Israel Obtains Extradition of Recalcitrant Husband From U.S. Using Other Charges As Pretext

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AppId is over the quota
YNet News reports that last Friday the United States extradited to Israel a man sought primarily by an Israeli Rabbinical Court for refusing to grant his wife a get (Jewish divorce document).  The U.S.-Israel Extradition Treaty only permits extradition where the offense is a crime under the laws of both countries.  So formally the extradition was on the basis of charges of sex offenses and pedophillia. During the divorce proceedings, the wife's sister testified that the husband had sexually abused his minor son and had abused her when she was a minor.  Usually Israel's Justice Ministry does not request extradition until it has investigated allegations, but here it agreed to act sooner because of the husband's denial of a get.  Rabbi Eliyahu Maimon, head of the Rabbinical Courts' Agunot Department, says that Israel's Justice Ministry Department for International Agreements will use this case as precedent in the future to seek extradition using suspicion of other crimes to obtain return of men who have fled abroad after refusing to grant their spouse a get. [Thanks to Jack Levey for the lead.]

Notre Dame Complies With Affordable Care Act Contraceptive Mandate Accommodation

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AppId is over the quota
In the flurry of decisions this week in suits by religious non-profits seeking protection from the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage accommodation, one institution that failed to obtain injunctive relief was Notre Dame University. (See prior posting.) According to WNDU, on Tuesday the University issued a statement saying:

Having been denied a stay, Notre Dame is advising employees that pursuant to the Affordable Care Act, our third party administrator is required to notify plan participants of coverage provided under its contraceptives payment program.

As part of an ongoing legal action, however, the program may be terminated once the university's lawsuit on religious liberty grounds against the HHS mandate has worked its way through the courts.

Meanwhile, at Balkinization blog, Marty Lederman has an excellent backgrounder on the non-profit contraceptive mandate cases, as well as this backgrounder on whether or not the broader mandate really involves a requirement to cover "abortifacients."

Losing NYC Political Candidate Sues Winner Over Mural Allegedly Intended To Act As A Curse

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AppId is over the quota
In an unusual lawsuit filed Thursday, Gwen Goodwin, a losing candidate in the September 10 Democratic primary for New York City Council, is seeking $1 million in damages from her successful rival, Melissa Mark-Viverito, and from the landlord of the apartment building in which Goodwin lives. The suit stems from a 5-story tall mural described (and pictured) by today's New York Post as a "bodiless rooster atop wooden poles" which was placed on the apartment building wall and extends to the window of Goodwin's 5th floor apartment. The mural would have been seen by those in the neighborhood from a Caribbean culture as a black magic curse or death threat. The mural, unveiled in a Sept. 1 ceremony, was part of Los Muros Hablan (“The Walls Speak”), a project headed by Mark-Viverito to celebrate Latino culture through murals. The complaint (full text) in Goodwin v. Mark-Viverito, (NY County Sup. Ct., filed 1/2/2014), claims that the mural was deliberately planned by Mark-Viverito and Goodwin's landlord to inflict emotional distress on Goodwin. (Goodwin, who lives in a rent-stabilized apartment, has been sued a number of times by her landlord.) She claims that the mural distracted her and caused her to lose energy which disrupted her performance in the primary.

Egyptian President Visits Coptic Pope To Extend Greetings For Orthodox Christmas, Celebrated Today

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AppId is over the quota
Today, Orthodox Christians, including the Coptic Christian community in Egypt, celebrate Christmas. (As explained by Al Ahram, the difference in dates from Western Christianity results from continued use of the Julian calendar by Orthodox Christians.) According to Catholic News Service, on Sunday Egypt's interim President Adly Mansour visited Coptic Pope Tawadros II at the papal seat in St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo to personally extend Christmas greetings and appreciation to the Coptic community which has continued to suffer attacks since the military takeover of the government. This is the first visit of an Egyptian president to the Cathedral in over 40 years.

Supreme Court Grants Stay Blocking Further Same-Sex Marriages In Utah While Appeal Is Pending

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AppId is over the quota
The U.S. Supreme Court this morning issued a stay (full text)  pending completion of a pending expedited appeal to the 10th Circuit in Herbert v. Kitchen, (Docket No. 13A687). In the case, a Utah federal district court issued an injunction allowing same-sex marriages in Utah. (See prior posting.) The application for a stay was initially made to Justice Sotomayor (see prior posting) who referred it to the full court. SCOTUSblog has more on the Supreme Court's action.

Satanic Temple Releases Proposed Design For Oklahoma Capitol Monument

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AppId is over the quota
The New York-based Satanic Temple has released its proposed design for a monument it wishes to erect on the Oklahoma State House grounds to complement the Ten Commandments monument placed there in 2012.  According to Monday's National Journal:

The proposed monument features a 7-foot-tall Baphomet, a goat-headed creature which is sometimes used as a stand-in for Satan. The demon's lap, flanked by a smiling child on each side, will double as a seat for visitors.

The Temple has exceeded its $20,000 goal to pay for the statue, raising more than that on the crowd funding site Indiegogo. The Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission has placed all applications on hold while a challenge to the Ten Commandments monument by the ACLU works its way through the courts. (See prior posting.)

Texas District Court Grants Permanent Injunction In "Church Plan" Challenge To Contraceptive Mandate Compromise

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AppId is over the quota
In Catholic Diocese of Beaumont v. Sebelius, (ED TX, Jan. 2, 2014), a Texas federal district court issued a permanent injunction barring enforcement of the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage mandate compromise against the Catholic Diocese of Beaumont and Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas.  The court rejected the government's argument that no substantial burden is present here because of the special exemption of "church plans" from ERISA, on which enforcement against third-party administrators is based. The court said in part:

Requiring the head of a religious organization to sign a putatively correct statement of religious belief, which the Government has defined to authorize a third party to take an action that is contrary to those religious beliefs, imposes a substantial burden on the free exercise of religion. That conclusion is not changed by the Government’s argument that, at present, it does not have the power to compel the third party to act.