Law Commons^™

The Exorcism Motif In The Philosophy Of Sovereign Citizen Movements, John Ehrett

John Ehrett

I aim to deconstruct a key part of the sovereign citizen movement’s perspective on legitimate authority. I argue that the core underpinnings of sovereign citizen mentality (as applied) operate according to an anthropological framework similar to that used in an exorcism: namely, the ceremonial divestiture from an oppressive authority into whose service one has been subtly pressed.

Some Thoughts On Law, Religious Freedom And The “Commercial Sphere”, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses the question of religious freedom in the commercial sphere.

The New Religious Institutionalism Meets The Old Establishment Clause, Gregory P. Magarian

Gregory P. Magarian

Recent religious liberty scholarship spotlights the legal rights of churches and similar religious institutions, as distinct from the rights of individual religious believers. Advocates of “the new religious institutionalism” argue that religious institutions need robust legal rights in order to effectuate their institutional functions and advance religious believers’ interests. The Supreme Court recently fanned the new institutionalist flame by holding, in Hosanna Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. EEOC, that the Constitution protects churches from legal liability for employment discrimination in hiring ministers. In this essay, Professor Magarian considers a complication that advocates of the new religious institutionalism have generally ignored: …

A Christian On Listening With Jewish Ears And Hearing With The Heart Of God, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

No abstract provided.

Render Unto Rawls: Law, Gospel, And The Evangelical Fallacy, Wayne Barnes

Wayne Barnes

There are many voices in American politics claiming that various candidates, laws and policies are necessitated by a “Christian” worldview. Many of these voices use explicit public rhetoric that their position is the one compelled by “Christian” principles. Although religious voices have been present in the United States since its founding, the volume and urgency of the voices seems to have increased dramatically in the last several decades, during the so-called “culture wars.” These voices famously come from the Christian Religious Right, advocating socially conservative laws on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. But there are also voices from …

Render Unto Rawls: Law, Gospel, And The Evangelical Fallacy, Wayne R. Barnes

Wayne R. Barnes

Issues Of Law And Religion In The News -- Amish Beard Cutters, Hate Crimes, And The Limits Of The Commerce Clause, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

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?

Social Architecture And The Law, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

The reputation of attorneys has steadily declined over the last 50 years. How can we determine why this has occurred? Given the relatively high reputation of British Barristers, a comparison of US and British court room arrangement and practice may provide some clues, and the heuristic of "critical spatial studies" provides a methodology.

Issues Of Law And Religion In The News -- Hutterites, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

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 …

Issues Of Law And Religion In The News -- Mennonites, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

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?

Issues Of Law And Religion, In The News -- Non-Catholic Teachers Fired For Fertility Treatments, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

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?

O Estado Laico E A Emergência De Uma Nova Religião Civil, Douglas Antônio Rocha Pinheiro

Douglas Antônio Rocha Pinheiro

Re-meaning civil religion, placing it half-way between the local values of a given legal-political community and moral’s universal intentions, besides not jeopardizing the conquests of the laical State, can provide solidarity bonds between strangers. Such bonds, submitted to the appraisal of human rights and democracy, may become an opportune substitute to the disbelieved concept of nation, fostering reflexive ethics by means of a discursive rationality.

Merry Season’S Controversy, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

Discussion of the infamous "Christmas Controversy" – the legality of religious symbols in holiday displays on public land. This issue is examined both from the viewpoint of an attorney and a scholar of religion: From a legal point of view, the article examines the holdings of three major Supreme Court cases which have addressed this issue. From the viewpoint of religious scholarship, the article examined the relevant sociology of religion, which is also an important factor in accounting for why, in spite of settled precedents, this issue remains controversial.

Religion And The Alien Tort Statute, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

The paper generally discusses the relationship between religion and the Alien Tort Statute.

Protecting Statements In Catholic Tribunal Proceedings Under The Priest-Penitent Privilege: Cimijotti V. Paulsen Considered, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

No abstract provided.

Eruv And Establishment, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

An examination of how the Orthodox Jewish practice known as an "eruv", based in Jewish religious law, can help illustrate the tension between the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment.

