Religious Law

Supreme Court majority seems ready to rule for web designer who won’t make websites for same-sex weddings

A conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared Monday to support a web designer who refuses to create custom websites for same-sex weddings because of religious objections.

Dec 5, 2022 4:12 PM CST

Is designer’s refusal to create website for same-sex wedding free speech or illegal discrimination?

The case of 303 Creative v. Elenis is about whether the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act violates the First Amendment free speech rights of Lorie Smith and her wholly owned design firm.

Dec 1, 2022 3:36 PM CST

Chemerinsky: An important week of arguments in the Supreme Court

Next Monday and Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two of the most important cases of the term. Each could have enormous implications for future litigation and for constitutional law.

Dec 1, 2022 9:20 AM CST

7th Circuit rejects First Amendment challenge to Indiana fetal-remains law

A federal appeals court has rejected a First Amendment challenge to an Indiana law requiring abortion providers to dispose of fetal remains by burial or cremation or to give the remains to patients to dispose of as they please.

Nov 30, 2022 3:00 PM CST

SCOTUS legal counsel defends Alito dinner with evangelical couple, says leak report is ‘uncorroborated’

The legal counsel for the U.S. Supreme Court is defending Justice Samuel Alito’s ethics following a report from the New York Times alleging that one of the justice's dinner companions later passed along information about the outcome of an upcoming Supreme Court decision to an anti-abortion crusader.

Nov 30, 2022 9:22 AM CST

8th Circuit upholds food-safety law in suit by pastor who gave bologna sandwiches to homeless people

A pastor and his assistant who were ticketed but not prosecuted for handing out bologna sandwiches to homeless people have lost their First Amendment lawsuit against the city of St. Louis.

Oct 19, 2022 9:05 AM CDT

Lawyer who hinted about accused priest is sanctioned $400K for violating protective order

A bankruptcy judge in New Orleans has imposed a $400,000 sanction on a lawyer who represents victims of priest abuse for hinting about allegations against a Catholic priest in violation of a protective order.

Oct 17, 2022 8:54 AM CDT

Pastor can’t sue for free speech violation after city council cut his mic, 11th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has tossed a lawsuit filed by a pastor who claimed that a city council in Jacksonville, Florida, violated his First Amendment rights when it cut off his microphone during his invocation.

Oct 6, 2022 9:14 AM CDT

Chaplain’s prayer before court isn’t coercive, doesn’t violate establishment clause, 5th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has rejected an establishment clause challenge to chaplain-led prayer before court sessions at a justice of the peace court in Texas.

Oct 3, 2022 9:26 AM CDT

Supreme Court ready to tackle free speech, affirmative action and election law in new term

The U.S. Supreme Court—and those in its orbit—has been going through the usual machinations leading up to a new term in recent weeks: Panels of law professors and practitioners are previewing the big cases of the new term, and a few justices are making public appearances to send one message or another.

Sep 29, 2022 12:36 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Supreme Court poised to sharply advance the law to the right

Last year’s term was momentous: The court overruled Roe v. Wade, greatly expanded gun rights and aggressively protected free exercise of religion. There is no doubt that the coming term, too, will be filled with blockbuster decisions.

Sep 29, 2022 9:52 AM CDT

Strip search by transgender guard violated inmate’s religious rights, 7th Circuit says

A federal appeals court ruled Friday for a Muslim inmate in Wisconsin who claimed that his religious rights were violated by strip searches conducted by a transgender prison guard.

Sep 21, 2022 3:42 PM CDT

Supreme Court requires Yeshiva University to recognize LGBTQ student club as state court review continues

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to block a trial judge’s order requiring Yeshiva University to recognize an LGBTQ student club at its undergraduate campus while litigation continues.

Sep 15, 2022 9:50 AM CDT

Sotomayor stays order requiring Yeshiva University to allow LGBTQ student club

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Friday stayed an order that required Yeshiva University to recognize an LGBTQ student club at its undergraduate campus.

Sep 12, 2022 9:51 AM CDT

HIV-prevention drug coverage violated religious rights of employer opposed to ‘homosexual behavior,’ judge rules

A federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, has ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurance plans cover HIV-prevention drugs violates the statutory rights of employers with religious objections. The plaintiffs had argued that providing compulsory coverage for PrEP drugs makes them “complicit in facilitating homosexual behavior.”

Sep 8, 2022 3:55 PM CDT