Tag Archives: Topic: RLUIPA

Cronkite News (7/12): The ruling by the three-judge panel of the court in San Francisco was hailed by Byron J. Babione, the attorney for the church. “We’re happy with the outcome,” Babione said. “Arizona has always had a good commitment to equality, the treatment of property owners and to the free exercise of religion.” [more]

Sonoran Alliance: Attorneys for Center for Arizona Policy and the Alliance Defense Fund worked together to defend the church’s rights in court. “Churches should not be treated unfavorably just because they are religious, and that is what the city of Yuma had done here,” said CAP Legal Counsel Deborah Sheasby. (linked at Tucson Citizen)

9th Circuit says city of Yuma violated federal law against treating churches
unequally in zoning matters

ADF attorney Erik Stanley on WAVA radio with Don Kroah to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 13:15 mins

Federicksburg.com: Elementary reason puts this fear to flight. The disabled children in question are already in a school with mostly non-disabled children. “They are not explosive,” says Erik Stanley, a Kansas attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Calvary Christian. The notion that they would be violent, he adds, “is based on unfounded prejudices and stereotyping about the disabled.” Finally, the two groups–the non-disabled pupils and the disabled students–would study on different floors of the two-story building and attend classes at different times of the school day.

Religion Clause: 5th Circuit Interprets “Equal Terms” Clause of RLUIPA: In The Elijah Group, Inc. v. City of Leon Valley, Texas, (5th Cir., June 10, 2011), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on an issue that has split various circuits– what test to use to determine whether a zoning decision violates RLUIPA’s “equal terms” clause . . . Becket Fund issued a press release on the decision.

OneNewsNow.com: “This is just one of numerous lawsuits throughout the country demonstrating that many municipalities don’t understand the law. Zoning schemes may not exclude churches or single them out from similar uses for disfavored treatment,” notes ADF attorney Joe Infranco. “The lawsuit had a great outcome, and we hope other cities and similar situations will take notice.

. . . the federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit invalidated a city zoning ordinance that forbade churches in an area where very similar secular land uses are permitted.

Charisma: “Churches should not be singled out for discrimination by a city’s zoning restrictions,” says John W. Mauck, lead counsel in the suit and an ADF alliance attorney. “The city of Mountain Home did the right thing by agreeing to this court order and letting this growing church meet on its leased property so it can exercise its constitutionally protected right to assemble—just like everyone else.” . . . “This case is just one of numerous lawsuits throughout the country demonstrating that many municipalities don’t understand the law. Zoning schemes may not exclude churches or single them out from similar uses for disfavored treatment,” ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco explains.“This lawsuit had a great outcome, and we hope other cities in similar situations will take notice.”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley at The American Thinker: Zoning issues are not a concern, either. Calvary Christian Church has the approval of planning officials because it has met all zoning requirements to run such a facility. So, quite simply, no legitimate reason exists to oppose the opening of this school. There’s no reason to run up a taxpayer tab with needless litigation over a school that wants to help disabled children in need, that meets all safety and zoning requirements, and that is on firm footing under the law to do work that benefits everyone.

Fredericksburg, VA Patch: The church’s lawsuit has been taken on by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian non-profit organization which defends issues of religious liberty.
“Churches shouldn’t be singled out for discrimination, especially when attempting to expand their ministries to safely serve the needs of the community–in this case, disabled children,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “No disabled students would even be on campus at the same time as other students, and the church has the approval of planning officials because it has met all zoning requirements to run such a facility. There’s no legitimate reason for a denial, so the city’s stated reasons only serve to feed old stereotypes about the disabled.”

KBOI 2: The city of Mountain Home has agreed to let a church hold worship services at a local building after church leaders sued, saying its parishioners had been discriminated against. | Hat tip: Religion Clause Blog

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Bott Radio Network with Dick Bott to discuss this: Va. town says church school prohibited because disabled kids would ‘endanger’ other children. | MP3 audio 29:29 mins

ADF attorney Kevin Theriot at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: We at ADF often are asked what legal issues should most concern churches. And we make it a practice to ask the many pastors around the country we represent …

One News Now: The city claims that a school for the mentally and emotionally challenged would endanger other children — a charge that ADF senior legal counsel Erik Stanley says is baseless. “No disabled students would even be on campus at the same time as other students,” he points out. “And the church has the approval of planning officials because it has met all the zoning requirements to run such a facility.”

