Brief of Constitutional Law Scholars as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners

Case Title

Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania; Trump v. Pennsylvania - Supreme Court of the United States (Nos. 19-431 and 19-454)

Authors

David F. Forte, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State UniversityFollow
Ronald J. Colombo, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra UniversityFollow
Richard Epstein, New York University School of LawFollow
Carl H. Esbeck, University of Missouri School of LawFollow
Robert P. George, Princeton UniversityFollow
Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard UniversityFollow
Brian McCall, University of Oklahoma College of LawFollow
Stacy Scaldo, Florida Coastal School of Law
Steven Smith, University of San Diego School of LawFollow

Document Type

Briefs and Court Filings

Publication Date

3-9-2020

Keywords

Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), Establishment Clause, religious liberty

Abstract

Lurking behind the regulatory issues presented by this appeal is a concerted effort to displace the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq. ("RFRA"), with a novel approach that would trivialize a law's burden on religion. The Court should not indulge it.

The critics' argument suffers from several analytical defects that can be remedied by (1) a proper constitutional understanding of RFRA's relationship to the Establishment Clause; (2) an accurate understanding of how the Religion Clauses safeguard third-party interests; and (3) the correct application of these understandings to the Final Rules.

Repository Citation

Forte, David F.; Colombo, Ronald J.; Epstein, Richard; Esbeck, Carl H.; George, Robert P.; Glendon, Mary Ann; McCall, Brian; Scaldo, Stacy; and Smith, Steven, "Brief of Constitutional Law Scholars as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners" (2020). Law Faculty Briefs and Court Documents. 21.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/fac_briefs/21