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

‘Stop the Islamization of America’ is disparaging and can’t be trademarked, Federal Circuit says

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has refused a trademark for the phrase “Stop the Islamization of America” because it is disparaging to Muslims. The Federal Circuit ruled on Tuesday against blogger Pamela Geller, who founded a group by that name and runs a website called “Stop!…

May 14, 2014 12:36 PM CDT

Lawyer defending academic in blasphemy case is fatally shot at office; other lawyers go on strike

For months, a lecturer at a Pakistani university jailed in a blasphemy case was unable to find a lawyer to represent him: They feared violent reprisals and even death at the hands of extremist religious groups. Then a lawyer who initially agreed to take the case stepped aside because of…

May 8, 2014 9:53 PM CDT

SCOTUS upholds ‘chaplain of the month’ prayers before town meetings

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that mostly Christian prayers, delivered by a “chaplain of the month” before town meetings, do not violate the establishment clause. A 5-4 majority upheld the prayers, delivered by volunteer ministers before meetings of the town of Greece in upstate New York. “The town of…

May 5, 2014 2:43 PM CDT

Courts are hearing new challenges to tax exemptions for religion

May 1, 2014 9:10 AM CDT

Suit asks NJ school district to remove ‘under God’ from pledge of allegiance

A New Jersey school district is being sued over the inclusion of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. The suit, filed last month in Monmouth County Superior Court, was announced Monday by the American Humanist Association, the Asbury Park Press and the Huffington Post report. The group…

Apr 22, 2014 11:33 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Corporations, contraception and religious freedom

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in the two most high-profile cases of this term to consider whether it violates the religious freedom of secular corporations to force them to provide insurance to employees that includes contraceptive coverage: Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties…

Mar 24, 2014 2:15 PM CDT

Inmate’s right to a beard to be decided by SCOTUS; prisoner filed handwritten cert petition

A Muslim inmate’s handwritten cert petition has gotten the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court. The court agreed Monday to decide whether the Arkansas prisoner, Gregory Holt, has a religious right to keep his beard, report SCOTUSblog and Reuters. Holt’s cert petition (PDF), handwritten on a publicly available form, claimed…

Mar 3, 2014 4:47 PM CST

Scalia criticizes Chicago pizza, but skirts question of American ‘tipping point’

Image from Shutterstock. Justice Antonin Scalia says he likes Chicago-style pizza, but he quibbles with the name. Chicago-style “shouldn’t be called pizza” he said. “It’s very tasty, but it’s not pizza.” The Chicago Sun-Times noted the comment, while the Chicago Tribune described the audience reaction: “a chorus of boos.” Scalia…

Feb 18, 2014 12:15 PM CST

Hasidic merchants won’t have to pay fines for dress-code signs

Seven Hasidic merchants won’t have to pay fine for posting dress-code signs as a result of a settlement on Tuesday with New York City. The city had claimed the signs discriminated against women and non-Orthodox men, the New York Times reports. The signs read: “No shorts, no barefoot, no sleeveless,…

Jan 22, 2014 6:07 PM CST

Pastor’s suit over license plate image is tossed by federal court

A federal judge has dismissed a suit by a Methodist pastor who contended an image on standard Oklahoma license plates depicted a religious message that conflicted with his beliefs. U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton ruled Tuesday against Keith Cressman, who claimed the plates violated his First Amendment right against compelled…

Jan 16, 2014 12:20 PM CST

Is noise exemption for church bells a constitutional violation? Judge likely to toss pro se claim

Image from Shutterstock. A federal magistrate judge says she is likely to recommend dismissal of a lawsuit that claims the chiming of church bells has limited a Rhode Island man’s peaceful enjoyment of his home and damaged his marriage. U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan said she will recommend dismissal of…

Jan 10, 2014 3:30 PM CST

French court rejects challenge to burqa ban

Afghan women in burqa. Image from Shutterstock. A French court in Versailles has rejected a constitutional challenge to the country’s 2011 burqa ban, fining a woman about $200 for wearing the face-covering clothing. The court ruled against Muslim convert Cassandra Belin, 20, on Wednesday, report United Press International and Voice…

Jan 9, 2014 2:57 PM CST

Sotomayor stays health law’s contraceptive mandate in nuns’ case

Justice Sonia Sotomayor granted a stay of the health care law’s contraceptive mandate on Tuesday to a group of Catholic nuns who claimed they would face “draconian fines” beginning on Jan. 1 if they did not comply. Sotomayor issued the stay a few hours before she led the Times Square…

Jan 2, 2014 11:45 AM CST