Charisma: The Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit Monday against the city, saying it is violating federal laws and that it has no real reasons to deny the permit.
“Churches shouldn’t be singled out for discrimination, especially when attempting to expand their ministries to safely serve the needs of the community—in this case, disabled children,” ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley says.

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the city of Fredericksburg for its refusal to allow a church to begin a school program for mentally and emotionally challenged children despite a recommendation of approval by city planning officials.

Religion Clause Blog: A Tennessee state Chancery Court judge has dismissed most of plaintiffs’ claims in a widely publicized lawsuit seeking to prevent construction of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Religion Clause Blog: The First Apostolic Church of Milton and its pastor Larry Webb claimed that the county jail’s Interfaith Ministries Board and Sheriff Wendell Hall had excluded the church’s substance abuse treatment program from the jail because of doctrinal differences over proper baptism rites.

AP on First Amendment Center: A state prison inmate in Virginia has won a seven-year legal battle with the state, allowing him access to Muslim reading materials, CDs and DVDs.

Injury Board Blog Network: There are scores of other cases like these every year, filed by these groups and others, such as the Alliance Defense Fund, the Rutherford Institute, and many others… just as the Founders intended. The “tort reform” movement will eventually reach harm cases, through restrictions on the filing of any lawsuit, Americans don’t recognize the universality of the rights protected in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

AP: A federal judge says the U.S. Justice Department can join a lawsuit challenging a South Carolina jail’s policy barring inmates from any reading material other than the Bible.

Religion Clause Blog: In a letter ruling in Oracle Institute v. Board of Supervisors of Grayson County, (VA Cir. Ct., April 26, 2011), a Virginia state trial judge rejected a number of defenses to a suit brought by an interfaith spiritual retreat center challenging the denial of a special use permit for property which it wished to develop.

Religion Clause Blog: In Great Lakes Society v. Georgetown Charter Township, (MI App., April 28, 2011), the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected a religious organization’s “equal terms” RLUIPA claim because no evidence supported the contention that plaintiff’s applications for a special use permit and variance were treated differently than applications by non-religious organizations.

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

One News Now: In a Texas case filed against the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), the high court ruled that jail inmates who successfully file a religious discrimination claim under the law cannot collect damages. But Liberty Institute Chief Counsel Kelly Shackelford believes that violates Congress’ intent.

AP: Virginia’s prison system did not violate a Muslim inmate’s religious rights when it refused to allow him to grow a 1/8-inch beard, which he believes is required by his religion, a federal judge has ruled.

One News Now: Churches shouldn’t be singled out for discrimination by a county’s zoning decisions,” contends Erik Stanley, ADF attorney and spokesman for Holiness is the Way Ministries. “This is especially true when the church has already received all the recommended approvals through the appropriate channels and…no other legitimate reason for denial has been given.”

SCOTUS Blog: The Court, over two dissents, bars prison inmates’ lawsuits seeking money damages from state governments for violating the prisoners’ rights under federal law to practice their religion behind bars.

Held: States, in accepting federal funding, do not consent to waive their sovereign immunity to private suits for money damages under RLUIPA.

Times-Herald.com: “ADF attorneys argue that the county’s refusal is once again in violation of the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that prevents zoning officials from singling out churches for discriminatory treatment,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “Churches shouldn’t be singled out for discrimination by a county’s ongoing decisions,” said Stanley. “This is especially true when the church has already received all the recommended approvals through the appropriate channels and no other legitimate reason for denial has been given. “The county must learn to abide by the U.S. Constitution and federal law, which prohibits this kind of discriminatory treatment of churches.”

Religion Clause Blog: For the second time this year (see prior posting), a federal lawsuit has been filed against Coweta County, Georgia challenging its denial of a conditional use permit to a predominately African-American church . . . Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

ADF attorneys file second suit against Coweta County this year for prohibiting new church building

Christian Newswire: Liberty Temple Full Gospel Church of Bolingbrook a predominantly African American congregation is presenting an emergency motion before Federal Judge Harry D. Leinenweber set for April 12th in a lawsuit against the Village of Bolingbrook, asserting that the Village is discriminating against them in their effort to establish a permanent location for their congregation.

