Tag Archives: State: New Jersey

ADF Attorney Byron Babione at Baptist Press: In New Jersey, the Township of Union Public School District has suspended a special education teacher named Viki Knox because she sat in her own home, on her own computer, and expressed her Christian faith on her personal Facebook page. [also at Townhall]

Christian Post: ADF claims that Knox engaged in protected speech, and therefore should not be penalized for her views. “Viki communicated her religious views on a matter of public importance… To punish her for that would be completely illegal,” said ADF Senior Counsel Byron Babione. [more]

Christian Civic League of Maine: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has chimed in on the controversy saying that he found Knox’s comments on her personal Facebook page “disturbing.” “I think that kind of example is not a positive one at all to be setting for folks who have such an important and influential position in our society,” Christie told WABC Radio. “I’m really concerned about those kinds of statements being made.”

Teacher who expressed Christian views about homosexual behavior on personal Facebook page engaged in protected speech

Religion Clause: Church Sues New Jersy City Over Zoning Delay: According to North Jersey’s The Record, last week the Harlem-based Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ filed a civil rights lawsuit against Hackensack, New Jersey and 5 city officials over a lengthy delay in approving the church’s use of a former school as a school for its clergy.

A third-party “psychological” parent does not have the same autonomy as the child’s legal parents did before ceding custody, a state appeals court said Friday in a precedential decision. An applicant for visitation need only prove it is in the child’ best interests, and need not satisfy the higher avoidance-of-harm standard, the Appellate Division said . . .

The Church Report: Poor New Jersey — derided for ‘Jersey Shore,’ aggressive driving and talking too fast. But when it comes to happily ever after, the Garden State is No. 1.

ADF Attorney Jonathan Scruggs appeared on Wallbuilders Live. | MP3 Audio 7 mins

ADF Attorney Jon Scruggs appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss this. | MP3 audio 12:51 mins

The New American: The ADF immediately contacted the township and informed officials that they would take the case to court if Racaniello was not permitted to put the cross anywhere he wanted on his own property. ADF lawyer Jonathan Scruggs declared, “We believe this is private property, and therefore he has a right to engage in this expression. We believe that either [of the two crosses] is protected by the First Amendment. | ADF information page

East Rutherford Catholic church’s gay music director to quit over priest’s sermon – NorthJersey.com: A gay Catholic church musician on Wednesday said he will voluntarily leave his post in two weeks because his pastor allegedly created a hostile work environment after preaching against homosexuality.

The court says “restrictions on the exposure of the female breast are supported by the important governmental interest in safeguarding the public’s moral sensibilities.”

NJ.com: Racaniello, who felt that the township was preventing him from expressing his constitutionally protected religious beliefs, enlisted the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund — a coalition of Christian attorneys — which argued that the township was violating Racaniello’s First Amendment rights by enforcing “vague” ordinances in “ad hoc” manner. Although his attorney, Jonathan Scruggs, said in July that the alliance would take the township to court unless Racaniello was allowed to display his cross on the tree — which is within the right-of-way — Scruggs yesterday said he was “satisfied” that the new ordinance addressed his and Racaniello’s concerns. “I think it’s an appropriate response,” Scruggs said of the amended ordinance. “We’re satisfied that the vagueness of the ordinance was corrected.”

NJ.com: New Jersey’s Supreme Court has a new face today after attorney Anne Patterson was sworn in as its newest member.

Rutgers: A clear majority of New Jersey voters now supports legalizing gay marriage here, with 52 percent in favor, 32 percent opposed and 16 percent unsure, a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll finds. The margin in support has grown significantly over the past two years. However, given the choice of civil unions instead of gay marriage, even more voters (58 percent) support this alternative.

Written by the Ledger’s editorial board, the column’s position is that Christie “should heed voters on gay marriage.”

Fox Nation: A New Jersey school district has apologized to parents after requiring high school students to read books that include graphic depictions of lesbian sex and a homosexual orgy.

LaTimes.com: A New Jersey bridal salon is getting a surge of publicity, but perhaps not the kind it wanted. Here Comes the Bride is making news for refusing to sell a gown to a lesbian who plans to marry in neighboring New York, which legalized same-sex marriage earlier this summer.

