Suit Over Deceptively Promoted School Religious Program Moves Ahead
In Roe v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, (MD LA, Oct. 8, 2024), a Louisiana federal district court refused to dismiss many claims brought by high school seniors and their parents asserting violations of the Establishment Clause, infringement of parental rights, sex discrimination, violation of the Louisiana Parents Bill of Rights, negligence, infliction of emotional…
Israel’s Supreme Court Orders Tel Aviv to Permit Outdoor Sex-Separated
Times of Israel reports that yesterday a unanimous 3-judge panel of Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the municipality of Tel Aviv to permit the Orthodox Jewish outreach organization Rosh Yehudi to hold outdoor sex-separated Yom Kippur services. According to the report:The ruling comes after the Tel Aviv Municipality refused to allow such a service with a…
Cert. Denied in Alabama Frozen Embryo Case
Among the hundreds of cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court denied review on Monday was Center for Reproductive Medicine v. Burdick-Aysenne, (Sup. Ct., Docket No. 24-127, certiorari denied, Oct. 7, 2024). (Order List). In the case, the Alabama Supreme Court held, by a vote of 7-2, that Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act covers the negligent…
Tennesse County Sued by Woman Who Was Required to Remove
Suit was filed this week in a Tennessee federal district court by a Muslim woman who was required by Knox County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office employees to remove her hijab for a booking photo. Plaintiff was arrested along with others who were participating in a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the University of Tennessee campus. The photo was…
7th Day Adventists Sue Maryland Over Narrow Interpretation of Fair
Last week, the Seventh Day Adventist Church filed suit against officials and members of the Maryland Civil Rights Commission challenging as unconstitutional the Maryland Supreme Court’s narrow interpretation of the religious institution exemption from the anti-discrimination provisions of the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA). Last year in Doe v. Catholic Relief Services, the Maryland Supreme…
Georgia Supreme Court Reinstates 6-Week Abortion Ban While Appeal Is
Yesterday in State of Georgia v. Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, (GA Sup. Ct., Oct. 7, 2024), the Georgia Supreme Court in a brief order reinstated Georgia’s 6-week abortion ban while an appeal of a trial court’s injunction is litigated. Last week a state trial court had enjoined enforcement of the abortion ban, finding…
Cert. Petition Filed in Oklahoma Religious Charter School Case
A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed yesterday with the U.S. Supreme Court in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, (Sup. Ct., cert. filed 10/7/2024). In the case, the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that the state Charter School Board’s authorization of a Catholic sponsored publicly-funded charter school violates Oklahoma statutes, the Oklahoma Constitution and the…
Texas Judicial Conduct Commission Withdraws Reprimand of Judge Who Refused
As previously reported, in 2019 the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a Public Warning to Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley because she refused on religious grounds to perform same-sex weddings, while continuing to perform other weddings. The Commission stated that her conduct cast doubt on her capacity to act impartially to persons appearing…
EEOC Sues Over Refusal to Accommodate Muslim Applicant’s Worship Schedule
On Sept. 30 the EEOC filed a suit under Title VII charging a Washington-state based staffing and recruiting agency with religious discrimination and retaliation against a Muslim job applicant. According to an Oct. 3 EEOC Release:Logic Staffing invited the applicant to interview … the day after receiving his online application. On the strength of his application…
U.S. Supreme Court Opens New Term with Cert. Denials; Red
The U.S. Supreme Court’s new term began today. Yesterday in Washington the annual Red Mass marking the opening of the Supreme Court’s new term– hosted by the D.C. Archdiocese and the John Carroll Society– was held at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. (Video of full Red Mass). According to the Washington Post, Chief Justice…