ABA Journal

Religious Law

589 ABA Journal Religious Law articles.

Supreme Court rules for inmate who wants hands-on, out-loud prayer at his execution

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Thursday for a Texas death row inmate who wanted his longtime Baptist pastor to lay hands on him and pray out loud during his execution.

Kentucky clerk who denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples can’t avoid liability for civil rights violations, judge rules

A federal judge in Kentucky has ruled that a former Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk who denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples cannot duck liability for violating their civil rights. But the court left it up to a jury to decide whether she should pay damages.

Supreme Court will decide whether web designer has free speech right to refuse service for same-sex weddings

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up the case of a web designer who contends that she has a First Amendment right to refuse to provide online service for same-sex weddings.

‘The good ship 5th Circuit is afire’: Majority invented ‘new Title VII sin’ in vaccine case, dissenter says

A federal appeals judge under fire for asking a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer to remove his mask during oral arguments took a different tack in a fiery dissent in a case involving United Airlines’ employee vaccine mandate.

Judge on SCOTUS short list faces scrutiny for her stance for US in religious rights case

California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, a possible nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, is facing scrutiny for the position that she took on behalf of the United States in a religious rights case involving a narcoleptic teacher before the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court will hear case of praying football coach

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the case of a high school football coach who lost his job after defying the school district’s orders to stop praying with students at the 50-yard line after games.

Supreme Court will consider Christian group’s request to temporarily fly flag at Boston City Hall

The case of Shurtleff v. City of Boston, to be argued on Jan. 18, has become a bit of a big thing. It’s the latest test of religious expression to be heard by a U.S. Supreme Court that has been increasingly deferential in recent years to legal claims by religious conservatives.

Chemerinsky: Expect a momentous year ahead for the Supreme Court

Conservatives look at 2022 in the U.S. Supreme Court with great anticipation, while liberals feel dread for what is likely to come. But all, on both sides of the political aisle, agree that 2022 is going to be a momentous year for the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court doesn’t interfere with New York COVID-19 vaccine mandate, despite lack of religious exemption

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers in New York, even though the mandate does not include an exemption for those with religious objections.

Weekly Briefs: Emmett Till probe closed; Black couple’s suit says appraisal changed with pretend white homeowner

DOJ closes Emmett Till investigation

The U.S. Department of Justice has closed its reopened investigation into the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black youth tortured and shot…

SCOTUS considers whether public tuition program for private schools can exclude religious ones

The U.S. Supreme Court’s latest case about the Constitution’s religion clauses hails from Maine, where the state has paid tuition to send some students to private schools for more than a century but for the last 40 years has limited the choices to “nonsectarian” schools.

Weekly Briefs: New charges against lawyer accused of staging his shooting; Christian florist settles

Suspended lawyer Alex Murdaugh faces new charges

Suspended South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, previously charged in an alleged scheme to have himself killed for insurance money, is facing 27…

Supreme Court allows vaccine mandate for health workers that didn’t offer religious exemption

Maine’s vaccine mandate for health care workers, which doesn’t allow religious exemptions, is being enforced after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene Friday.

Let them eat cheesecake on Shavuot, 6th Circuit says in Jewish prisoners’ case

The Michigan Department of Corrections violated Jewish prisoners’ religious rights when it failed to provide them with kosher meat and a meal with dairy on the Jewish Sabbath and four Jewish holidays, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Supreme Court seems to be ‘reshaping itself in Justice Thomas’ image,’ op-ed says

We may be seeing the emergence of the “Thomas Court,” as the 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court considers cases involving abortion, religious freedom and gun rights this term, according to a New York Times op-ed.

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