Amy Alkon on MND: He also contacted the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, a coalition of conservative Christian lawyers. The alliance told the township it may take the matter to court if officials don’t allow Racaniello to put the cross wherever he wants on his property. “We believe this is private property, and therefore he has a right to engage in this expression,” Jonathan Scruggs, a lawyer for the alliance, said in an interview. “We believe that either cross is protected by the First Amendment.”

LifeNews.com: When New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie repeatedly vetoed state taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business, he said it didn’t need taxpayer funds in part because clinics are available across the state that provide health care for women without also doing abortions.

Catholic Culture: The township’s attorney has told the Alliance Defense Fund, which defends religious liberty, that “he is recommending changes to Livingston’s ordinance so no one can use it to apply to crosses.”

The opinion, which affirms the lower court’s finding, is also a reminder — according to CQ HealthBeat — that decisions still haven’t been announced in two other pending suits.

OneNewsNow.com: But ADF attorney Jonathan Scruggs thinks “it’s ridiculous” to stop people from having a religious symbol on their property. “The Constitution guarantees the right of Americans to express their religious beliefs in this fashion, and no local ordinance can trump that,” he contends. “In this case, however, the ordinance itself doesn’t actually even prohibit these crosses. The law is being used in a vague fashion to stop him from doing what he wishes on his own private property.”

Catholic Culture: The township’s attorney has told the Alliance Defense Fund, which defends religious liberty, that “he is recommending changes to Livingston’s ordinance so no one can use it to apply to crosses.”

NJ.com: “There’s no question that this was provoked by a complaint by an irate neighbor,” said Joseph Infranco, one of a coalition of Christian lawyers with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Racaniello. “I’m fairly certain that if he had posted a lost dog sign, that the neighbor would have done nothing. There’s evidence indicating that it may well have been about the content,” Infranco said.

In Beljakovic v. Longin, No. A-5330-09T4 (N.J. App. Div. (per curiam) July 18, 2011) “Moreover, plaintiff sought an injunction to end his continued exclusion from church property, as defendant Micic has prevented plaintiff’s reinstatement every year at the annual meeting. Yet, due to the ecclesiastical subject matter of the entire complaint, even if any claim survived the statute of limitations hurdle, we must decline to take jurisdiction.”

CBS New York: So, he took it down and erected a larger cross about 10 feet from the curb and contacted the Alliance Defense Fund, a coalition of Christian lawyers.
The group may take legal action against the township.

7online.com: The story isn’t over yet. Racaniello contacted a group of Christian lawyers in Arizona called the ‘Alliance Defense Fund.’ They think Racaniello should be able to put a cross up anywhere on his property and they’re prepared to sue to allow it.

Man fights for yard cross – UPI.com: Racaniello contacted the Christian lawyer group Alliance Defense Fund, which said it will take the case to court if the township does not allow Racaniello to display his cross. “We believe this is private property, and therefore he has a right to engage in this expression,” alliance lawyer Jonathan Scruggs said. “We believe that either cross is protected by the First Amendment.”

Livingston, NJ Patch: With network news trucks outside a home on Sterling Drive and a front page story in the Star-Ledger, Livingston officials responded Monday to claims by the Alliance Defense Fund that they are trying to stifle a local man’s First Amendment right to put a cross on his lawn.

NJ.com: He also contacted the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, a coalition of Christian lawyers that, according to its website, advocates on behalf of “the spread of the Gospel.” The alliance told the township it may take the matter to court if officials don’t allow Racaniello to put the cross wherever he wants on his property.
“We believe this is private property, and therefore he has a right to engage in this expression,” Jonathan Scruggs, a lawyer for the alliance, said in an interview. “We believe that either cross is protected by the First Amendment.”

Fox News: A group of Hindus can sue a New Jersey restaurant that served them meat even though they are vegetarians.

Charisma: “Christians shouldn’t be silenced and threatened with arrest for attempting to express their beliefs at a free public event on public property,” says Jonathan Scruggs, ADF litigation staff counsel. “The city did the right thing by directing police officers to stop restricting such constitutionally protected expression. It was especially fitting on a day when our nation celebrates its freedom.”

New American: “It’s ridiculous to stop citizens from displaying a cross on their own property,” said ADF attorney Jonathan Scruggs, who is representing Racaniello. “The Constitution guarantees the right of Americans to express their religious beliefs in this fashion, and no local ordinance can trump that.” Scruggs noted that in the present case, “the ordinance itself doesn’t actually even prohibit these crosses. The law is being used in a vague fashion to stop him from doing what he wishes on his own private property.”

