A state government commission tasked with investigating claims concerning the ethical conduct or disability of judges on Thursday filed formal charges against six members of the Arkansas Supreme Court for their handling of a case involving a Little Rock judge…
Reluctant appeals court says Pensacola cross must go
A federal appeals panel ruled reluctantly Sept. 7 that a 34-foot Latin cross standing in a public park in Pensacola, Florida, since 1941 must come down.
North Dakota drops felony charges against Standing Rock protestor
North Dakota prosecutors have agreed to drop felony charges against a Native American activist, ending one of the last high-profile criminal cases remaining from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests of 2016-2017. Chase Iron Eyes, an attorney and former Democratic candidate…
Panel says ethics charges against pastor/judge who protested executions can stand
A disciplinary panel has declined to dismiss charges against an Arkansas judge and Baptist pastor accused of violating judicial ethics by participating in a demonstration against capital punishment in 2017. The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission on Monday said…
Baptist leader says ‘one-sided’ religious liberty task force falls short
The head of a Baptist organization specializing in matters involving church and state gave low marks to a new White House initiative to promote the administration’s views on religious liberty.
Pastor-judge files appeal of case dismissal
An Arkansas judge barred from hearing death penalty cases after attending a rally against capital punishment in his other job as a Baptist pastor claims a three-judge panel rushed to judgment when it dismissed his lawsuit and wants a rehearing…
Trump’s Supreme Court pick once ruled against figure in SBC ‘conservative resurgence’
Opinions vary about whether the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would be good news or bad news for religious liberty, but one of a handful of church-state cases he has weighed during his 12 years…
Court upholds decision barring pastor/judge from death penalty cases
A three-judge panel of federal appeals court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit testing the boundary between religious liberty and judicial restraint. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Arkansas Judge Wendell Griffen’s lawsuit challenging his disqualification from…
Baptist Joint Committee head ‘disappointed’ by Supreme Court decision upholding White House travel ban
The head of a Baptist religious liberty watchdog agency voiced disappointment with Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision upholding President Donald Trump’s so-called Muslim ban. “We are deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s refusal to repudiate policy rooted in animus against Muslims,”…
Supreme Court hands partial win to Christian baker who refused gay wedding request
A divided U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped a decision about whether the Constitution permits bakers, florists and other business owners with religious objections to same-sex marriage to refuse commercial wedding services to gay couples in a June 4 ruling siding with…
Hear our prayer, O Congress: A neo-establishmentarianism?
Events surrounding the dismissal and rehiring of “Father Pat” are more than a mere legislative kerfuffle. They provide important contemporary lessons in the enduring dynamics of church-state relations — old tensions, new twists.
Faithful cite religious liberty in challenges to Muslim travel ban
A Baptist church/state specialist is among a group of constitutional scholars asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down President Donald Trump’s third attempt to restrict travel from certain Muslim majority nations the administration claims pose a terrorist risk. Holly…