Will the Supreme Court Decide a Dispute between A Christian Family Spa and a Transgender Woman?
A few weeks ago, the Pacific Justice Institute, along with the Alliance Defending Freedom, filed an urgently important petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This petition raises the following question before the U. S. Supreme Court: Can Olympus Spa, a Christian, family-run Korean bathhouse that provides an intimate environment exclusively for women and girls, be required to admit a male who identifies as a woman?
Why Did the Biden Administration Target Catholic Priests?
In 2023, the FBI’s Richmond Field Office during the Biden Administration issued an internal assessment titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.” The assessment claimed, largely without credible evidence, that white supremacists and other domestic extremists were increasingly attempting to co-opt or infiltrate “radical-traditionalist Catholic” communities. Properly appreciated, this document is inconsistent with the First Amendment right of all Americans—Catholics included—to freely exercise their religion, without government interference.
Mistrial
After six weeks of trial (which were preceded by a week of jury selection) and another week of jury deliberations, the presiding judge has declared a mistrial in the case against Lindsay Clancy.
Religious Freedom in the West Faces Renewed Opposition
Is the West’s commitment to religious freedom under threat? Several recent cases implicating Christians provide an affirmative answer to that question.
The Supreme Court Restores the President’s Executive Power by Overruling Humphrey’s Executor
The Trump v. Slaughter case marks the collapse of Humphrey’s Executor precedent and re-establishes executive power, meaning that all principal officers who exercise executive power must remain removable by the President even if the statutory language under which such officers were appointed granted them protection against termination. The power to terminate or remove, residing in the President of the United States, constitutes an indispensable mechanism of presidential supervision and democratic accountability.
Can the City of University Heights, Ohio, Prevent Jews from Hosting Prayer Services in Their Home?
Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jewish man, and his family sought to meet the challenges facing the modern West through faithful religious practice. Mr. Grand’s faith requires him to pray three times daily, preferably with a group of at least ten men, known as a “minyan.”
His faith also requires him and other Orthodox Jews to refrain from driving on the Sabbath and High Holidays. Because walking to synagogue was difficult, Mr. Grand invited members of his community to walk from their homes and pray in his house.
Mr. Grand’s invitation prompted a strongly hostile response from the city. A neighbor first reported the gathering to the mayor. The city then sent Mr. Grand a cease-and-desist letter, asserting that using his home as “a religious place of assembly and/or operation as a shul or synagogue is not permitted.”
The Growing Appeal of Euthanasia
In considering Canada’s headlong rush toward national suicide, it is useful to recall the words of Clay Jones, who wrote a book titled “Why Does God Allow Evil?” Jones observes that demented psychopaths did not advance most genocidal activities. Instead, ordinary people committed genocide—mums, dads, and sweet old grandmothers—looking to improve the nation’s efficiency and apply a utilitarian calculus to society's health care needs. These are people who can be found at Tim Horton’s or a Krispy Kreme Donut shop.
Southwest Airlines and Free Speech
Recently, Southwest Airlines paid Charlene Carter, a pro-life flight attendant, nearly $1 million after terminating her for expressing pro-life views. After the trial, the jury reached a verdict, and the federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered Southwest Airlines and Transport Workers Union Local 556 to give Carter the maximum amount of compensatory and punitive damages permitted under federal law, plus back-pay and other forms of relief.
Banning Redistricting Based on Race
Neither Democrats nor Republicans are capable of becoming God’s chosen party. History demonstrates that both political parties are capable of indefensible conduct. Still, contemporary elites' approaches to questions of race evoke Democrat-led measures in the South in the latter part of the 19th century. The behavior of Democrats in the 19th century and the misbehavior of contemporary elites today demonstrate both groups’ triumphant ability to capitalize on and instrumentalize race and then ride the crest of this wave—which they helped foment—to power.
The SPLC Indictment
In a bombshell development, an Alabama grand jury has indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on eleven counts. The charges include wire fraud and making false statements to a federally insured bank. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the nonprofit organization sent more than $3 million to informants inside extremist groups without informing donors how their money was used.
Mail Order Abortion
Mail order abortions are at the center of a legal spat once again this week after two notable court decisions. First, on Friday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Louisiana and restricted the dispensing of Mifepristone—the first of a two-part drug regime used for at-home abortions—to patients seen in-person. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court paused enforcement of that ruling until it could further consider whether to take up the case. This most recent order temporarily restores mail order access to the abortion drug, but the Court is expected to weigh in further after a May 11 deadline.
Birthright Citizenship at the High Court
Our hearts should be inclined toward, and our energies focused on, the eternal condition of every person—citizen and foreigner—we encounter. While our earthly citizenship and legal status is of some significance, we are each traveling to an eternal home and our status in that place is of far greater consequence (Philip. 3:20)!
The Supreme Court Upholds Christian Therapist’s Challenge to Colorado’s Ban on Conversion Therapy
On the Supreme Court’s view, Colorado is engaged in a naked application of its power in a way that shrinks Chiles’ viewpoint and diminishes her speech rights in contravention of the First Amendment of the Constitution. Put differently, Colorado regulates Ms. Chiles' expression while declining to regulate the speech of counselors with which the state agrees.
The Supreme Court Resurrects Street Preacher’s Free Speech Lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that a Mississippi street preacher’s lawsuit challenging restrictions on speech near a city amphitheater can proceed. The court held that his prior convictions do not bar claims seeking only prospective (future) relief. This case reflects the increasingly frequent collision between the secular West and churches and ministers.
Can Veranda Ministries Overcome Statutory Limits and Expand Adult Respite Care in Tennessee?
Providing limited respite care service programs is essential for caregivers and elderly adults alike. Despite their unquestioned value to the community and to the state, highly valuable respite care service programs face several crippling challenges.
Once Again, California Endangers Parental Rights
We live in a divided country. As Mary Eberstadt observes, there are two propositions on which divided Americans can agree: (1) that we are more viciously divided than ever before and (2) that identity politics is among the most potent political forces of our time. She argues that the sexual revolution created identity politics.
Colorado Blocks Educational Choice: Will Courts Respond to Religious Discrimination?
Once again, religious observance and practice have been placed in doubt by state action. As a consequence, two plaintiffs have brought a lawsuit that could reshape American education. Led by the distinguished public interest law firm, First Liberty Institute, two plaintiffs, Riverstone Academy and Education ReEnvisioned BOCES (ERBOES), have challenged the Colorado State Board of Education and the Colorado Commissioner of Education.
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Tariffs
Tariff policy likely does impact you in at least some way—perhaps prices at the grocery store or even the geopolitical posture of your favorite international destination. But far more important than tariffs or the major questions doctrine (both of which are certainly of some import) is the reality that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus (Matt. 28:18). It is a comforting reality as you grapple with complex questions of earthly authority.
The Supreme Court Deals Major Blow to President Trump
As tariff revenues hit historic highs, the United States Supreme Court has brought the hammer down on Trump’s economic policy.
Medical Groups Reverse Their Position on Transgender Surgeries for Minors
In future cases, the pertinent questions are whether the decisions by the American Medical Association and the American Plastics Surgeons to reverse their medical advice for minors and whether the work of psychologist Brooke Laufer should (1) inform and affect decisions by school boards to offer support plans for minors and socially transition students without parental input, and (2) whether school board decisions can pass muster with citizens, courts, and children in the long run.