Free Republic

I’ve long been skeptical of claims that justices in religious freedom cases — and especially devoutly Christian justices, such as Justice Antonin Scalia — are biased in favor of Christians in religious exemption cases. To be sure, justices are people, and people have biases, usually in favor of their own groups. But justices also know quite well that their opinions will affect many more cases, including cases brought by other religious groups. I’m also skeptical of trying to prove such biases simply by counting cases. Different cases involve different legal issues, and — especially when you have only a few...

Diverse Group of Amicus Briefs Ask the High Court to Protect a Peaceful Hutterite ColonyFor Immediate Release: May 3, 2013Media Contact: Emily Hardman, ehardman@becketfund.org, 202.349.7224Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the State of Michigan, twenty-one First Amendment scholars, and eighteen religious organizations representing tens of millions of religious believers filed friend-of-the-court briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court, urging the Court to hear a religious liberty appeal on behalf of a Hutterite colony in Montana. The question in the case is whether the Hutterites, who trace their history to the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, can be forced to provide workers’ compensation insurance...