August, 06 2009, 03:24pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Will Matthews, ACLU, (646) 233-9572 or 2666; media@aclu.org
Debbie Seagraves, ACLU of Georgia, (770) 303-8111; info@acluga.org
ACLU Lawsuit Charges Georgia Kosher Laws Are Unconstitutional
State Endorsement Of One Belief Over Others Violates Religious Freedom
ATLANTA
The
American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Georgia today filed a
lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Kosher Food Labeling
Act. By mandating that any food sold as kosher in the state of Georgia
must meet the "Orthodox Hebrew religious rules and requirements," the
challenged statute delegitimizes alternative interpretations of kosher
adhered to in other Jewish communities.
The lawsuit was filed in Fulton
County Superior Court on behalf of Shalom Lewis, rabbi of Congregation
Etz Chaim in Cobb County who, as a conservative Jew, is unable to
fulfill his rabbinical duties to supervise food establishments because
his theological interpretation of the kosher laws differs from that of
Orthodox Judaism.
"I don't want to have to choose
between abiding by state law and practicing my religion according to my
beliefs," Lewis said. "It is unfortunate that non-Orthodox rabbis in
Georgia must make the moral and ethical decision to risk legal
prosecution in order to fulfill their rabbinical duties. The two should
not be incompatible in America, where everyone's religious beliefs are
to be respected."
One of the most vital services that
Lewis provides to his congregants is serving as their mashgiach, the
Hebrew term for a person who supervises any type of food service
establishment - including restaurants and grocery stores - to ensure
that food is acceptably kosher. But because Lewis cannot certify the
preparation of food in accordance with Orthodox Hebrew requirements, he
is prohibited by law from serving as the mashgiach of any kosher food
operation - a reality that jeopardizes his ability to fulfill his
calling as a duly ordained rabbi of the Jewish faith and impedes his
religious freedom. If Lewis were to violate the state's kosher laws by
supervising food establishments using a different interpretation of
kosher than the law requires, the laws could be enforced against him,
damaging his reputation and subjecting him, his congregation and others
to criminal charges and fines.
"Having the state choose which
rabbis are 'legitimate' and which are not puts many rabbis in a
precarious position," said Debbie Seagraves, Executive Director of the
ACLU of Georgia. "Congregations rely on their rabbis to provide the
kind of religious guidance that this state law prohibits them from
providing, unless they are Orthodox. The state of Georgia should not
hold the power to define who is 'official' Jewish clergy. That is
clearly a matter of faith, not the proper role of government."
According to the ACLU's lawsuit, the
Kosher Food Labeling Act violates the religious liberty guarantees of
both the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions by endorsing only "Orthodox
Hebrew religious rules and requirements" and criminalizing the
practices of the many people across the state who, while seeking kosher
products, subscribe to interpretations of kosher that differ from those
of Orthodox Jews.
"The challenged laws violate the
fundamental pillars of religious liberty, endorsing one particular set
of beliefs and impeding the free religious exercise of those who
believe differently," said Daniel Mach, Litigation Director for the
ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. "The government should
never take sides in theological debates."
Joining the ACLU of Georgia and the
national ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief as co-counsel
for Rabbi Lewis are attorneys at the Atlanta law firm King &
Spalding LLP.
A copy of the ACLU's complaint is available online at: www.aclu.org/pdfs/religion/lewis_v_perdue_complaint.pdf
Additional information about the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief is available online at: www.aclu.org/religion
Additional information about the ACLU of Georgia is available online at: www.acluga.org
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(212) 549-2666LATEST NEWS
Right-Wingers Plot to Give Trump Control Over Federal Reserve If Reelected
"Under such an approach, the chair would regularly seek Trump's views on interest-rate policy and then negotiate with the committee to steer policy on the president's behalf," The Wall Street Journal reported.
Apr 26, 2024
Right-wing allies of former U.S. President Donald Trump are reportedly crafting a plan to give the executive branch control over Federal Reserve policy decisions, an effort that comes as the presumptive GOP nominee continues to signal his authoritarian intentions for a potential second term.
The Wall Street Journalreported Thursday that former Trump administration officials and other supporters of the ex-president "have in recent months discussed a range of proposals, from incremental policy changes to a long-shot assertion that the president himself should play a role in setting interest rates."
"A small group of the president's allies—whose work is so secretive that even some prominent former Trump economic aides weren't aware of it—has produced a roughly 10-page document outlining a policy vision for the central bank," the Journal reported. "The group of Trump allies argues that he should be consulted on interest-rate decisions, and the draft document recommends subjecting Fed regulations to White House review and more forcefully using the Treasury Department as a check on the central bank. The group also contends that Trump, if he returns to the White House, would have the authority to oust Jerome Powell as Fed chair before his four-year term ends in 2026."
During his first four years in the White House, Trump repeatedly criticized Powell—whom the former president appointed in 2017—over the central bank's interest rate policy and insisted he had the authority to oust the Fed chair before the end of his term. The Fed is an independent body subject to limited congressional oversight.
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The Fed, still under Powell's leadership, has since jacked up interest rates to their highest level in decades in an attempt to combat inflation—an approach that progressive lawmakers and economists have criticized as misguided, arguing that prices were elevated primarily by pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and corporate profiteering and that hiking rates would harm workers. (Progressives have historically pushed for Fed reforms that would make the powerful central bank more accountable to the public.)
