Table Rock cross.”

Idaho Statesman: “The ‘Initiative Allowing School Boards to Permit the Bible to be Studied as Literature and for its Influence on History’ would allow school boards to offer elective classes that study the Bible in a nondoctrinal manner, Seldon said in an interview Tuesday.”

AP: “A same-sex couple and their three foster children were denied a reduced admission price to a pool in eastern Idaho because the Lava Hot Springs State Foundation says the five don’t fit the definition of a family.”

The Associated Press reports: “Doe’s attorney, David Heida, argued before the court in January that the city rule barring youngsters under 18 from being out between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. violates the First Amendment because it doesn’t allow an exception for free-speech activities, like midnight church services or attending late-running city council meetings.”

Jeff Ventrella, Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning and Training at ADF, appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss various legal and cultural issues. The mp3 file runs just under 15 minutes.

KTVB.com: “A House Committee has approved a bill to give pharmacists the ability to refuse to dispense birth control and other medications. ”

Wesley Smith writes at Secondhand Smoke: “I have looked more closely at the awful Idaho futile care bill, S 1114, which I first addressed earlier today. Here are two more extremely objectionable clauses that show the intent to create a duty to die for the most infirm–and expensive for which to care–among us.”

. . . New Hampshire’s state motto is ‘Live Free or Die.’ But is New Hampshire the most free place to live in the United States? Apparently it is, according to a new study, Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom . . .

On Wednesday, the 9th Circuit upheld Jerry Levis Banks’ conviction for “the possession, production, transportation, and receipt of images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.” At issue on appeal was (1) the district court’s denial of Banks’ motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a warrant issued based on testimony from “a Canadian pedophile” with whom Banks had traded pornography; (2) the admission of evidence from Banks’ wife; and (3) the denial of Banks’ motion to suppress the court’s applications of the definitions of “masturbation” and “lascivious.”

“Held: Idaho’s ban on political payroll deductions, as applied to local governmental units, does not infringe the unions’ First Amendment rights.”

A state Senate committee on Friday rejected a proposal to forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

One News Now: “. . . language in the Idaho bill being developed expressly declares that “children privately instructed at home by their parent or guardian” are in compliance with the state’s compulsory attendance law. It also clearly identifies home …

Citizen Link reports: Boise State University is being sued by six students after denying equal treatment to religious student groups. The university provides student fee funding to the Secular Student Alliance but refuses to provide funding to religious student groups …

Attorneys with the Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom filed suit in federal court today against Boise State University officials challenging their discrimination against religious student organizations and other groups seeking funding from student government.

The School Law Blog reports: The U.S. Supreme Court today took up a teachers’ union case that even several justices said left them befuddled. At issue in Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Assocation (Case No. 07-869) is an Idaho law that …

The Olympian reports: “. . . Monica Hopkins is director of development and communications at Zoo Boise. She has previously worked for Planned Parenthood of Idaho and as executive director of Fund for Idaho, an organization that raises money for …

The AP reports: “A Boise fireman who brawled outside a strip club with a firefighter from another agency in September 2007 will avoid jail but may face a $90,000 medical bill.”

The Borderfire Report has this article discussing the Nampa library’s recent cave-in to ACLU threats over the removal of sexually explicit books.  It indicates:  “While it is certainly noble and definitely important for public officials to keep citizens and specifically …

The Times-News reports:  Public library leaders in Nampa, responding to a lawsuit threatened by the American Civil Liberties Union, have reversed a decision banning two sex education books. In June, the library board voted 3-2 to permanently remove “The New …

Peter Page reports in the National Law Journal: The University of Idaho is proposing to open a law school campus in Boise, the state capital, before a private law school does. Donald L. Burnett Jr., dean of the public University …

The ABA Journal reports: “The capital city of Idaho will have at least one law school in the foreseeable future, as a private Oregon-based university makes formal plans to create one and a state university apparently may see its future …

The AP has this biased report on the situation. Members of the Idaho Values Alliance have been ordered to pay $10,000+ in legal bills after challenging the city’s removal of a Ten Commandments display. The city is threatening to enforce …

That boosts the extra costs of years of failed attempts at parental consent legislation to more than $400,000 over the past decade, all of which has gone to cover attorney fees for the ACLU and Planned Parenthood . . .

In what could possibly be the first of its kind in the nation, the governor of Idaho has signed a new law that helps prevent women from being pressured or coerced into having an abortion.

“Underlying all of this is the confusion and mistrust engendered by terms like ‘civil union’ and ‘domestic partnership’ as opposed to ‘marriage,’” said Ed Barocas, Legal Director the ACLU of New Jersey