Religious Law

Suit filed against Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms

A coalition of groups filed a lawsuit Monday against the state of Louisiana’s new requirement to post the Ten Commandments in every school classroom, claiming parents’ rights are violated by the new law.

Jun 26, 2024 10:00 AM CDT

SCOTUS could be next stop after top Oklahoma court rules on state-funded religious school

A contract providing for state funding of an online Catholic charter school violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause, the Oklahoma Constitution and a state law governing charter schools, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Jun 25, 2024 3:29 PM CDT

5th Circuit rejects nationwide injunction in challenge to task force’s insurer mandates

A task force that issued preventive care mandates for insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act had “unreviewable power” that violated the Constitution, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Jun 25, 2024 1:02 PM CDT

Louisiana requires Ten Commandments to be displayed in public classrooms

Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed legislation Wednesday requiring every public classroom in Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments, becoming the first state with such a law and inflaming tensions over the separation between church and state.

Jun 20, 2024 10:15 AM CDT

Religious-liberty training order likely violates lawyers’ constitutional rights, 5th Circuit says

In-house lawyers for Southwest Airlines would “likely suffer a violation of their constitutional rights” if they had to comply with a judge’s order for religious-liberty training taught by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy group, a federal appeals court said Friday.

Jun 10, 2024 10:33 AM CDT

Litigation continues in federal actions alleging fraud with LDS tithings

Updated: The complaint states that between 1993 and 2017, Huntsman donated 10% of his annual income to the church, which amounted to millions, and was misled to think the money would not be used to finance commercial projects.

May 23, 2024 1:42 PM CDT

Former BigLaw employee alleges she was wrongly fired for vaccine refusal

A former practice group assistant at Jenner & Block has filed a lawsuit contending that the law firm violated federal law when it fired her for refusing to get a vaccine for COVID-19.

May 20, 2024 10:36 AM CDT

When Trump criticizes judges online, calls for violence follow, analysis shows

Since March 1, at least 152 posts on three websites supportive of former President Donald Trump have called for violence against judges handling his high-profile cases, according to an analysis by Reuters.

May 15, 2024 1:41 PM CDT

Catholic school can fire gay drama teacher for marrying, 4th Circuit rules

One of the most liberal appellate courts in the country has ruled that a Catholic high school could fire a teacher for marrying another man, a victory for conservative and religious advocacy groups that have pushed back against anti-discrimination law.

May 8, 2024 3:10 PM CDT

How to rid house of leavened products during Passover? Mormon law prof has contracts for that

A professor at the William & Mary Law School was acting as a “friendly gentile” when he helped draft contracts to purchase unused leavened foodstuffs and lease its storage locations from members of another law professor’s synagogue in suburban Philadelphia.

Apr 24, 2024 12:08 PM CDT

New York prison will let inmates go outdoors to view eclipse after lawsuit

Six New York prison inmates who sued the state’s corrections department over a planned lockdown that would have forced them indoors during Monday’s solar eclipse will be allowed to view the celestial phenomenon outside under a settlement agreement, their attorneys announced Thursday.

Apr 8, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

Inmates in New York are suing to be allowed to see the solar eclipse

New York inmates are suing the state over its plan to lockdown prisons during next week’s solar eclipse, alleging that in barring them from viewing the rare phenomenon, the corrections department is stripping them of their constitutional right to exercise their religion.

Apr 3, 2024 10:30 AM CDT

Man who claimed US wanted him to spy on mosque can pursue suit over 6-year no-fly-list status, SCOTUS says

An Oregon man’s challenge to his placement on the no-fly list did not become moot after the government lifted the ban on flying, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a unanimous opinion.

Mar 19, 2024 11:34 AM CDT

Catholic student sues a Virginia school board over transgender protections

A Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools student is suing the school board, sayings its policy aimed at protecting the rights of transgender students violate the rights of others and violates the state constitution.

Mar 7, 2024 12:15 PM CST

Alabama justice who quoted Bible in IVF case often invokes religion

In the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that said frozen embryos are people, Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote a concurring opinion that sought to define the “sanctity of unborn life,” citing heavily from scripture and theology. His opinion, which drew criticism from abortion rights activists for instilling religious beliefs into a judicial decision, was the latest in nearly 20 years on the bench in which he has repeatedly invoked religion on his way to laying the groundwork to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Feb 27, 2024 1:45 PM CST