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Unopposed Brief Amicus Curiae Of Clear, The Jewish Coalition For Religious Liberty, And The Sikh Coalition In Support Of Appellant, Stephanie Hall Barclay, Francesca Matozzo

Court Briefs

No. 23-131
Franklin Loving v. Robert Morton

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 3:20-cv-11135

From the Summary of Argument

The Second Circuit should re-examine its precedent to allow for monetary damages for individual-capacity suits under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) for three reasons. First, RLUIPA’s text follows the same approach as 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and should be interpreted to afford the same types of broad remedies. Before Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), reduced the availability of free exercise claims, free …

Amicus Curiae, Stephanie Barclay, Nicole Garnett, Diane Desierto, Richard Garnett, John Meiser, Jorge Barrera-Rojas

Court Briefs

No. T9117732
Sandoval v. Universidad Nacional de Colombia

This Amicus Brief is presented to this Honorable Constitutional Court by the undersigned so that the considerations and arguments contained therein are helpful in the just resolution of the conflict submitted to your knowledge and that, for purposes of clarity, are structured as follows:
(These statements are followed by the Table of Contents)

From the Argument

Non-discrimination on religious grounds in education is expressly prohibited in international human rights treaties, whether regional or universal. Moreover, many of them are ratified by Colombia and therefore impose international obligations of direct and immediate effect, …

Brief Of Federal Courts Professor Derek T. Muller As Amicus Curiae In Support Of Petitioners, Christopher G. Michel, Rachel G. Frank, Isabel R. Peraza, Katherine Schroeder, Derek T. Muller

Court Briefs

No. 22-824
The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia v. Alexander Belya

On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

From the Introduction and Summary of Argument

This case presents an exceptionally important question at the intersection of civil procedure and constitutional law. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, federal courts of appeals have jurisdiction over appeals from “final decisions of the district courts.” That provision, which “descends from the Judiciary Act of 1789,” has long been understood to confer appellate jurisdiction over more than just …

Brief Of Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic As Amicus Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, John A. Meiser, Meredith Holland Kessler

Court Briefs

No. 22-741
Faith Bible Chapel International v. Gregory Tucker

On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

From the Summary of Argument

The First Amendment demands that courts refrain from intruding into disputes over a religious organization’s selection of important leaders. The ministerial exception enforces that demand. And thus, nearly every court to consider the issue has agreed: the ministerial exception promises something akin to an immunity from suit, which must be resolved early in litigation to be effective.

What's Originalism After Transunion?: Picking An Originalist Approach That Gets Standing Back On Track, Julian Gregorio

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

This Note argues that not only is standing fascinating and contested, but it is so important that the Court should reconsider standing doctrine in appropriate future cases. While the TransUnion case came and went without much kerfuffle outside of legal circles, standing does not find itself sailing smoothly. As noted, perhaps the Court’s most reliable originalist just dissented from a case that largely restates the current law on standing. And Justice Kagan, perhaps the Court’s most influential liberal, wrote that after TransUnion, standing jurisprudence “needs a rewrite.” Given the current makeup of the Court, any reconsideration of standing doctrine …

Brief Of Religious Liberty Scholars And Employment Law Scholars As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Douglas Laycock, John A. Meiser, Richard W. Garnett

Court Briefs

No. 22-174
Gerald E. Groff v. Louis DeJoy

On Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

From the Summary of Argument

This case demonstrates an error that has undermined protection for religious workers across the country, in defiance of clear statutory text and underlying principles of religious liberty.

Amicus Brief, David Patrick Paul Alton, Sam Brownback, Kelley E. Currie, Nury Turkel, Frank Wolf, Francesca Matozzo, Stephanie Barclay

Court Briefs

Exp. 2774/2022
Kanat, Omer and Others s/ Investigation of Crime

From the Introduction

China has committed numerous atrocities against the Uyghur people, whom the Chinese Communist Party views as a threat for their religiosity and distinct way of life. Uyghurs have been forcibly removed from their homes and put into “reeducation camps,” where they are tortured, forced into labor, and cut off from their families. Many Uyghurs do not survive their torture in the camps. Those who remain at home are forced to accept a government agent to live in their home to ensure they do not pray, read the …

Brief Of Professor Derek T. Muller As Amicus Curiae In Support Of No Party, Ryan G. Koopmans, Derek T. Muller

Court Briefs

No. 22-2036
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc. v. Kim Reynolds

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County Celene Gogerty, District Judge
No. EQCE083074

From the Summary of Argument

Important questions about Iowa constitutional law and abortion are at issue in this appeal. But there is an important, separate question that is predicate to these issues; a question that has the potential for far-reaching impact in civil litigation, of any type, throughout the State of Iowa: When do Iowa courts have the power to modify injunctions based on changes in law?

