In a press release issued on Monday, Liberty Counsel announced that 14 Republican state attorneys general have sent a letter (full text of letter dated June 5) to the Food and Drug Admninistation urging it to investigate whether the abortion drug mifepristone is contaminating drinking water. The letter said in part:The upsurge in home-setting
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Cert. Denied In School’s Discipline of Pro-Life Student Group
The Supreme Court yesterday denied review in E.D. v. Noblesville School District, (Docket No. 25-906, certiorari denied 6/15/2026). At issue in the case is a high school’s refusal to permit a student pro-life group to post flyers in the school because of the political content of the flyers. The dispute eventually led to the suspension…
President Issues Message on Catholic Bishops’ Honoring of US 250th Anniversary
Yesterday the White House posted a Presidential Message on U.S. Catholic Bishops Honoring the 250th Anniversary of American Independence (full text). The Message reads in part:Today, Melania and I join in prayer with Catholic Bishops gathered in Orlando, Florida, as they consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus…
DC Circuit Gives Pleading Leeway to Pro Se Muslim Plaintiff Who Claims Religious Discrimination
In Naz v. Wright, (DC Cir., June 9, 2026), the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision reversed a district court’s dismissal of a religious discrimination claim brought by a Muslim woman of Pakistani origin who was fired from her position at the Department of Energy. The majority said in part:Naz alleged…
European Court of Human Rights Rules in Favor of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Two Cases
The European Court of Human Rights has handed down opinions in two cases involving the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The official opinion in each is available only in French. Excerpts below are from unofficial translations:In Velev and Others v. Bulgaria, (ECHR, June 9, 2026), the court held that a Bulgarian town’s prohibition on door-to-door…
Ministry Gets TRO To Allow It to Distribute Food in Park to Homeless Individuals
In St. Herman’s Table v. City of Phoenix, (D AZ, June 10, 2026), an Arizona federal district court granted a temporary restraining order barring the city of Phoenix from enforcing against plaintiff a requirement that it obtain a permit for its food distribution in Cave Creek Park. A permit is required for events in…
Florida AG Says Schools Must Allow Students to Attend Released Time Programs
On Tuesday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier provided a legal opinion (full text) to a member of the Florida legislature concluding that public schools must accommodate parental requests for their children to participate in release time for religious instruction. The opinion cited Florida statutes requiring schools to adopt policies authorizing parents to request…
10th Circuit: Suit Challenging Religious Exception to Trapping Ban Is Not Justiciable
In New Mexico Trappers Association v. Torrez, (10th Cir., June 8, 2026), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed on justiciability grounds a challenge by trappers’ organizations to a New Mexico statute banning capturing or killing wildlife on public lands. Trappers challenged the law because it contains an exception for “enrolled members of…
DOJ Opinion Says EEOC’s Title VII Rules on Disparate Impact Are Unconstitutional
Yesterday, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel issued a 25-page opinion (full text) concluding that the EEOC’s regulations and guidance documents on disparate-impact liability under Title VII are unconstitutional. The OLC’s opinion focuses on disparate impact in racial discrimination cases. However, the same rules apply to religious discrimination cases, even though…
Will Next Battles for Religious Accommodation Be Objections To AI?
An article last week in Business Insider suggests that the next battlefield for religious accommodation under Title VII may be artificial intelligence. Business Insider reports in part:Opposed to using AI for her software-engineering job, Erin Maus secured something of a miracle from her employer: a religious exemption.Maus, a Unitarian Universalist, said she proposed the special…