Religion Clause Blog: In Merrimack Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses v. Town of Merrimack, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36090 (D NH, March 31. 2011), a New Hampshire federal district court agreed with the conclusion previously reached by a magistrate judge (see prior posting) that a Jehovah’s Witness congregation was not entitled to a preliminary injunction to override a zoning denial by the Merrimack (NH) Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Religion Clause Blog: “In Christian Assembly Rios De Agua Viva v. City of Burbank, (IL App., March 31, 2011), an Illinois appellate court refused to grant a congregation a preliminary injunction to permit it to operate a church on property it has contracted to purchase.”

Andrew Glover, The Pit and the Pendulum: How Far Can RLUIPA Go in Protecting The Amish, 19 Penn St. Envtl. L. Rev. 109, 130 (2011)

The relationship between government and religion is in a constant state of tension and flux. In addition to the guarantees of the United States Constitution, both the federal and state governments have enacted statutes intended to preserve the separation of church and state while ensuring that religious freedoms will not be impinged. This comment will focus on one area affected by this tension: the efficacy of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act [FN1] (hereinafter “RLUIPA” or “the Act”) in efforts to fight the effects of land use controls and similar ordinances on the Amish. [FN2]
*110 To better illustrate the process of a RLUIPA claim, I will be referencing a hypothetical throughout this comment. The protagonist of the story will be Amos, a potential client who walks into the law office of Danny Jones, Esq. Amos is an Amish farmer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who has been notified by his municipality that he must install a septic tank on his property. Due to the layout of his property, the septic tank will need to contain components which require electricity to work. Amos does not wish to comply because his faith prohibits him from using electricity. Further, he considers the septic system to be wasteful given his austere way of life. Can Attorney Jones successfully advocate for Amos? If not, what repercussions will there be for Amos? Whether or not Attorney Jones is successful, will there be effects on the local environment?

Religion Clause Blog: In Irshad Learning Center v. County of DuPage, (ND IL, March 28, 2011), an Illinois federal district court dismissed individual capacity claims against county officials, but permitted plaintiffs to move ahead with most of their other challenges to the denial of a conditional use permit to use their property for Muslim religious purposes and educational activities.

Religion Clause Blog: in Eagle Cove Camp and Conference Center, Inc. v. Town of Woodboro, Wisconsin, (WD WI, March 24, 2011), a Wisconsin federal district court rejected ripeness and jurisdictional defenses put forward by a Wisconsin town in a challenge to its denial of zoning approval for a year-round Bible camp.

Religion Clause Blog: The complaint (full text) in Westminster Presbyterian Church v. City of Peoria, Illinois, (IL Cir. Ct., filed March 21, 2011), seeks a declaratory judgment that the fellowship meetings are sufficient to qualify Westminster House for the religious use exemption.

Volokh, Alexander, Everything We Know About Faith-Based Prisons (March 17, 2011). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1789282

Kelli Stout, Tent Cities and RLUIPA: How a New Religious-Land-Use Issue Aggravates RLUIPA, 41 Seton Hall L. Rev. 465 (2011)

CorrectionsOne.com: Sukhjinder Basra has said that officers told him he violated a rule prohibiting inmates from growing facial hair longer than a half inch

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 . . .

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.

One News Now: And as a matter of fact,” Theriot said, “in this particular place where they want to lease space, there are already two churches in the shopping center — and there have been churches there for over nine years. However, the city’s now trying to kick those churches out and is not allowing the Baptist church to lease space there and use it for a church.”

Bob Unruh writes at WorldNetDaily: But the ADF said the trouble started because the church “treats seriously the God-given call to help the poor and disadvantaged…” “So this church opened its facilities to help those in need with food and a place to stay. On several occasions, this church opened its doors to people who lost their home, were currently homeless, or otherwise unable to find a place to live. This church provided food for those who were hungry. It had a closet where it kept food to give away to those in need. In essence, this church decided that merely talking about doing God’s will was not going to cut it. It put its faith in action and actually used its facilities to carry out God’s command to care for the needy,” the organization confirmed. “The city also made such illogical conclusions that while using a church room to talk about caring for the homeless would serve a religious purpose, actually caring for the homeless in that room would not serve a religious purpose,” the ADF said. In its tax appeal for 2008, the ADF argues the church is entitled to the full benefit of tax exemptions for churches.

