Religion and the Law
Separation of Church and State
Federal Appeals Court Says Texas' Ten Commandments Law Isn't Indoctrination
The 5th Circuit upheld a controversial law requiring Texas schools to display the Ten Commandments.
Satanic Temple Wins Legal Fight Over 10 Commandments Monument in Arkansas
A federal judge ruled the Ten Commandments monument at the state Capitol must be removed.
Additional Testimony Against the Proposed "Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act"
I submitted some additional testimony to a House subcommittee, in response to questions from Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon.
Court Rejects Women Inmates' Objections to California Law Related to Housing of "Transgender, Nonbinary, or Intersex" Inmates
The court's reasoning mostly turns on a conclusion that much of the prison behavior that plaintiffs complained about wasn't dictated by that particular law.
Parents Aren't Required to "Unquestioningly Accept and Support Their Minor Children's Claims of Transsexual Identity or Preferred Pronouns"
From a termination of parental rights decision by the Ohio Court of Appeals.
Oral Testimony at the House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on the "Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act"
It was notable that the GOP members and witnesses made little effort to actually defend the legislation in question.
My House Judiciary Subcommittee Testimony Against the "Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act"
I will be testifying against this proposed legislation - which would authorize exclusion or deportation of all or most non-citizen Muslim immigrants.
Don Lemon's Arrest Looks Like an Assault on Freedom of the Press
A federal indictment accuses him and another journalist of conspiring with protesters who disrupted a St. Paul church service.
Religious Employment and Title VII: Part 4—Avoiding Serious Constitutional Problems
Rejecting a textualist reading of Section 702 in favor of a cramped co-religionist privilege would raise serious First Amendment objections.
Religious Employment and Title VII: Part 3—Resolving an Enduring Circuit Split
A textualist reading of the Title VII religious employer exemption resolves a long-running circuit split.
Religious Employment and Title VII: Part 2—Reading the Exemption Textually
A textualist interpretation of Section 702 shows that the exemption applies when a religious employer confines employment to people who fit the employer's religious observances, practices, and beliefs.
Religious Employment and Title VII: Part 1—Civil Rights Law and the Tensions between Liberty and Equality
Understanding Title VII as a law designed to advance both liberty and equality helps to illuminate the statute's religious employer exemption.
University's Apparent Concealment of Real Reasons for Non-Renewal of Adjunct Professor's Contract Suspended Statute of Limitations
"The [eventually released personnel] records contain no negative performance reviews, but they do contain three anonymous complaints. Those complaints accused Grossenbach of 'creat[ing] a hostile environment for transgender and LGBTQ students' in connection with his SaveCFSD activities [allegedly referring solely to Grossenbach's outside-class political activity -EV], among other things."
Exorcist Files vs. Jesus 911 Libel Suit
"The Defendants intentionally or recklessly invited public critique and scrutiny over Plaintiff's title as an exorcist by repeatedly asserting that the Plaintiff is not an exorcist."
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Seeking to Overturn Obergefell
This result is unsurprising, and was predicted by most analysts, including myself.
"When You Soon Return to Allah": "Harmless Islamic Reference[] About Life and Death" or an "'Absolute' and 'Direct' Threat" to Ex-Wife?
"Allah does not forget, however. This is how people earn their final place in the [h]ereafter."