Good Representatives, Bad Objectors, And Restitution In Class Settlements, Jay Tidmarsh, Tladi Marumo

Journal Articles

his Article uses two recent decisions -one prohibiting incentive awards to class representatives and one permitting disgorgement of side payments to class objectors - to explore deeper connections between class­action settlements and the law of restitution. The failure to correctly apply the law of restitution led both courts astray. First, courts can approve incentive awards, as long as an award properly reflects the benefit that the representative's efforts bestowed on the class. Second, restitution provides a basis to disgorge improper side payments to objectors, but only under conditions different from those that the court described. More broadly, attention to the …

Election Subversion And The Writ Of Mandamus, Derek T. Muller

Journal Articles

Election subversion threatens democratic self-governance. Recently, we have seen election officials try to manipulate the rules after an election, defy accepted legal procedures for dispute resolution, and try to delay results or hand an election to a losing candidate. Such actions, if successful, would render the right to vote illusory. These threats call for a response. But rather than recommend the development of novel tools to address the problem, this Article argues that a readily available mechanism is at hand for courts to address election subversion: the writ of mandamus. This Article is the first comprehensive piece to situate the …

Proper Parties, Proper Relief, Samuel L. Bray, William Baude

Journal Articles

From the Introduction

In the last Term at the United States Supreme Court [2022], standing was the critical question in several major cases: the two challenges to the Biden Administration’s first student loan forgiveness plan, Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown, as well as the challenge to the Administration’s immigration priorities in United States v. Texas and the race-discrimination challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act in Haaland v. Brackeen. Standing has featured heavily in journalistic coverage of the decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. And standing may have been the reason for the Court’s stay …

Brief Amicus Curiae Of The Bruderhof, Clear, The Jewish Coalition For Religious Liberty, And The Sikh Coalition In Support Of Appellant, Stephanie Hall Barclay, Francesca Matozzo

Court Briefs

No. 22-30686
Damon Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, No. 3:21-cv-733 The Honorable Shelly D. Dick, Chief Judge

From the Summary of the Argument

The Fifth Circuit should re-examine its precedent to allow for monetary damages for individual-capacity suits under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) for three reasons. First, RLUIPA’s text follows the same approach as 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and should be interpreted to afford the same types of broad remedies. Before Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith, …

Brief Amicus Curiae Of The Becket Fund For Religious Liberty, John A. Meiser, Francesca Matozzo

Court Briefs

No. 22-1876
Mohamed Solah Mohamed A Emad v. Dodge County

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Honorable Lynn Adelman (19-cv-0598)

From the Summary of Argument

Cases concerning the expression of constitutional rights in prison settings often pose difficult questions regarding the appropriate balance between the government’s penological interests and the prisoner’s fundamental freedoms. This case does not. Mohamed Salah Ahmed Emad did not ask the Dodge County Detention Facility (nor does he ask this Court) to locate the appropriate degree to which a prison must accommodate a novel or historically unusual religious exercise. …

Brief Of Professor Derek T. Muller In Support Of Applicant, Thomas R. Lee, John J. Nielsen, Tyler B. Lindley, Derek T. Muller

Court Briefs

No. 22A337
Senator Lindsey Graham v. Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury

On emergency application for a stay and injunction pending appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

From the Introduction and Summary of Argument

The merits of this case are colored by partisan overtones. But the overarching legal questions implicate nonpartisan, institutional concerns. The Speech or Debate Clause has deep historical roots that protect important interests in legislative independence. That independence requires strong protection for legislative inquiry under an objective standard rooted in the facial basis for a particular investigation. If courts intrude on …

Brief Amicus Curiae Of The Bruderhof, Clear, Muslim Advocates, And The Sikh Coalition In Support Of Appellant, Stephanie Hall Barclay, Francesca Matozzo

Court Briefs

No. 22-2342
Thomas Walker v. John Baldwin

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division, Honorable Iain D. Johnston (3:19-cv-50233)

From the Summary of the Argument

The Seventh Circuit should re-examine its precedent to allow for monetary damages for individual capacity suits under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) for three reasons. First, RLUIPA’s text follows the same approach as 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and should be interpreted to afford the same types of broad remedies. Before Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), reduced the …

Brief For Amicus Curiae Professor Derek T. Muller In Support Of Respondents, Daniel M. Sullivan, Daniel M. Horowitz, Derek T. Muller

Court Briefs

No. 21-1271
Timothy K. Moore v. Rebecca Harper

On Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of North Carolina

From the Summary of Argument

The petition for certiorari in this case presents the question whether the phrase “Legislature thereof” in the Elections Clause of the Constitution bars state courts from regulating the contours of Congressional redistricting pursuant to state constitutions. But Congress has spoken, too. It has regulated the manner of drawing congressional districts by federal statute. See 2 U.S.C. § 2c. Congressional redistricting in a State now takes place pursuant to this federal statutory directive, which contemplates a role …

