Suit was filed earlier this week in federal district court for the District of Columbia challenging the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s contracting with religiously-sponsored agencies (including the USCCB) that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in providing foster parents
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Howard M. Friedman
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Class Action Challenges Denials Of Religious Exemptions From Federal COVID Vaccine Mandate
A class action lawsuit was filed yesterday in a Florida federal district court on behalf of military personnel, federal employees federal civilian contractors who have been denied a religious exemption from the federal government’s COVID vaccine mandate. The complaint (…
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Supreme Court Denies Cert. In Case Alleging Religious Belief Discrimination
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied review in Pasadena Republican Club v. Western Justice Center, (Docket No. 20-1773, certiorari denied 10/12/2021). (Order List). In the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a suit claiming…
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Virginia County Allows Muslim Cemetery, Settling DOJ and Private Litigation
The Justice Department yesterday announced that it had filed a Notice of Dismissal in United States v. Stafford County Virginia, (ED VA, Oct. 14, 2021). The Department said that it is dismissing its RLUIPA lawsuit because the county has repealed…
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2nd Circuit: Protesters’ Sidewalk Tables Were Not A "Place of Worship" Under FACEA
A provision (18 USC §248) in the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (“FACEA”) prohibits intentionally injuring, intimidating, or interfering with anyone who is exercising 1st Amendment religious freedom rights “at a place of religious worship.” …
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Maine’s Vaccine Mandate Without Religious Exemption Upheld
In Jane Does 1-6 v. Mills, (D ME, Oct. 13, 2021), a Maine federal district court rejected claims by health care employees that Maine violated their free exercise rights when it eliminated religious exemptions from its COVID vaccine mandate…
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Suit Uniquely Brings Together Issues of Abortion and Vaccines
Suit was filed this week in a California federal district court challenging California’s recently enacted SB 742 which creates a 30-foot floating buffer zone to prevent harassment or interference with any person who is entering or exiting a vaccination site.…
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5th Circuit Reinstates Texas "Heartbeat" Abortion Ban While Appeal Is Pending
By a 2-1 vote tonight, in United States v. State of Texas, (5th Cir., Oct. 14, 2021), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in a one-page Order allowed Texas’ restrictive “heartbeat” abortion law to go back into effect…
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European Court Upholds Vatican’s Immunity From Suit In Member-State Courts
In J.C. and Others v. Belgium, (ECHR, Oct. 12, 2021) (full text in French) (press release in English) the European Court of Human Rights in a 6-1 Chamber judgment held that Belgian courts acted properly in…
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Baltimore Wrongly Denied Permission For Rally To Protest USCCB Conference
In St. Michael’s Media, Inc v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, (D MD, Oct. 12, 2021), a Maryland federal district court in an 86-page opinion held that the city of Baltimore violated the free speech and assembly rights…
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