OneNewsNow.com: “It’s ridiculous to stop citizens from displaying a cross on their own property,” says ADF attorney Jonathan Scruggs. “The constitution guarantees the right of Americans to express their religious beliefs in this fashion, and no local ordinance can trump that. In this case, however, the ordinance itself doesn’t actually even prohibit these crosses. The law is being used in a vague fashion to stop him from doing what he wishes on his own private property.”

LifeNews.com: Democrats in the state legislature are using a special legislative session to attempt to override the veto pro-life Gov. Chris Christie issued to prevent taxpayers from having to fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

Charisma: “It’s ridiculous to stop citizens from displaying a cross on their own property,” says ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “The Constitution guarantees the right of Americans to express their religious beliefs in this fashion, and no local ordinance can trump that. In this case, however, the ordinance itself doesn’t actually even prohibit these crosses. The law is being used in a vague fashion to stop him from doing what he wishes on his own private property.”

The Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter to the township of Livingston Friday that urges officials to stop using a town ordinance to prohibit a resident from displaying crosses in various areas of his own front yard.

Despite two state Supreme Court rulings rebuffing attacks on marriage, activist groups try to impose redefinition through the courts again anyway

Bloomberg: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he is “not a fan” of same-sex marriage and wouldn’t follow neighboring New York’s lead by legalizing it.

We conclude that the Adoption Act, N.J.S.A. 9:3-38 to -56, does not preclude plaintiffs from seeking visitation under the grandparent visitation statute . . .

NJ.com: New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney says his choice last year not to vote for gay marriage was the worst decision of his nine-year legislative career.

AP: Bucking the state’s powerful public employee unions, the New Jersey Senate on Monday passed a bill requiring sharply higher contributions for health benefits and pensions from more than a half-million government workers, while suspending unions’ ability to bargain over health care.

In New Jersey, it’s the first time a lawmaker has put forward a bill on gay marriage since it was defeated in the state Senate in January 2010 — just before Gov. Chris Christie took office.

Point Pleasant, NJ Patch: Now Municipal Clerk Maryann Ellsworth reads a prayer that does not use words like “Jesus” or other references specific only to certain religions and is similar to an invocation used in Metuchen.

Who needs an excuse to raise taxes when a state Supreme Court will tip the scales? That’s the story in New Jersey, where the justices recently inserted themselves into state fiscal policy, much to taxpayer dismay. By a 3-2 vote, the state high court ordered the state to spend an additional $500 million for 31 schools in some of the state’s worst districts.

LifeSiteNews: The exchange between Christie and New Jersey Senator Loretta Weinberg took place during the NJ101.5 program “Ask the Governor,” hosted by Eric Scott, and was picked up by MyCentralJersey.com. Weinberg called in and was introduced as “Loretta in Teaneck.”

LifeNews.com: The New Jersey Senate passed the measure to restore the $7.5 million in funding 26-13 with all of the Senate Democrats voting to restore the Planned Parenthood funds along with Republicans Diane Allen and Jennifer Beck.

News from The Associated Press: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he will not defy Tuesday’s state Supreme Court ruling to increase aid to low-income school districts, but called the decision legally faulty and bad education policy. | Abbot v. Burke, No. (M-1293-0)

NJ.com: “Nobody has any problem trying to have no affiliation with nefarious organizations such as the Nazis or apartheid regimes,” said Doherty. “But somehow, we’re asked to use our tax dollars to support these type of organizations.”

WPIX.com: Some local middle schoolers could face child pornography charges Thursday for texting sexually graphic images of themselves.

NBC New York: More than 100 parents and alumni of Neptune High School in New Jersey turned out for a meeting Wednesday night after learning this year’s senior class may not be able to graduate in an historic auditorium in Ocean Grove because it features religious symbols

Asbury Park Press: A potential American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against the Neptune school district could lead to the end of a 60-year-old tradition – graduation commencement at cross-bedecked Ocean Grove’s Great Auditorium. School administration officials said they first received a First Amendment complaint about mixing church with state shortly after a nonresident attended the 2010 ceremony.

NJ.com: A late afternoon Assembly budget hearing flared into an all-out constitutional debate Thursday when legislators asked Attorney General Paula Dow to settle the predominant legal question in Trenton: Can Gov. Chris Christie defy the state Supreme Court? The governor has threatened to ignore the justices if they order him to find an extra $1.7 billion for school districts, but he has refused to elaborate on his controversial stance.

