"Opponents of RLUIPA argue not only that Congress lacked the authority to pass the law, but also that the Act itself violates the Establishment Clause by favoring religious uses of land. However, only under a strict separationist theory does RLUIPA even approach offending this prohibition. Under both the 'benevolent neutrality' or 'accommodationist' readings of the religion clauses, RLUIPA passes muster.
RLUIPA has both a secular purpose and effect.Although RLUIPA section 2(a) is properly viewed as an accommodation of religious exercise that is not available to equivalent secular activity, only one current member of the Supreme Court would likely find RLUIPA unconstitutional based on this theory. Furthermore, none of the federal courts of appeals have ruled that such exemptions from zoning laws at the state and local level violate the Establishment Clause. The First Circuit recently upheld Massachusetts’ 'Dover Amendment', which provides that zoning regulations may not restrict the use of land for religious or educational..."
Great source you've got there prof - your source is none other than the Becket Fund...Would you like me to post a Marci Hamilton argument that totally refutes your source?
Why not just post a message from Rev. Ireland saying he's going to win so why bother fighting...
If the intelligent professor is so very insightful, he or she should be so very proud of their ingenius forsight and therefore be proud enough to use a real name. Otherwise, I personally just feel a bunch of hot air blowing around in this room. Do you feel it too??
The source of the above is nonother than The Becket Fund. If you would like to review the articles website, visit:
http://rluipa.com/Nice try BUB.....You should state your sources, and not just links that load up pdfs. I've donr it for you this time.
Now, tell your boss we won't give up, and he shouldn't sell out his parishoners to feed his ego.
A more fitting quotation from another message board:
>>>>>>>1845. As a Christian I must by pokelee, 4/19/04 14:51 ET
I must be honest and say altjhough I might enjoy my church moving to Rockway, I am saddened at the lack of concern by our reverend for the elderly and ones who have given so much of our hard earned monies to him for years. I wish he would stay here. Rockway does not want us and my friend up there said it would ruin the area with all the cars. I am glad they will not be able to go there. Praise god >>>>>>>>>End quote
Amoung the matters a man (person) of G-d must hold as a pratice is to be a steward of the land aka protect the land.
RLUIPA - CAN violate this basic belief. RLUIPA has SOME good points - however when one group of people are given rights over other groups of people - well that is out right unAmerican and the courts will balance the field. CC has violated the basic beliefs of RLUIPA and for that matter the one who created the earth. It was said earlier in a posting - we have one earth and we must protect it.
RLUIPA will be revised to be fair to all parties and the sooner the better.
Who is Marci Hamilton? How many RLUIPA cases has she successfully defeated?
How many respected law journals carry her articles?
What credentials does she have that give any weight to her arguments?
So she says RLUIPA is unconstitutional? So do a lot of people here. Not sure what that proves. Because it seems that most of the experts think otherwise.
Anyone with the most fundamental sense of logical thinking knows that it will be overturned. See an earlier posting of mine describing why RUIPA will not stand as law. And, I agree, I am not a lawyer. But it does not take a lawyer to figure this one out. A two-tiered society of landowners can not exist. Civics 101.
(( Anyone with the most fundamental sense of logical thinking knows that it will be overturned.))
Uhmmm ..... I know I have a fundamental sense of logical thinking .... however .... I'm not convinced that anything is going to be or not to be overturned .... At least not based on anything I've read posted by any one in particular on any message boards anywhere on the internet so far (shrug).
Professor Hamilton challenged the constitutionality of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA - RLUIPA's predecessor) before the United States Supreme Court and won.
Professor Hamilton is an internationally recognized expert on constitutional and copyright law. She is frequently asked to advise Congress and state legislatures on the constitutionality of pending legislation and to consult in cases before the United States Supreme Court.
Marci A. Hamilton Paul R. Vekuil Chair in Public Law & Director of the Intellectual Property Law Program
Professor Hamilton specializes in constitutional law, the First Amendment, and copyright law. She was a Visiting Scholar at the Princeton Theological Seminary and a Fellow at the Center of Theological Inquiry. She also was a Visiting Professor of Law at New York University School of Law and the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law.
Professor Hamilton has written and lectured frequently on the topics of constitutional and copyright law. She is currently writing a book about the influence of the Presbyterian Church on the formation of the United States Constitution, which addresses the meaning of representation and liberty in the constitutional structure. Her publications also include The Constitution’s Pragmatic Balance of Power Between Church and State, Art Speech, Discussion and Decisions: A Proposal to Replace the Myth of Self-Rule with an Attorneyship Model of Representation, and Computer Science Concepts in Copyright Cases: The Path to a Coherent Law.
