Religious Law

Posner Criticized for Blog Comments on Condoms, Catholicism and Molesting Priests

Updated: Federal appeals judge Richard Posner is being criticized for a blog post he wrote covering everything from the Pope’s recent comments on condoms to gay priests and sexual molestation. Writing at the Becker-Posner Blog, Posner said the Catholic Church has long been hostile to contraception, but its attitude could…

Dec 2, 2010 3:14 PM CST

Glenn Beck’s Book Discovery Becomes Tea Party Constitutional Inspiration

A constitutional book author who argued international bankers are promoting a one-world government is inspiring some Tea Party candidates, thanks to a Fox News television personality. The late author, W. Cleon Skousen, is “the constitutional guru of the Tea Party movement,” according to a New York Times magazine column by…

Nov 30, 2010 12:00 PM CST

Retired Justice Stevens Supports Mosque, Warns of ‘Stereotypical Conclusions’

Retired Justice John Paul Stevens on Thursday lent his support to Muslims who want to build a mosque two blocks from ground zero. Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, Stevens said it’s wrong to infer that all Muslims share the views of al-Qaida, according…

Nov 5, 2010 12:25 PM CDT

Kagan Hits Acting SG’s ‘Silly and Fictional’ Interpretation of Taxpayer Standing

Justice Elena Kagan criticized the man who has temporarily replaced her as solicitor general in oral arguments on Wednesday in a constitutional challenge to an Arizona tax credit program that helps pay tuition for students at religious schools. One issue in the case is whether the program violates the establishment…

Nov 4, 2010 3:06 PM CDT

Profs Question Oklahoma’s Voter-Approved Ban on Shariah and International Law

Oklahoma voters approved a state constitutional amendment on Tuesday that bars state judges from consulting Islamic and international law when deciding cases. Some constitutional law experts have misgivings, CNN reports. One issue is whether the ban on Shariah law conflicts with the First Amendment prohibition on government establishment of religion.…

Nov 4, 2010 11:50 AM CDT

Law Firm Accused of Planting a Spy and Turning a Lawyer Against His Client

A lawsuit accuses a law firm representing the Archdiocese of St. Louis of getting the secretary for a rebel Catholic parish to act as a spy and manipulating the parish’s one-time lawyer to turn against his client. The suit claims Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale and the lawyer, Roger Krasnicki, “violated…

Oct 21, 2010 12:11 PM CDT

U.S. Attorney Defends Islam in Lawsuit Challenging Tennessee Mosque Permit

The U.S. Attorney in Nashville has filed a brief defending Islam as a religion in a dispute over a Tennessee mosque. U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin said in a press conference on Monday that he would not sit by while mosque opponents contend Islam is a political system rather than a…

Oct 19, 2010 11:27 AM CDT

Canadian Court Ponders Whether Woman Must Remove Niqab to Testify at Sex Assault Trial

Overturning a lower court order requiring a Muslim woman to remove her niqab before testifying against two male relatives at a sexual assault trial, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that a preliminary hearing judge should ponder the issue further before making a determination. While facial demeanor is important…

Oct 13, 2010 9:19 PM CDT

ACLU Sues Over Student Nose-Piercing Suspension Despite Church of Body Modification Beliefs

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued a school board in North Carolina over its suspension of a teenage student for having a peridot stud in a nose-piercing. Because Ariana Iacono belongs, along with her mother, to the Church of Body Modification, the suit contends the suspension violates her constitutional…

Oct 6, 2010 11:49 PM CDT

Grave Encounters

Al Snyder’s son died a Marine, but his funeral has become a First Amendment issue

Oct 1, 2010 9:20 AM CDT

Israeli’s Pork Cookbook Creates Controversy

In a country where religious law against consuming pork is also municipal law in a number of communities, a retired Israeli cardiologist’s self-published pork cookbook is creating controversy. Although the author doesn’t follow dietary law, a number of other Jewish citizens consider it an affront to their shared nationalism, reports…

Sep 29, 2010 2:00 PM CDT

Conflicting Rulings Put Lawyer Who Agreed to Stop Suing Scientology ‘in a Pickle’

A federal judge has ruled that Tampa, Fla., lawyer Ken Dandar can’t withdraw from a case he filed against the Church of Scientology because no other lawyer wants to take on the organization. That puts Dandar “in a pickle,” the St. Petersburg Times reports, because Dandar had agreed to stop…

Sep 1, 2010 2:27 PM CDT

Group Plans to Certify Scholars as Shariah Law Experts for Financial Matters

Addressing concerns that unqualified individuals could be serving as decision-makers on boards that determine whether financial products comply with Shariah religious law, a group of leading Islamic scholars is working to establish a certification process. The International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance in Kuala Lumpur plans to name a…

Aug 31, 2010 7:18 PM CDT

Suit Claims Baptism Injury Forced Law Student to Give Up School

A former law student claims in a lawsuit that he was forced to leave school after injuring his back while performing submersion baptisms for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The pro se suit by Daniel Dastrup, who now lives in Las Vegas, claims he suffered a herniated…

Aug 27, 2010 2:09 PM CDT

New York City Bar Supports Right of Mosque to Locate Near Ground Zero

The New York City Bar says Mayor Michael Bloomberg did the right thing when he refused to interfere with plans to build an Islamic cultural center two blocks from ground zero. The statement by City Bar President Samuel Seymour says the group is concerned about efforts to chill the First…

Aug 23, 2010 3:59 PM CDT