Brief Of Amici Curiae Jewish Coalition For Religious Liberty, Islam & Religious Freedom Action Team Of The Religious Freedom Institute, And Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic In Support Of Petitioners, John A. Meiser, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Court Briefs

No. 22-238
Charter Day School, Inc. v. Bonnie Peltier

On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

From the Summary of Argument

The Fourth Circuit’s gross misapplication of state-action doctrine contradicts decades of precedent and expands the doctrine beyond its breaking point. If not corrected, that analysis would also endanger many vital public services provided by religious charitable groups and undermine this Court’s recent free-exercise cases in the process.

Brief Of Religious Liberty Scholars And Employment Law Scholars As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Douglas Laycock, John A. Meiser, Richard W. Garnett

Court Briefs

No. 22-174
Gerald E. Groff v. Louis DeJoy

On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

From the Summary of Argument

This case is an ideal vehicle for correcting an error that has undermined protection for religious workers across the country, in defiance of clear statutory text and underlying principles of religious liberty.

Brief Of Amicus Curiae Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic In Support Of Plaintiffs-Appellants, John A. Meiser, Francesca Genova Matozzo

Court Briefs

No. 22-11674
Thai Meditation Association of Alabama, Inc. v. City of Mobile, Alabama

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama No. 1:16-cv-00395

From the Summary of the Argument

This Court already corrected the district court’s errant understanding of RLUIPA’s substantial-burden analysis once in this case. Unfortunately, a second correction is needed now.

In Thai Meditation Association’s first appeal, this Court explained that “the district court misread our opinion in Midrash” and, as a consequence, had erroneously required the Association to show that the government “completely prevent[ed]” its religious exercise in order to demonstrate …

Brief Amicus Curiae Of The National Congress Of American Indians, A Tribal Elder, The International Council Of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, And The Mica Group Supporting Plaintiff-Appellant And En Banc Rehearing, Stephanie Hall Barclay, Francesca Matozzo

Court Briefs

No. 21-15295
Apache Stronghold v. United States of America

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Honorable Steven P. Logan (2:21-cv-00050-PHX-SPL)

From the Summary of the Argument

Meaningful access to sacred sites such as Oak Flat is an indispensable part of many Indigenous tribes’ religious exercise. Nonetheless, the government has repeatedly denied necessary access and even destroyed such sites, thus thwarting the ability of tribal members to exercise core aspects of their spiritual practices. The tribal members in this case face the same fate.

Brief Of Amicus Curiae Edchoice Kentucky In Support Of Appellants, Philip D. Williamson, John A. Meiser

Court Briefs

No. 2021-SC-0522
McNeary v. Council for Better Education, Inc.

Appeal from Franklin County Circuit Court Hon. Phillip Shepherd Civil Action No. 21-CI-00461

From the Purpose of Brief & Introduction

For these reasons, Kentucky has given more families the opportunity to have their children attend the school—public or private—that best suits their needs. That opportunity should not be denied based on the erroneous decision of the court below or because of equally erroneous concerns that educational choice is somehow a reform to be feared.

Brief Of Amicus Curiae Religious Freedom Institute In Support Of Petitioner, John A. Meiser, Nicole Stelle Garnett, Richard W. Garnett Iv, Francesca Genova Matozzo

Court Briefs

No. 21-1405
Lester J. Smith v. Timothy Ward

On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

From the Summary of Argument

Lester Smith comes to this Court in unusual circumstances: the district court found that the Georgia Department of Corrections offered no rationale that could justify its prohibition on beards longer than half an inch under RLUIPA, and yet— without disputing that finding—the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the State may still enforce the half-inch limitation against Smith. The Eleventh Circuit’s denial of any relief from what has been shown to be …

Brief Of Amicus Curiae Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative, Megan M. Wold, John A. Meiser

Court Briefs

No. 22-cv-000067
Columbus City School District v. State of Ohio

Judge Jaiza N. Page

From the Summary of Argument

Under Count 4 of their complaint, the plaintiffs ask this Court to do something that it unquestionably may not: invalidate Ohio's longstanding EdChoice Scholarship Program on the theory that it violates the "no-funding" provision of Article VI, § 2 of the Ohio Constitution, which bars any "religious or other sect" from receiving "any part of the school funds of this state." See Compl. ¶¶ 142-52. Under both state and federal law, this Court must dismiss that claim.