Philly.com: The agreement calls for the Senate to hold confirmation hearings for Morris County lawyer Anne Patterson one year after the governor nominated her to replace Justice John Wallace on the bench. Christie, in turn, will resubmit her nomination to instead take the spot of Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto, who is stepping down in September.

Boston Globe: A New Jersey Islamic group is suing a town it says changed zoning regulations to prevent the opening of a mosque.

NewJerseyNewsRoom.com: Texas-based organization Life Always is being sued by New Jersey mother Tricia Fraser for using her 6-year-old daughter’s image on a billboard some people have called racist and offensive

HSLDA: Members of HSLDA since 1998, the Pepperdins asked us for help. HSLDA Senior Counsel Scott Woodruff prepared a letter to the Cornell admissions department explaining that parent-issued diplomas satisfy all federal requirements for financial aid. He pointed out that no state imposes requirements on the parental issuance of high school diplomas, and urged them to quickly clear up the issue.

NY Times: “In a case with a truly unusual set of factors, Mr. Devoureau filed a discrimination lawsuit on Friday that could break new ground in New Jersey and across the country, turning on the question of who is or is not a man. An employer fired Mr. Devoureau because it said only a man was allowed to do his job: watching men urinate into plastic cups at a drug treatment center.”

Examiner: A New Jersey school district has removed filters that blocked lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-related websites after the American Civil Liberties Union began asking questions.

AP: A transsexual New Jersey man is suing the drug-treatment center where he worked, claiming he was discriminated against when he was fired from a job that required him to watch men urinate.

Education News: Niche charters in areas with well-performing public schools are taking heat from critics who say they’re unnecessary.

The Alliance Defense Fund would like to express its deep appreciation for a dear friend and ally, Scott Shields, who lost his life Friday in a skydiving accident in New Jersey . . .

LifeNews: “Planned Parenthood is under attack by Tea Party Republicans who have put their extremist ideology above women’s health,” Lautenberg said while pro-life advocates who counterprotested shouted, “Shame on you, Lautenberg.”

NJ.com: “Cofsky says that’s discrimination. Under the state’s parentage laws, a husband is always presumed to be the father of a baby even if his sperm isn’t used for conception, he said. But a wife who doesn’t use her egg or her body for the pregnancy is never the presumed to be the mother. Instead, she has to adopt the baby, a process that can take months and cost up to $6,000, he said.”

LifeNews: “Rutgers’ obvious purpose forthis poll was politically motivated and designed to conclude that the Governor’s speech at our Rally hurt the Governor, but their own results show that 68% of those polled said that it either made them feel better about the Governor or had no effect.”

LifeNews: But Marie Tasy, the director of New Jersey Right to Life, told LifeNews.com the Rutgers Eagleton Poll “does not tell the whole story.”

MyCentralJersey.com: A comment that she made in her letter, which has been erroneously used so often, by so many, in so many circumstances, is six words in length – “the separation of church and state.” . . . The ACLU has been using it to ban prayer in schools, and at school events, and activist judges have unjustly sided with them. Recently the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Counsel have taken legal steps to try and correct this injustice.

NJ.com: “One week. That’s how long Michael Patrick Carroll lasted as a Superior Court nominee. Gov. Chris Christie, who has previously gone to the mat with Democrats to battle for his choices, quietly yanked the Republican assemblyman’s nomination to become a judge today.”

NBCNewYork.com: Three union workers who called out sick to attend a labor rally at the New Jersey Statehouse last week have been suspended. The move comes a day after Gov. Christie told NBC New York in an interview that “people who call in sick better be sick.” Christie issued his warning ahead of another labor rally that drew thousands on Thursday.

New Jersey has no constitutional or legal basis for recognizing an infertile wife as the mother of her husband’s child born to a surrogate, a appeals court held Wednesday in a ruling that harkens the landmark Baby M case

NJ.com: “Several N.J. unions are planning a rally at the Statehouse Friday in support of public workers in Wisconsin . . . ”

Religion Clause Blog: “Natural News today reports on proposed legislation in Washington state and New Jersey that would place new limits on religious exemptions from mandatory vaccination requirements.”

One News Now: “A New Jersey-based attorney says Governor Chris Christie is “launching a revolution” in taking on the liberal status quo of the Garden State.”