Re: Religious exemptions and discrimination

2012-06-15 Thread b...@jmcenter.org
Eugene, it's interesting to me that you don't find religious discrimination in particularly in #1 (pharmacist/Plan B) and #2 (Muslim taxi cab driver/passenger with alcohol). I understand your view and obviously it is the prevailing view. If I may say, tho, both the pharmacist's and the taxi cab dr

Religious exemptions and discrimination

2012-06-15 Thread Volokh, Eugene
I think this is combining under the rubric of “discrimination” many different things. First, item 2 doesn’t involve discrimination based on the passenger’s race, religion, sex, and so on which is why businesses generally are free to discriminate against patrons with wine, or emp

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread b...@jmcenter.org
Chris, While you would be willing to grant a child safety exception to appease Marci, I presume that in your view (and correct me if I'm wrong) that "burden" type RFRAs (like the North Dakota proposal) would permit the following examples of discrimination? 1. A pharmacist refusing to dispense Plan

Balancing free exercise and equality

2012-06-15 Thread b...@jmcenter.org
I think that the divisions caused by religion that Madison foresaw are glowing or perhaps just louder since the "nones" are growing. As Marc noted, there is substantial tension between two basic values -- free exercise of religion and equality -- WHEN religion enters the public sphere. In our sy

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Lisa A. Runquist
I think that public schools should be held to, if anything, a HIGHER standard than the church. After all, children are REQUIRED to attend public school; attending church is optional. But I also think that I should be rich and famous. Still waiting for it to happen. Lisa On 6/15/2012 10:29

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Marci Hamilton
That is an inaccurate analysis of my last post -- The attempts to treat these issues as de minimis are wrong. Read my cert petition and the Redwing case out of Tennessee I don't in any way back off of my statement that rfras open the door to more child sex abuse and less deterrence. They don

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Lawyer2974
Agreed --Don Clark In a message dated 6/15/2012 1:03:29 P.M. Central Daylight Time, vol...@law.ucla.edu writes: In any case, it seems to me that these concrete discussions of what the law does and does not authorize, and which law does so, are more helpful than snippy one-liners from

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Steven Jamar
I think Mr. Clark's statement and apparent inability to see the potential for mischief of RFRA is troubling and supportive of Prof. Hamilton's point. As a former litigator, I get the sense that some on this list are too dismissive of the impact of making claims that ultimately may fail, but whi

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Volokh, Eugene
But as I understand it, some states – though a minority – do indeed protect churches from negligent supervision/retention/hiring liability; and since generally speaking respondeat superior is usually unavailable in such cases, the effect is indeed an immunity of churches from lia

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Lawyer2974
Agreed. But in order for there to be a "cost of immunity from tort law" there first has to be "immunity from tort law" and, particular to this discussion, immunity from tort law in child sex abuse cases. This discussion started with the assertion that RFRA's "open the door" to child sex a

Strict scrutiny, from Sherbert/Yoder to RFRA

2012-06-15 Thread Volokh, Eugene
From: Volokh, Eugene Sent: Friday, June 15, 2012 10:44 AM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: Strict scrutiny, from Sherbert/Yoder to RFRA I disagree on very much with Marci, and I’m not sure that the Sherbert/Yoder test would have been inapplicable to the thing

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Volokh, Eugene
No, actually I think the quote was an unnecessarily pugnacious attempt to capture an important point. Some religious groups have apparently failed to reasonably investigate and monitor people whom they put in positions of influence over children, and some of those people have used t

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Graber, Mark
Ouch. This was obviously just meant for EV. On Friday afternoons, one should hesitate before hitting the send button. From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu [mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Graber, Mark Sent: Friday, June 15, 2012 1:35 PM To: Law & Religion issues for

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Graber, Mark
Thanks. Seems like we are arguing BIG principles that, actually everyone agrees with, when the work that needs to be done is in the details. From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu [mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Volokh, Eugene Sent: Friday, June 15, 2012 1:33 PM To: L

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Volokh, Eugene
Excellent points, both in the first paragraph and in the third. From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu [mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Graber, Mark Sent: Friday, June 15, 2012 6:46 AM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: RE: Religious exe

