The Fourth Circuit, 2-1, has again ruled that a student born a girl has a right to present as a boy and force her way into her school’s male restrooms and locker rooms. The school’s offer to allow “Gavin” Grimm to use private facilities was “demeaning” and, in the panel majority’s opinion, violated both Title […]
How Grimm Will Things Get? Read More
The Ninth Circuit has just issued a ruling in which it does everything wrong. Worst of all, it pits the Establishment Clause against the Free Exercise Clause. Here are the basic facts: A football coach after a game went to the center of the field, by himself, knelt with bowed head, then went to the
The Constitution’s Religion Clauses Are Not at War with Themselves Read More
Throughout the summer and into the fall, and then this winter, churches and synagogues have been pushing back against governors and local authorities who have decided that religious services are not “essential,” as those officials have defined many other businesses to allow groups of people to gather. Early efforts of churches to stop this discrimination
They Still Don’t Get It, So Ministers Don’t Get Vaccine Priority Read More
In Otto v. Boca Raton (Nov. 20, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit (which has jurisdiction over Florida, Georgia, and Alabama) became the first federal appellate court to rule unconstitutional one of the “anti-conversion” acts inundating the country. In doing so, it split with the Third and Ninth Circuits, which have upheld similar conversion therapy bans. This
Court Rules Conversion Therapy Bans Unconstitutional Read More
“Hard cases make bad law,” and national emergencies make hard cases. It has proven true in our country’s jurisprudence, with one of the most notorious examples being the Supreme Court’s refusal to vindicate the claims of West Coast Americans who were put in “relocation” or “assembly centers” en masse during World War II solely because
Supreme Court Takes First Step Away from Rationale of Notorious Japanese Internment Case Read More
Justice Barrett hasn’t published an opinion yet, but she’s just made her presence known. When Justice Ginsburg was on the Court earlier this year, she joined a 5-4 majority that included Chief Justice Roberts and that refused the pleas of churches to stop, on an “emergency” basis, jurisdictions that were clamping down harder on in-person
The National Legal Foundation has joined a law suit against the Montgomery County, Maryland, school board because it has adopted a transgender policy that requires its personnel to hide from parents that their minor child is going “trans” at school if the student or school personnel believe that the parents may not be “supportive.” The
NLF Sues School System That’s Preempting Rights of Parents of Transgender Students Read More
The Supreme Court term begins this month, and, as of now, it does not appear to be as action-packed for religious liberty as this past term. However, at least one important case is in the hopper, and several are in the pipeline. And, of course, all is overshadowed by the presumed replacement of Justice Ginsburg
Supreme Court 2020-21 Preview with Judge Barrett (Likely) Enrobed Read More
Outrageous! A professor at a major university “came clean” and admitted that she has been falsely claiming for years that she has “Black” blood. The brickbats came out, although it wasn’t entirely clear why. Because she had taken an affirmative action slot from someone who otherwise would have had it? Because she wasn’t one of
If Transsexual, Why Not Transracial? Read More
The majority opinion in Bostock was surreal. How could six very intelligent people say that discrimination on account of sex includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity? Justice Gorsuch reached that conclusion [delete] because, if an employer wouldn’t fire a man for sleeping with a woman but would fire a woman
First Bostock, Then Alice’s Wonderland Read More