Late last year, Trump said interest rates were "too high" but did not say he would pressure the central bank to lower them, saying: "Depends where inflation is. But I would get inflation down."
More recently, Trump suggested the Fed's indication that rate cuts are coming in the near future as inflation cools is a political ploy to "help the Democrats."
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"And I hope that forewarned is forearmed," he added. "MAGA attacks on the Fed are coming; they should be treated as the bad-faith bullying they are."
The Journal reported Thursday that "several people who have spoken with Trump about the Fed said he appears to want someone in charge of the institution who will, in effect, treat the president as an ex officio member of the central bank's rate-setting committee."
"Under such an approach, the chair would regularly seek Trump's views on interest-rate policy and then negotiate with the committee to steer policy on the president's behalf," the newspaper continued. "Some of the former president's advisers have discussed requiring that candidates for Fed chair privately agree to consult informally with Trump on the central bank's decisions... Others have made the case that Trump himself could sit on the Fed's board of governors on an acting basis, an option that several people close to the former president described as far-fetched."
According to earlier Journal reporting, Trump's team has discussed several possible replacements for Powell, including former White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and Arthur Laffer, a former Reagan adviser and notorious tax-cut enthusiast.
Trump allies' plot to help the former president exert control over Fed policy if he's reelected in November provides further insight into the presumptive Republican nominee's likely approach to a second term.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump—who is facing 88 charges across four criminal cases—has vowed to be a dictator on "day one," wield federal authority to go after his political opponents, launch the "largest domestic deportation operation in American history," and use the U.S. military to crack down on protests.
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Apr 25, 2024
After about three hours of oral arguments Thursday on former President Donald Trump's immunity claims, legal experts and democracy defenders urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule swiftly, with just over six months until the November election.
Trump—the presumptive Republican candidate to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, despite his 88 felony charges in four ongoing criminal cases—is arguing that presidential immunity should protect him from federal charges for trying to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden, which culminated in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Justices across the ideological spectrum didn't seem inclined to support Trump's broad immunity claims—which critics have said "reflect a misreading of constitutional text and history as well as this court's precedent." However, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) shared examples of what it would mean if they did.
"Trump could sell pardons, ambassadorships, and other official benefits to his wealthy donors, members of his clubs, or cronies who helped him commit other crimes," CREW warned. "Trump could sell nuclear codes and government secrets to help pay back crippling debts."
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After warning that a president could also order the occupation or closure of the Capitol or high court to prevent actions against him, CREW concluded that "the Supreme Court never should have taken this appeal up in the first place. They should rule quickly and shut these ludicrous claims down for good."
The organization was far from alone in demanding a quick decision from the nation's highest court.
"In the name of accountability, the court must not delay its decision," the Brennan Center for Justice said Thursday evening. "The Supreme Court's time is up. It needs to let the prosecution move forward. The court decided Bush v. Gore in three days—it should act with similar alacrity in deciding Trump v. U.S."
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Barrett summarized various allegations from the indictment and in three cases—involving dishonest election claims, false allegations of fraud, and fake electors—Sauer conceded that Trump's alleged conduct sounded private, suggesting that a more narrow case against the ex-president that excluded any potential official acts could proceed.
Due to Trump attorney's concessions in Supreme Court oral argument, there's now a very clear path for DOJ's case to go forward.\n\nIt'd be a travesty for Justices to delay matters further.\n\nJustice Amy Coney Barrett got Trump attorney to concede core allegations are private acts.\u2b07\ufe0f— (@)
According to NBC:
Matthew Seligman, a lawyer and a fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School who filed a brief backing prosecutors, said Sauer's concessions highlight that Trump is "not immune for the vast majority of the conduct alleged in the indictment."
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Twenty more demonstrators were arrested Thursday, the second day of Earth Week protests targeting Citigroup's Manhattan headquarters in what organizers called "the beginning of a wave of direct actions to take place over the summer targeting big banks for creating climate chaos that is killing our communities and our planet."
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Jonathan Westin, executive director of Climate Defenders, asserted that "Citigroup's racist funding of oil, coal, and gas is creating climate chaos that's devastating communities of color across the country."
"We're taking action to tell Citi that we won't put up with their environmental racism for one more day," Westin continued. "Our communities have reached the boiling point. Our children have asthma, our city's sky was orange, and our air polluted because of the climate crisis caused by Citi and Wall Street."
"We're going to keep organizing and taking direct action until Citi listens to us," he vowed.
Stop the Money Pipeline co-director Alec Connon said: "To have any chance of reigning in the climate crisis, we must stop investing in fossil fuel expansion. Yet, Citibank is pumping billions of dollars into new coal, oil, and gas projects."
"We're here to make it clear: If they're going to fund the companies disrupting our climate and our lives, we're going to disrupt their business," Connon added.
Activists have repeatedly targeted Citigroup in recent years as the megabank has pumped more than $300 billion into fossil fuel investments around the world since the Paris climate agreement.
According to the protest organizers:
Citi has provided $668 million in funding to Formosa Plastics between 2001-2021, which is trying to build a $9.4 billion plastics facility in a majority Black community in the heart of Cancer Alley in Louisiana.
Citigroup is also one of the biggest funders of state-run oil and gas companies in the Amazon basin, pumping in over $40 billion between 2016-2020, and a major backer of Petroperú, which has been involved in oil spills and Indigenous rights violations.
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