In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an application for injunctive relief filed by South Bay United Pentecostal Church (Church) challenging California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Stay-At-Home order and 4-stage...more
6/2/2020
/ Churches ,
Compelling Governmental Interest ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Executive Orders ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Governor Newsom ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Motion for Relief ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
SCOTUS ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Social Distancing ,
South Bay United Pentecostal Church v Newsom ,
TRO
Last week, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Knick v. Township of Scott. In a 5-4 decision, the Court overruled the requirement that property owners first pursue takings claims in state...more
6/24/2019
/ 42 U.S.C. §1983 ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Just Compensation ,
Knick v Township of Scott Pennsylvania ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Property Owners ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
State Law Remedies ,
Takings Clause
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. ___ (2018) regarding Presidential Proclamation No. 9645, otherwise known as the “Travel Ban.” ...more
6/27/2018
/ Appeals ,
Establishment Clause ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Reform ,
Likelihood of Success ,
Muslims ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Presidential Decrees ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Trump v Hawaii
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued an important decision in Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida, 585 U.S. ___ (2018). The case does not involve land use or even free exercise of religion. ...more
6/19/2018
/ 42 U.S.C. §1983 ,
Appeals ,
City Councils ,
Free Speech ,
Lozman v City of Riviera Beach Florida ,
Popular ,
Private Right of Action ,
Probable Cause ,
Public Comment ,
Retaliation ,
Retaliatory Arrests ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS
The Supreme Court issued its anticipated decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. ...more
6/6/2018
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Free Speech ,
LGBTQ ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Private Sector ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Reversal ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a request to review a church’s claim that the state of Missouri violated the federal constitution by prohibiting religious groups from obtaining state funding because of their...more
A federal court in Illinois, in Church of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ v. City of Markham, Illinois (N.D. Ill. 2015), dismissed some of the Church’s religious land use claims while allowing others to proceed. The case is...more
8/25/2015
/ Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Churches ,
Conditional Use Permit ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
SCOTUS
We’ve been monitoring news items involving local government, religion, and land use that may be of interest to our readers. Below is what has caught our attention.
Livingston Daily reports that Genoa Charter Township...more
8/24/2015
/ Corporate Contributions ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Holt v Hobbs ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
RLUIPA ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Special Use Permit ,
Tax Exemptions
Local governments may now have more to fear following the Supreme Court’s decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert. While the Reed decision may cause many local governments to question the constitutionality of their sign...more
After a brief summer hiatus, RLUIPA Defense is back with another edition of the Round-Up. What better way to kick things off than with news about the Satanic Temple of Detroit, which recently unveiled “The Satanic Temple...more
As promised in our earlier post, Reed v. Gilbert: Impact to municipalities across the nation, this post provides a summary of Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, a case that, coupled with Reed, has led...more
Independence Day—no better time to reflect on the numerous (enumerated and unenumerated) rights protected by our United States Constitution. Thanks to Obergefell v. Hodges, those rights are now more clearly focused. However,...more
7/3/2015
/ Churches ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Marriage ,
Marriage Equality ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Permits ,
Religious Accommodation ,
RLUIPA ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Zoning Laws
Although the case is outside the RLUIPA realm or even specific to religious-based speech, the Supreme Court’s decision last week in Reed v. Gilbert will undoubtedly impact RLUIPA Defense readers. We previously reported on the...more
In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. (2015), seven justices of the U.S. Supreme Court found that Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by...more
Last fall, the Second Circuit decided Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield County, Inc. v. Borough of Litchfield, 786 F.3d 183 (2d Cir. 2014), reversing the lower court’s order of summary judgment in favor of the Borough of...more
Less than a week after its decision in Holt v. Hobbs, the Supreme Court in Knight v. Thompson, No. 13-955 (2015), vacated and remanded the Eleventh Circuit’s rejection of Native American prisoners’ claims challenging prison...more
Last summer, we reported that the U.S. Supreme Court granted Good News Community Church’s (Church) petition for a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Reed v. Town of...more