ARGH !!! - SCOTUS Just Gouged The Establishment Clause; Obama Helped - FDL

WillyT

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Thu Apr-07-11 08:49 PM
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ARGH !!! - SCOTUS Just Gouged The Establishment Clause; Obama Helped - FDL

SCOTUS Just Gouged The Establishment Clause; Obama Helped
By: wendydavis - FDL
Thursday April 7, 2011 11:30 am

<snip>

Earlier this week in a 5-4 decision the High Court refused to overturn an Arizona law that allows taxpayers to receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit for their contributions to school scholarships even if they are for religious schools. The credit allowed is up to $500 per person or $1000 per couple. It has cost Arizona approximately $350 million since the law was enacted.

A central concern of the First Amendment was in James Madison’s word to prevent government to require taxpayers to “three pence of his property for the support of religion”. In Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn Geoffrey Stone says that:

“As the Supreme Court recognized more than forty years ago, as a general proposition the Establishment Clause prohibits government from using its “taxing and spending power… to favor one religion over another or to support religion in general.” Thus, the Establishment Clause forbids government to fund churches to enable them to spread their religious beliefs or to award special tax credits to individuals to reimburse them for their contributions to religious organizations.”

He and other legal scholars say that there’s a catch in that it’s been unclear whether citizens have ‘standing’ to sue over these programs as it’s difficult to prove that those bringing suit can prove they’ve suffered an ‘injury in fact’; if not it could lead to either frivolous or weak lawsuits with poor challenges which could harm the legal system. Apparently since no particular individual would be harmed by Establishment issues, it would essentially mean that in reality no one would have standing to sue. Given that that’s a pretty unwieldy contention, Stone says:

“To solve this problem, the Supreme Court held in Flast v. Cohen in 1968 that taxpayers do have standing to challenge taxing and spending policies that violate the Establishment Clause. Until recently, federal courts at every level, including the Supreme Court, have consistently and broadly applied Flast to enable taxpayers to enforce the Establishment Clause.”

More: http://my.firedoglake.com/wendydavis/2011/04/07/scotus-just-gouged-the-establishment-clause-obama-helped/

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And the "Obama Helped" part...

Very Disappointing: The Obama Administration and the Establishment Clause
ERWIN CHEMERINSKY
POSTED OCTOBER 31ST, 2010

<snip>

...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declared this unconstitutional, holding that taxpayers have standing and that the Arizona law violates the Establishment Clause. Under Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83 (1968), the Court recognized that taxpayers have standing to challenge government expenditures as violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Arizona law does exactly that by taking money away from the state treasury and transferring it to the coffers of religious institutions. Moreover, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the law violated the First Amendment because it had the purpose and effect of advancing religion.

It is mystifying as to why the Obama administration decided to participate in this case. There is no comparable federal law. Certainly, the lawyers in the Solicitor General’s office, to say nothing of the President himself, are aware that there are likely five votes on the Supreme Court to change the Establishment Clause in a conservative direction and to allow much more government aid to religion and much more of a religious presence in government. That is what conservatives have long favored and it is inexplicable why a Democratic administration would want to push the Court in this direction.

If taxpayers lack standing to challenge government expenditures as violating the Establishment Clause, there will be no way to halt government programs which directly subsidize religion. Equally troubling, if the Arizona law is upheld, it will encourage other similar programs across the country which exist solely to funnel taxpayer monies to religious schools.

Since the Reagan administration, conservatives have sought to eliminate the notion of a wall separating church and state. It is sad and very troubling to see the Obama administration lending its support for this effort.

<snip>

Link: http://www.thecocklebur.com/supreme-court/very-disappointing-the-obama-administration-and-the-establishment-clause

:argh:

:wtf:

:banghead:

:beer:

:puke:

ARGH !!! - SCOTUS Just Gouged The Establishment Clause; Obama Helped - FDL

Supreme Court Allows Tax Credit for Religious Tuition