ACLU: “The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the ACLU filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Sukhjinder Basra, a Sikh inmate who is being penalized for refusing to trim his beard on religious grounds.”

Tulsa World: “Erik Stanley is senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, an alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations who defend people’s right to freely live out their faith. He said he is seeing an increasing number of cases of cities using zoning codes to restrict or outright prevent churches from building on their own land. Stanley said Congress passed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act in 2000 to prevent just that, but municipalities are ignoring the law or finding ways around it.”

Kevin Theriot writes at the Speak Up Movement Blog (2/21): “In recent months, ADF has been increasingly involved in cases defending the right of churches to even have a place to meet. Woodbridge Church near Minneapolis was the victim of a town zoning ordinance that specifically targeted them for restrictions prohibiting future growth. Port St. Lucie, Florida is prohibiting Palm Beach Gardens Baptist Church from locating in an area where other types of assemblies like private clubs are allowed. And the City of Mission, Kansas now taxes church attendance with property assessments disguised as “fees.” This is sad and alarming at the same time. The many social services churches provide through food, clothing, and counseling will be sorely missed by these communities. And, according to our first president, without the church and the morality it fosters, our government could very well collapse into anarchy.”

One News Now: Joel Oster, an ADF attorney, summarizes what happened in 2009 that brought on the legal action now. ”[The church] worked with city officials to make sure their building plans complied with the code,” he explains, “but when the application was submitted to the town council, the city of Medina responded by placing a moratorium stopping all church buildings within the city.”

One News Now: “The county planner had looked at the application and had seen every reason to grant the application,” accounts Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Erik Stanley. “But when All Souls went before the county council, something happened that frequently happens to churches — the county council denied the application, even though there was no objective reason to do so.”

Religion Clause Blog: “Yesterday’s Hartford Courant reports that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division is seeking approval from the Solicitor General’s office to intervene to defend the constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act which is being challenged by defendants in a Connecticut federal district court lawsuit.”

Religion Clause Blog: “In International Church of  the Foursquare Gospel v. City of San Leandro, (9th Cir., Feb. 15, 2011), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court and held that a city’s zoning decision made under a neutral, generally applicable zoning law can impose a “substantial burden” on a church’s exercise of religion under RLUIPA.”

Times-Herald: Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for The Alliance Defense Fund, said he doesn’t think there has been a formal decision rendered by the DOJ. “The Department of Justice frequently takes quite a bit of time to investigate,” Stanley said. “All Souls just didn’t have the time to wait around.” Stanley said that ADF was contacted by All Souls.

Religion Clause Blog: “The complaint (full text) in All Souls Church of God in Christ, Inc. v. Coweta County, Georgia, (ND GA, filed 2/11/2011) claims that applications by other religious and non-religious organizations that are predominately White have received more favorable treatment. Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.”

“The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled that the city of San Leandro illegally discriminated against a church by not allowing it to use its own property for worship services. The church, Faith Fellowship Foursquare Church, is represented by staff attorneys with Pacific Justice Institute.”

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit Friday against Coweta County on behalf of a church denied an expansion permit even though it met all of the requirements and even though many other churches have had their permits approved.

ADF attorney Joel Oster appeared on the radio on Friday to discuss this: City manufactures restrictive zoning district specifically to stop growth of Minn. church. | Hugh Hewitt Show, MP3 8:17 mins | Janet Mefferd, MP3 audio 18:22 mins.

Concord Monitor: “Despite being okayed by the Chichester Zoning Board, Fab Cusson’s application to build a Bible-quoting electronic sign on Route 4 was shot down by the planning board in a 4-3 vote Wednesday night. . . Michael Tierney, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, which protects religious freedom and has represented Cusson, did not attend Wednesday’s hearing but said ‘clearly religious speech has as much protection under the Constitution as commercial speech.’ Tierney declined to comment on the planning board’s decision or say whether he plans to appeal to the court system.” (Note: Tierney is an ADF allied attorney)

Religion Clause Blog: “In Vestal, New York, a lawsuit was filed by Candlehouse Teen Challenge over the town’s refusal to make zoning changes that would permit creation of a Christian-based rehabilitation center for recovering female drug addicts.”

