Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:
- The Supreme Court is considering Alabama’s ban on clergy in the execution chamber after the Eleventh Circuit ruled that Alabama must allow a death row inmate to have a personal pastor in the execution chamber.
- The Supreme Court granted temporary relief to California pastors after finding that the state could not impose sweeping bans on indoor worship.
- The Seventh Circuit, sitting en banc, heard oral argument in Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, a case in which a three-judge panel previously held that the ministerial exception does not bar hostile work environment claims brought by ministerial employees where no tangible employment action was taken.
- A New York federal district court ordered a permanent injunction blocking Governor Cuomo’s discriminatory limits on Orthodox Jewish synagogues.
- A District of Columbia federal district court ordered the corrections authorities at a Washington jail to provide organic food to an inmate based on religious liberty grounds.
- An Orthodox Jewish organization filed suit in a New York federal district court alleging targeted and discriminatory action based on their religious views.
- An Arkansas bill, the Religion Is Essential Act, ensures that churches and other religious organizations are allowed to remain open during a state of emergency on the same terms as businesses and other secular services.