Lorin Geitner on Issues of Law and Religion in the News

An Introduction: The Curmudgeon and His Cats

geitner@gmail.com (Lorin Geitner) — Sun, 15 Jul 2018 03:17:00 +0000

geitner@gmail.com (Lorin Geitner) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:31:00 +0000

Podcast #4: Mennonites
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Transcript Description: An ordinance in Mitchell county, Iowa, forbade the use of tractors with steel-rim tires on county roads, for the sake of road preservation. The Groffdale Old Order Mennonites, however, require their members to use just such tires, for religious reasons. When a Mennonite youth received a citation for driving such a tractor on the road, it set off a nearly prototypical Church/State conflict. What do steel-rim tires have to do with religion? And does the county's concern with preserving roads trump this religious practice, or vice versa? Sources Relied Upon: News Stories 1, 2. Religion Mennonite History Legal Precedents: Mitchell County v. Matthew Zimmerman Social Networking: Facebook RSS Feed Twitter

Podcast 3: Catholicism, Fertility Treatments, and the Firing of Non-Catholic Employees for Violation of Catholic Doctrine.

geitner@gmail.com (Lorin Geitner) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 03:21:00 +0000

Podcast 3: Catholicism, Fertility Treatments, and the Firing of Non-Catholic Employees for Violation of Catholic Doctrine.

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Transcript

Description: Two non-Catholic teachers had been fired from Catholic schools, for breaching Catholic doctrine when it comes to acceptable fertility treatments. Has the Catholic Church breached its employment contracts with these teachers? If so, would it still be protected under the ministerial exception?

Sources Relied Upon:
Forthcoming

News Stories
Emily Herx case: 1, 2
Christa Dias case: 1, 2, 3

Religion
Dignitas Personae, Summary of Dignitas Personae,

Legal Precedents:Hosanna-TaborEvangelical Lutheran Church v. EEOC

Subsequent development:

When we recorded this podcast, I did not know that a judge had ruled explicitly that Christa Dias had no ministerial duties. This will likely take any argument based on the ministerial exception off the table. It remains to be seen whether she will be held liable for violating her employment contract.

geitner@gmail.com (Lorin Geitner) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:22:00 +0000

Podcast 2: Amish Beard Cutters, Hate Crimes, and the Limits of the Commerce Clause

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Transcript

Description: 16 Amish are being tried under a Federal Hate Crimes statute in Ohio for cutting the beards of elders in another Amish community. Why such a strange form of assault? Since this is an Amish on Amish crime, does it constitute a hate crime? And is the reliance of the statute on the commerce clause over-reaching, and potentially under-reaching as well?

Sources Relied Upon:

News Stories
Number of Amish indicted in beard-cutting attacks grows to 16 with 4 women added
Three men in Amish beard-cutting case waive hearing
Charges stick to sect leader in Amish beard-cutting case
Judge: U.S. hate-crime law applies to Amish sect leader, accused beard-cutter

Religion
THE MENNONITES AND AMISH
John A. Hostetler
Pennsylvania History , Vol. 23, No. 3 (July, 1956), pp. 330-334

Legal Precedents:
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

An attorney friend of mine recently brought my attention to this document which sets out other possible ways to structure a Federal hate-crimes law that could be considerably less coherent than reliance on the Commerce Clause:

Congress’s Power to Legislate Control Over Hate Crimes: Selected Legal Theories
-- Paul Starett Wallace, Jr.

Pilot Episode -- Hutterites

geitner@gmail.com (Lorin Geitner) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 18:44:00 +0000

Welcome.

This blog is an adjunct to my podcast, "Issues of Law and Religion, in the News". Listen to the podcast, and/or read the transcript, and feel free to comment below.

Podcast 1: The Hutterites, Workers Compensation, and the Limits of Religious Accomodation

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Transcript
Description: The Hutterites are an Anabaptist group who live communally. This lifestyle has allowed them to compete against private construction firms in Montana. A new law requires the Hutterites to carry workers compensation for their members who work in construction. The Hutterites counter that they already have provisions in their society that provide all the coverage provided by workers compensation. The legislator who sponsored this bill says this bill is needed to provide an even playing field. What are the Hutterites history, beliefs and practices which lead them to believe this is redundant? What are the legal principles involved? Who is likely to prevail in court? Who should prevail, and why? Listen, and find out.
Sources Relied Upon:
News Stories

News Story from Business Week
Religion
Frontier Brethren: The Hutterite Experience in the American West
Life in a Hutterite Colony: An Outsider's Experience and Reflections on a Forgotten People in Our Midst
Legal Precedents:
Wisconsin v. Yoder
Employment Division v. Smith
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
City of Boerne v. Flores
Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah
Also Recommended:
The Official webpage of the Hutterites,
National Geographic series on the Hutterites