The Volokh Conspiracy

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Volokh Conspiracy

"Protestants did not like the sexual marketing and theme of the business"

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That's from Texas Alcoholic Beverage Comm'n v. Renewal Application of Memorial Beverage LLC d/b/a Twin Peaks (May 13, 2016), and the record doesn't reflect on whether Protestants were Protestants, Catholics or something else. "Protestants," it turns out, is legalese for people who formally file a protest against an application, whether "a protest petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office challenging the patentability of an invention" (the Black's Law Dictionary definition) or an objection to some other application, such as for a liquor license. It's not in standard English dictionaries, such as the American Heritage Dictionary, and I hadn't seen it before, but it turns out to be fairly common in many states' licensing proceedings.

And remember, in D.C., "No protestant shall unreasonably refuse to make himself or herself available to attend a settlement conference." Didn't Martin Luther nail that to a door somewhere?