The United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently supported a ruling by a three-judge panel that prohibits a California district from continuing its prayer policy. In arriving at this decision, the Ninth Circuit explained why the prayers in this prayer policy differed from legislative chaplain prayers which were upheld by the United States Supreme Read More

The Montana Supreme Court recently struck down a tax credit for donations that fund scholarships for students at private schools on the basis that these credits are a type of unconstitutional aid offered to attend religiously affiliated schools. In its decision, the court said that the $150 tax credit is designed to aid private schools Read More

A man in Tucson recently announced legal action against the Social Security Administration for failure to pay spousal survivor benefits after the death of his same sex partner. The man claimed that he would have married his deceased partner in the early 1970s if it had been legal to do so. Instead, the two men Read More

What happened when one of the most influential judicial individuals in the country started discussing his position on a topic that was not currently in front of his court? Aside from making several reporters very happy to have a good headline, much speculation began to circulate about the state of the law surrounding that topic. Read More

In a recent court filing, the Department of Justice announced plans to ask the United States Supreme Court to review President Trump’s ban on military service for transgender individuals. The Department of Justice announced that it plans to file a request before the Supreme Court by November 23, which means that the justices would be Read More

A complaint was recently filed against Muskegon Community College because it included a religious prayer at its 2018 graduation ceremony. The complaint was initiated by the Michigan Association of Civil Rights Activists in response to a prayer that was delivered during the 2018 graduation ceremony by a master of ceremonies. The Content of the Speech Read More

A 17-year-old student in Arab City, Alabama recently announced plans to pursue legal action against the Arab City School Board after it rejected his request to conduct a school prayer during a home football game. While it remains uncertain how this case will resolve, it provides a good example of the various conflicts involved in Read More

  At the beginning of July 2018, President Trump announced his decision to appoint Brett Kavanaugh to fill the spot left by the retirement of Justice Kennedy, and last month, Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in to the Supreme Court. While Justice Kavanaugh previously served on the US Court of Appeals for Read More

Recently in Indiana, a Catholic high school teacher was placed on administrative leave after it was determined that she had had a same-sex marriage. The school responded that workers are expected to support the Catholic Church’s doctrines including that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Later, the teacher communicated through Facebook that Read More

A directive was recently issued by the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that allows federal contractors to raise religious freedom as a defense when they are charged with job discrimination. The Federal Contract Compliance Program, which is the government agency tasked with making sure that businesses that contract with the federal Read More