Law And Religion – The First Amendment And The Problems Of Alienation, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

A survey of the different patterns of the relationship between of law to religion (and vice versa) in the course of world history, in order to provide historical and legal context and argue for the notion that the United States, truly, a secular society, but rather a religiously pluralistic one.

The 'Next Friends' Suit: Mary Baker Eddy And The Church Of Christ Scientist, On Trial, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

An examination of the competency trial of Mary Baker Eddy, and its subsequent effects and consequences.

The Role Of Custom In Canon, Jewish And Islamic Law: Supplemented, Superseded Or Supplanted By Written Law?, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

Custom can be a compelling source of law and supplements, even supersedes, written, codified law in religious traditions. In this essay, I address the relationship between custom and written, codified law in three religious legal traditions: the Roman Catholic Canon Law tradition, Jewish law, and Islamic law.

In the Roman Catholic Canon Law tradition, customary law reflects the values critical to community life and while it cannot contravene divine law, customary law, if reasonable, can become law even if customs contradict written canonical norms. In Jewish law, custom (minhag) is a source of rabbinic law and can even supersede halakhah …

Westboro Baptist And The Limits Of Religious Speech, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

A discussion of the role of defense attorneys, the implications of the prosecutorial burden of proof, the Supreme Court case of Phelps v. Snyder, and a corresponding incident in Floyd County Virginia involving the posting of the 10 Commandments in a public school, by different parties, and why there were differing results depending upon the party.

The Aspiration To Be A Catholic Social Scientist In The Eyes Of Robert Coles: The Search For Wisdom In An Information Age, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

The Catholic social scientist seeks to understand his world so he can know his God. He is called by love to the questions that he addresses, and the answers he finds to those questions draw him to a call of service, a call to make a life other than his own at least a little better. One of the pre-eminent Catholic social scientists of our time is the psychiatrist, medical doctor, and “hard” scientist, Dr. Robert Coles. This article seeks to consider five pieces of advice that Dr. Coles offers to those aspiring to be Catholic social scientists. First, work …

Erastian And High Church Approaches To The Functions And Methods Of The Law: Toward An Integration Of The Jurisprudential Categories Of Robert E. Rodes, Jr, M. Cathleen Kaveny

M. Cathleen Kaveny

No abstract provided.

Judaism And John Paul Ii: Coming To Grips With What Law Means In The Hands Of God, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

Throughout his papacy, Paul John Paul II stressed the necessity for Catholics to learn from their “elder brothers,” the Jews, both so Catholics would better understand their world and also so they could better understand their own Catholic faith. Throughout his own life, Pope John Paul II learned five lessons about law from his Jewish brothers and sisters. First, he learned that law should be made not as men are inclined to make it, “carried away on the tumultuous wave of self-interest and instinct,” but that law must be made as God makes it. Second, in the spirit of God, …

Lessons To Be Learned, Lessons To Live Out: Catholicism At The Crossroads Of Judaism And American Legalism, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

No abstract provided.

Mary And Isis, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

An examination of the degree to which the modern conception of the Virgin Mary was affected and influenced by the cult of Isis.

Dorothy Day And Innovative Social Justice: A View From Inside The Box, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

No abstract provided.

Religious Claims And The Dynamics Of Argument, M. Cathleen Kaveny

M. Cathleen Kaveny

This Article investigates the questions whether and when religious claims may enter into public debate about important political issues by considering the purposes of argument in the public square. These purposes include: (1) argument as self-disclosure; (2) argument as persuasion; and (3) argument as bulwark against engagement with the ideas of others. The Article argues that restrictions on the use of religious claims in public deliberations and discussion impede the legitimate functions of public argument as self-disclosing and persuasive activities. In contrast, such restrictions contribute to the use of argument as bulwark, which is arguably destructive to public deliberation in …

Are Religiously Affiliated Law Schools Obsolete In America? The View Of An Outsider Looking In, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

No abstract provided.

The Immutability Of Faith And The Necessity Of Action, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

No abstract provided.

Faith Through Lawyering: Finding And Doing What Is Mine To Do, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

No abstract provided.