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Free Exercise And The Attorney/Priest: The Clerical Collar In The Courtroom, Jeffrey Glassman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

One of the more difficult free exercise of religion problems to come to the courts is the conflict that arises when an attorney who is also a ordained Roman Catholic priest claims the right to appear before a criminal jury while wearing his clerical collar. The New York Court of Appeals forbade a priest from wearing his collar, while the New York Supreme Court granted an application by an attorney/priest to wear his collar. This decision was subsequently overruled by the appellate division. This Article examines arguments in favor of allowing a priest to wear his collar. It examines the …