Professor Hamilton is also a frequent advisor on matters involving Supreme Court litigation. As lead counsel for the city of Boerne, Texas, Professor Hamilton challenged the constitutionality of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act before the United States Supreme Court. On June 25, 1997, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the City in City of Boerne v. Flores, 117 S. Ct. 2157 (1997), holding that the Act is unconstitutional on separation of powers and federalism grounds. She is frequently asked to consult on matters concerning the constitutionality of proposed legislation.
Professor Hamilton clerked for Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the United States Supreme Court and Judge Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School where she served as editor-in-chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. She also received her M.A. in Philosophy and M.A., high honors, in English (fiction writing) from Pennsylvania State University, and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Vanderbilt University. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif.
PUBLICATIONS IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Copyright Battle Is Framed in History, Billboard, July 29, 2000
Copyright at the Supreme Court: A Jurisprudence of Deference, 47 J. Copyright Soc'y 317 (2000) (Millennium Issue), reprinted in Occasional Papers in Intellectual Property #7 (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law 2000)
Book Review, Lawrence Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (1999), N.Y.L.J, Mar. 21, 2000
Database Protection and the Circuitous Route Around the American Constitution, in Intellectual Property Law and the Common Law World (1999)
The Historical and Philosophical Underpinnings of the Copyright Clause, Occasional Papers in Intellectual Property #5 (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law 1999)
The Top Ten Intellectual Property Law Questions That Should Be Asked About Any Merger or Acquisition, 66 U. Cin. L. Rev. 1317 (1998)
The Law of Cyberspace Isn’t Necessarily a Law for All, Phila. Inq., Dec. 29, 1997
Reconceptualizing Ratings: From Censorship to Marketplace, 15 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 403 (1997)
Computer Science Concepts in Copyright Cases: The Path to a Coherent Law, 10 Harv. J.L. & Tech. 1 (1997) (with Theodore M. Sabety), reprinted in A Copyright Anthology: The Technology Frontier (Richard H. Chused ed., 1998); Intellectual Property Law Review (Karen Tripp ed., 1998)
Art Speech, 49 Van. L. Rev. 73 (1996)
Copyright Duration Extension and the Dark Heart of Copyright, 14 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 655 (1996)
The Trips Agreement: Imperialistic, Outdated, and Overprotective, 29 Vand. J. Transnat'l L. 613 (1996)
Appropriation Art and the Imminent Decline in Authorial Control over Copyrighted Works, 42 J. Copyright Soc'y 101 (1994)
Four Questions About Art, 13 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 119 (1994)
Justice O’Connor’s Opinion in Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co.: An Uncommon Though Characteristic Approach, 38 Copyright Soc'y 83 (1990)
Justice O’Connor’s Intellectual Property Opinions: Currents and Crosscurrents, 13 Women's Rts. L. Rep. 71 (1992)
Commissioned Works as Works Made for Hire Under the 1976 Copyright Act: Misinterpretation and Injustice, 135 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1281 (1987)
I read that RLUIPA was crafted specifically to address the problems with the RFRA, that years of work went into it and that it had strong support from both sides of the political aisle.
So you would think that if it could be overturned, Marci would have been at the forfront and accomplished this already.
Perhaps she has been waiting for a case such as we have here in RT. We have Agilent money still paying us on this property, helps the war chest big time - this is going to be a long haul fight, years at least. How much money and time can CC afford to spend? Of course there is a possibility of the school trumping any other use for this property...sit back and relax everyone, this is going to decided years from now.
Has anyone contacted Marci about this case? Do we know for sure that she would agree with VORT?
Her articles talk about the ils of churches forcing their way into Residential Zones. The Agilent site is not a residential zone. Yes, I know there are residential zones nearby, but that site is not residential.
Does Marci think that towns should have complete control over whether a church can be allowed to locate within its borders. This view would mean that all churches could be kicked out of RT, or any town for that matter.
The property in question is not zoned for a church - that would be a conditional use. So if CC is denied it is not a cut and dry case - there are many factors to cosider before a conditional use would be allowed.
quote: Originally posted by: Where's Marci? " I read that RLUIPA was crafted specifically to address the problems with the RFRA, that years of work went into it and that it had strong support from both sides of the political aisle. So you would think that if it could be overturned, Marci would have been at the forfront and accomplished this already. But she hasn't. Why not?"
Why not?? Probably because NO RLUIPA case has reached the Supreme Court yet! There have been a number of recent defeats for RLUIPA at a lower level. Give it time...Time for the Supremes to take a RLUIPA case or two...Then we'll see it defeated.
Until that time - Christ Church is still too large for 140 Green Pond Road, so it'll be denied by the planning board (if the school system doesn't condemn the land first).