An Indiana trial court recently denied a church camp’s challenge to a nearby dairy farm’s operations (download order here). In one of the first lawsuits filed under Indiana’s relatively new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Ind. Code §§ 34-13-9-1 to -11), the Hoosier Environmental Council filed a complaint (download here) on behalf of a children’s church camp in eastern Indiana. The complaint alleged that the Rush County Board of Zoning Appeals substantially burdened the House of Prayer Ministries’ exercise of religion by granting a special exception to local zoning ordinances allowing Milco Dairy to construct and operate a concentrated animal feeding operation, known as a CAFO. After the trial court ruled in the dairy’s favor, the Hoosier Environmental Council filed the necessary documents to initiate an appeal. Its first brief will be due in about thirty days. Continue reading “Ind. Trial Ct.: Christian camp’s challenge to dairy denied for failing to show burden on religious practice”
Category: LMG Content
1733 Practical effect of Trinity Lutheran
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5644303/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]The conclusion of Josh’s discussion with Dave Roland, the Director of Litigation and cofounder of the Freedom Center of Missouri about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer. Continue reading “1733 Practical effect of Trinity Lutheran”
1732 Cases remanded after Trinity Lutheran
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5619167/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]The third part of Josh’s discussion with Dave Roland, the Director of Litigation and cofounder of the Freedom Center of Missouri about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer. Dave and Josh talk about two cases remanded by the Supreme Court. One involves a voucher program in Colorado. The other involves a textbook-renting program in New Mexico.
Continue reading “1732 Cases remanded after Trinity Lutheran”
1731 Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer dissent
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5589892/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]The second part of Josh’s discussion with Dave Roland, the Director of Litigation and cofounder of the Freedom Center of Missouri about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer. Dave and Josh talk about the separate opinions by Justice Stephen Breyer, who concurred only in the judgment favoring the church, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Continue reading “1731 Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer dissent”
1730 Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer decision
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5570698/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]Josh talks with Dave Roland, the Director of Litigation and cofounder of the Freedom Center of Missouri about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer.
Continue reading “1730 Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer decision”
1729 Conflicts of Interest overview
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5549203/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]Conflicts of interest are an inevitable part of doing any business, including for religious organizations. Josh talks about what a conflict of interest is, potential downfalls resulting from mishandling conflicts of interest, and key practices to handle conflicts of interest responsibly. Churches and other faith organizations should use disclosure statements annually to identify potential conflicts, adopt policies about how to handle conflicts, and regularly follow up and update these documents.
1728 Whether and How to Act without Meeting
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5526966/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]In most jurisdictions, to do business in an organization requires either a meeting or a unanimous written consent. In this episode, Josh discusses some of the reasons religious groups might not allow decision-making without a meeting, the minimum requirements of a meeting, and how to act without meetings, namely through unanimous written consent.
Continue reading “1728 Whether and How to Act without Meeting”
1727 Should Consensus Be in Our Governing Documents?
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5527010/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″ placement=”top”]Consensus is a noble goal in leading organizations to action. But when organizations require consensus, it can lead to a different kind of tyranny when one dissenter stands in the way of doing anything. Josh shares some thoughts about how best to value consensus without requiring it in governing documents.
Continue reading “1727 Should Consensus Be in Our Governing Documents?”
1726 How to Avoid Copyright Infringement
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5498714/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″ placement=”top”]From educational materials to hymns and worship,
worshiping communities and other religious organizations use content created by others every day. Attorney Randall Cloe explains how licensing of copyrighted materials. He discusses the various clearinghouses to find licenses for music. He outlines the potential consequences of infringing copyright. And he and Josh briefly discuss the exception for religious materials used in worship.
1725 Copyright for Religious Creators
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5462591/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other houses of worship and religious organizations, their employees, and their volunteers create content every day. To what degree should they worry about protecting it? 
How does copyright law provide them rights to protect them? Attorney Randall Cloe gives tips on copyrighted material for creators. He tells listeners when to take the step of registering copyrighted material and how to enforce when someone infringes copyright. And he explains how long copyright protections last. Continue reading “1725 Copyright for Religious Creators”