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Marci Hamilton
Public schools should also be held to the same standard as any private institution and it should be child-protective Marci On Jun 15, 2012, at 11:04 AM, "Douglas Laycock" wrote: > It is not just other constitutional interests that limit liability for harm > to children. It is also other publi

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Volokh, Eugene
Marc: It seems to me that state RFRAs are aimed at protecting religious observers and religious institutions more than at least many other social interests. Conversely, as I understand the church liability cases, plaintiffs usually aim to simply apply normal negligent hiring/s

RE: Religious exemptions and child sexual abuse

2012-06-15 Thread Douglas Laycock
First of all, he goes by Martin, not Marty. Marci, you have not yet offered a single example of substantial briefing of a state RFRA issue in a sexual abuse case. It does not have to be the dispositive issue to count. It does need to be an issue that is seriously argued, and not a boilerpla

Re: Religious exemptions and child sexual abuse

2012-06-15 Thread Richard Dougherty
Fascinating discussion, from which I am learning a lot. As a non-expert, it strikes me that Marci's account is akin to what I hear from family law attorneys dealing with divorce or child-custody cases -- that it is routine practice to make claims of spousal or child abuse, but that judges almost n

Re: Religious exemptions and child sexual abuse

2012-06-15 Thread Marci Hamilton
To be sure church autonomy arguments outpace RFRA arguments, but less than half the states have rfras I don't actually get Doug's point -- a RFRA is irrelevant if it is not the dispositive issue in most cases? It adds a layer of argument in these cases. And from the perspective of child prote

RE: Religious exemptions and child sexual abuse

2012-06-15 Thread Douglas Laycock
Martin Nussbaum’s response on the alleged prevalence of state RFRA arguments and church autonomy arguments: My previous comments were not about the bankruptcies where federal law, the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, is operative, and RFRA arguments are made and sometimes prevail. Second, it is one

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Douglas Laycock
It is not just other constitutional interests that limit liability for harm to children. It is also other public policies. For example, in Missouri, where Gibson v. Brewer limits the church’s liability to cases where they knew about abuse and failed to act, public schools have no state-law lia

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Christopher Lund
That is true. From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu [mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Volokh, Eugene Sent: Friday, June 15, 2012 10:49 AM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: RE: Religious exemptions in ND Chris Lund writes: It's also important

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Volokh, Eugene
Chris Lund writes: It's also important to keep in mind that the protection of state RFRAs can always be legislatively narrowed-and that has happened. Concerned with a pending suit by a Muslim to claim a drivers' license without having to take off her headscarf, Florida statutorily (and retroac

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Christopher Lund
Obviously the sexual abuse of children is tragic and criminal. But I still am not getting how state RFRAs have protected it or encouraged it. State RFRA cases are more boring than those opposed to Measure 3 might think. Plaintiffs generally lose their claims; they sometimes win, but they ha

RE: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Graber, Mark
May I suggest this is too strong. A great many constitutional rights increase to some degree the possibility that child abuse will occur, not be detected and not be adequately punished. Consider in this respect the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, at least as presently interpreted (and I suspect m

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread hamilton02
Religious institutions are creating the conditions for abuse in MANY circumstances. That is the reality, and the notion they should be less culpable than the perpetrators in the endangerment of children does them and children no favors. Religious institutions should not have one iota more lati

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Marc Stern
Allowing religious liberty defenses(which have so far been mostly unsuccessful) no more endangers children than does placing the burden of proof on the plaintiff in civil cases and the state(beyond a reasonable doubt) in criminal cases,rules against hearsay or requiring actual confrontation with

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread hamilton02
Please explain what is objectionable about that statement? Are you saying that religious groups do not endanger children? That is simply false. This is a law prof listserv where the discussion needs to focus on facts, doctrine, and policy. The mythology that religious groups always protect

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread lawyer2974
"Giving religious groups more power to endanger children" Wow To be charitable, I will chalk that one up to the lateness of the hour in which it was written. -Don Clark Nationwide Special Counsel United Church of Christ Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -Original Mes

Re: Religious exemptions in ND

2012-06-15 Thread Marci Hamilton
The Sherbert/Yoder test was never treated by the Supreme Court as a test available across the board. So NARAL's concerns and CHILD 's Issues would not have been controlled by it The concern is not over enforcement but rather enforcement Giving religious groups more power to endanger children i