Charisma Online: “Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorneys filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Woodridge Church against the city of Medina for allegedly manufacturing a new zoning ordinance to prevent the church from building a new 42,000-square foot facility.”

ADF attorneys file suit against city of Medina for targeting church, preventing it from expanding on its own property

The Press-Enterprise: “After an 8 ½-hour meeting, the Temecula City Council voted early Wednesday to allow a controversial mosque to be built. The vote, at 3:34 a.m., denied an appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of a permit and development plan for the mosque sought for years by the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley.”

Nashua Telegraph: “A federal judge ruled that Merrimack planners didn’t discriminate on religious grounds when they denied a building request of a Jehovah’s Witness church.”

The Canadian Press: “California’s attorney general says religious beliefs aren’t enough to trump a corrections department ban on prison guards wearing beards — a stance that drew protests Tuesday from civil rights organizations.”

LA Times / LA Now: “The Temecula City Council is expected to vote on a proposed mosque Tuesday night after months of often caustic debate over the religious facility in the conservative southwest Riverside County town.”

Religion Clause: “In McGuire v. Clackamas County Counsel, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5521 (D OR, Jan. 19, 2011), an Oregon federal district court adopted a magistrate’s recommendations (2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140026, Nov. 10, 2010), and dismissed a free exercise challenge to the zoning laws of Clackamas County, Oregon.”

ADF attorney Kevin Theriot writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: “Although several different churches are already located at the Shopping Center (churches have been leasing space there for the past nine years), the City of Port St. Lucie prohibited the Church from even attempting to obtain a certificate of occupancy . . . On January 19th, ADF filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Church, asking the federal court to prohibit the City from enforcing those parts of its Zoning Code that discriminate against churches as compared to other types of assemblies.”

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit against the city of Port St. Lucie Wednesday on behalf of Palm Beach Gardens Baptist Church, which has been prohibited from leasing property in a shopping center to hold worship services.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune: “A judge has given permission for the U.S. Justice Department to go forward with a discrimination lawsuit against Walnut . . . The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sued Walnut in September, accusing the city of discriminating against the Chung Tai Zen Center group when city officials denied its request to build a Buddhist worship center in January 2008.” | United States v. City of Walnut, California, (CD CA, Jan. 13, 2011) | Via Religion Clause.

Chicago Tribune: “The county is also holding hearings over a controversial proposal to prohibit religious facilities in unincorporated residential areas, though pending projects would not be subject to the new ordinance, if it is adopted . . . On Thursday, the Zoning Board voted 5-2 to recommend rejecting the request by the Muslim Educational Cultural Center of America (MECCA) for a proposed mosque, school and recreation center in a residential area near Willowbrook. The issue now goes before the County Board’s Development Committee on Feb. 1.”

The Keene Sentinel: “Town officials will propose a new ordinance to voters at town meeting in March in an attempt to come into compliance with federal laws regarding religious land use. Last summer the town settled a religious discrimination lawsuit with the St. Benedict Center for $1.15 million. At the time, the settlement was said to be one of the largest of its kind, according to the Alliance Defense Fund . . .”

One News Now: However, the city zoning code disallows its facility, so with Tree of Life’s call for legal help, the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has filed a federal lawsuit against the city. “This is a case of unequal treatment,” contends Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for ADF. “It’s really a case of discrimination, where Tree of Life Christian Schools has been discriminated against by the City of Upper Arlington’s zoning code that allows for similar secular uses, but yet will not allow for a Christian school in the zoning.”

Religion Clause: “The U.S. Supreme Court today denied certiorari in Thunderhorse v. Pierce, (Docket No. 09-1353, cert. denied 1/10/11) (Order List). In the case, the 5th Circuit rejected a RLUIPA claim by a Native American inmate, upholding prison restrictions denying him permission to grow his hair, prohibiting him from performing pipe ceremonies in his cell, and limiting vendors from whom he could buy a headband.”