Brief Of Amici Curiae Catholic Medical Association And Coptic Medical Association Of North America In Support Of Appellees, Eric N. Kniffin, John A. Meiser, Francesca M. Genova

Court Briefs

No. 2021CA1855
Barbara Morris v. Centura Health Corporation

Appeal from: Colorado District Court, Arapahoe County Case No. 2019CV31980 (Hon. Peter Frederick Michaelson)

From the Summary of Argument

At its core, this case concerns a religious hospital’s right to provide care in accordance with its faith commitments. Centura Health is a Christian healthcare system that is composed of Catholic and Seventh-day Adventist hospitals, including St. Anthony Hospital, the Catholic Hospital for which Dr. Morris worked. In service of their religious mission, Centura Health and St. Anthony Hospital (collectively, “Centura”) require their doctors to abide by the Ethical and Religious Directives for …

Brief Of Professor Derek T. Muller As Amici Curiae In Support Of No Party, Michael Francisco, Michael A. Brody, Derek T. Muller

Court Briefs

No. 22-11299
Marjorie Taylor Greene v. Secretary of State for the State of Georgia

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
No. 1:22-cv-01294-AT

From the Summary of Argument

Appellees present an issue that seeks something unprecedented: that this Court be the first federal appeals court in history to approve the State’s power to disqualify a congressional candidate. But States lack the power to exclude a congressional candidate from the ballot over a qualification that a candidate might ultimately meet when she presents her credentials to Congress. The district court’s decision should be reversed.

Stare Decisis And Intersystemic Adjudication, Nina Varsava

Notre Dame Law Review

Interpreting and following precedent is a complicated business. Various reasonable but conflicting methods of ascertaining the legal effect of precedent exist. Differences between practices of precedent or doctrines of stare decisis are particularly salient between legal systems or jurisdictions. For example, a state’s judges might embrace different stare decisis norms than federal judges. This situation presents a major quandary for intersystemic jurisprudence that has been largely overlooked in the scholarly literature.

Are law-applying judges in the intersystemic context bound by the law-supplying jurisdiction’s methods of interpreting precedent? For example, when the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals adjudicates a question of …

Brief Of Amici Curiae Arbitration Scholars And Practitioners In Support Of Petitioners, Sarah A. Dowd, Eric B. Fisher, Travis A. Gonyou, Diane Desierto

Court Briefs

No. 21-1244
Beijing Shougang Mining Investment Company, Ltd. v. Mongolia

On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

From the Summary of Argument

Parties to international arbitration and arbitral tribunals themselves value predictability and dependability. This is especially so for threshold questions concerning the authority of an arbitral tribunal to decide disputes over its own jurisdiction. Among international arbitration scholars and practitioners this threshold question is often known by the German term kompetenz-kompetenz, referring to the issue of competence to determine the competence of an arbitral panel to decide a dispute. …

To Stay Or Not To Stay: Competing Motions In The Shadow Of Multidistrict Litigation, Emily M. Dowling

Notre Dame Law Review

This Note proceeds in three parts. Part I provides a basic overview of the inherent power, with an emphasis on the interaction between inherent power and jurisdiction. In Part II, it reintroduces the Opioid outcome and describes the mechanisms producing it by summarizing district courts’ varied approaches to resolving competing motions to remand or stay. In Part III, it identifies the flaws of those approaches and proposes an alternative solution, applying jurisdictional resequencing doctrine to the ordering inquiry and concluding that the remand must go first.

Brief Of Amicus Curiae Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative In Support Of Petitioner, Nicole Stelle Garnett, Richard W. Garnett Iv, Francesca Genova Matozzo, Steven A. Engel, Michael H. Mcginley

Court Briefs

No. 21-418
Joseph A. Kennedy v. Bremerton School District

On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

From the Summary of Argument

This case offers the Court a much-needed opportunity to resolve the longstanding confusion caused by its conflicting and erroneous interpretations of the Establishment Clause. Although recent decisions clarify that the government may not suppress private religious expression, the Court has yet to clear away an undergrowth of older precedents that are often read to suggest the opposite. Rather than permit those outdated decisions to persist and perpetuate confusion, the Court should …

Brief Of Amici Curiae Eparchy Of Our Lady Of Lebanon Of Los Angeles And The Orthodox Church In America In Support Of Appellee's Petition To Transfer, John A. Meiser

Court Briefs

No. 22S-CP-302
Payne-Elliott v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Inc.

Court of Appeals Case No. 21A-CP-00936

Appeal from the Marion Superior Court 1

Trial Court Case No. 49D01-1907-PL-027728

The Honorable Lance Hamner, Special Judge

From the Summary of Argument

This case challenges a decision that is manifestly ecclesiastical: a directive from the Archbishop of Indianapolis regarding what policies a religious school must follow in order to be faithfully Catholic and to remain formally part of his Archdiocese. That is a question of exclusively religious concern. In the religious traditions of the Archdiocese and amici, it is a question which …