6th Circuit reverses hate-crime convictions of Amish in beard- and hair-cutting attacks

A federal appeals court has reversed the hate-crime convictions of 16 members of an Amish sect in Ohio accused of cutting the beards and hair of others. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the trial judge had improperly instructed jurors that prosecutors need only prove that the…

Aug 28, 2014 3:02 PM CDT

Archbishop drops lawsuit against satanist group after leader agrees to return consecrated host

Updated: A Roman Catholic archbishop in Oklahoma City is dropping a lawsuit he filed against a satanist group contending it was in unauthorized possession of a consecrated Eucharistic host. The group had planned to use the blessed bread wafer in a “black Mass” scheduled for next month. Adam Daniels, who…

Aug 22, 2014 11:39 AM CDT

Ex-patient sues hospital and rabbi because his amputated leg was cremated

A former patient who is an Orthodox Jew is pursuing a lawsuit against a suburban Chicago hospital and a rabbi working there because his leg was cremated after being amputated below the knee, contrary to the mandate of his religion. Moshe Lefkowitz, 43, contends in the Cook County case that…

Aug 18, 2014 2:45 PM CDT

Lawyers look for secular solutions to the Orthodox Jewish divorce problem

Aug 1, 2014 9:20 AM CDT

Satanists assert a Hobby Lobby exemption from abortion informed-consent laws

A group called the Satanic Temple is claiming the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision gives its followers an exemption from informed-consent abortion laws. The group says in a press release (PDF) that it views some of the mandated information as scientifically unfounded and an affront to its religious beliefs, the…

Jul 29, 2014 5:18 PM CDT

Cross-shaped beam found in 9/11 rubble may be displayed in Ground Zero museum, 2nd Circuit says

A federal appeals court has found no establishment clause violation in the government’s museum display of a cross-shaped beam found in the World Trade Center rubble after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in its opinion (PDF) on Monday that the…

Jul 29, 2014 3:19 PM CDT

Hobby Lobby win boosts profile of religious-liberty law firm

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is getting media attention after its high-profile win in the Hobby Lobby case last month. According to the McClatchy-Tribune News Service, the small law firm is earning a reputation as a “powerhouse” after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that closely held corporations can’t be…

Jul 22, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Atheists ready to deliver invocations after Supreme Court ruling

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May upholding “chaplain of the month” prayers has emboldened atheists who are offering to deliver invocations before government meetings. The majority opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy noted that the town of Greece’s challenged policy would allow atheists to deliver prayers, though all of…

Jul 17, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Secular humanists must be allowed to officiate marriages in Indiana, 7th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has struck down an Indiana law that allows clergy of religious groups to solemnize marriages, but not officials from groups of secular humanists. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the law violated the equal protection clause and the First Amendment. Judge…

Jul 15, 2014 2:56 PM CDT

SCOTUS issues second hit to contraceptive mandate; dissenters claim order rewrites Hobby Lobby

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an injunction on Thursday allowing a Christian college in Illinois to bypass regulations requiring it to fill out a form noting its religious objections to providing birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The court acted on an application for an emergency injunction by…

Jul 7, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Contraceptive mandate is overturned for closely held companies with religious objections

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that closely held corporations can’t be required to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives over their owners’ religious objections. The contraceptive mandate, enacted as part of the Obama administration’s health-care law, violates the private companies’ rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the court…

Jun 30, 2014 2:25 PM CDT

Taking on SCOTUS’ own ‘buffer zone’ | Ability as a witness can outweigh top expert credentials

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Massachusetts law providing for a 35-foot buffer zone for protesters around abortion clinics violated the First Amendment. But the court has its own buffer zone, and it’s getting attention in light of the ruling, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports. Protests…

Jun 27, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

School policy banning unvaccinated students during infection risk is upheld by federal judge

A federal judge in Brooklyn has upheld a New York City policy that bans unvaccinated students from public school when a classmate has a vaccine-preventable disease. U.S. District Judge William Kuntz ruled this month against three parents who claimed their federal constitutional right to free exercise of religion was violated…

Jun 24, 2014 4:47 PM CDT

Maldives enacts criminal code based on draft by law prof and students

The Maldives has adopted a new criminal code based on the work of University of Pennsylvania law professor Paul Robinson and a group of law and Ph.D. students. The new penal code takes effect next year. It is the first modern, comprehensive penal code in the world to incorporate the…

Jun 6, 2014 3:45 PM CDT

Job offers lured men to NJ town where threats and violence procured religious divorces, feds say

Those involved in bitter disputes over the granting of a divorce recognized by Jewish religious law might want to consider steering clear of one town in New Jersey. Federal charges in two separate criminal cases in Trenton allege that job offers in Lakewood were used to lure two out-of-state victims.…

May 16, 2014 6:50 PM CDT