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Catholic Charities of Sacramento Inc. v. Superior Court Roland00 Send a noteboard - 11/02/2012 01:21:46 AM
Here is a quick summary

Catholic Charities of Sacramento Inc. v. Superior Court
32 Cal.4th 527, 85 P.2d 67 (2004)

* California enacted the Women's Contraception Equity Act (WCEA) to force employers to cover the cost of contraception under their insurance plan.
* Catholic opposed the bill because they felt contraception was against their religion, and therefore the law was an unconstitutional violation of the 1st Amendment.
* The Trial Court found WCEA to be constitutional. Catholic appealed.
* The Appellate Court affirmed. Catholic appealed.
* The California Supreme Court affirmed.

* The California Supreme Court found that the law was required to eliminate gender discrimination.
* The Court noted that WCEA doesn't require employers to cover prescription drugs. It just says that if they do, then they must also cover contraception.
* WCEA had an exception for 'religious employers' such as the Catholic Church. But Catholic Charities was an independent non-profit corporation, and so didn't fit under that exemption.
* The Court suggested that Catholic should go back to the Legislature and ask them to amend the Statute if they didn't like it.
* Catholic unsuccessfully argued that the law interfered with religious autonomy, but the Court found that it wasn't a religious organization, it was just a non-profit corporation.
* Many of Catholic's employees weren't even catholic.
* Catholic unsuccessfully argued that WCEA interfered with the free exercise of religion, but the Court found that the law was religiously neutral and didn't discriminate against any one religion in particular.
* Catholic unsuccessfully argued that WCEA was arbitrary and capricious in their narrow construction of the 'religious employer' exemption, but the Court found that the law had a rational basis.

* The basic point of this case is that you can't use the 1st Amendment to avoid provisions of legally enacted and otherwise constitutional Statutes.
* See also Smith v. Fair Employment Housing Commission (12 Cal.4th (1996)), which held that a religious landlord couldn't keep non-married couples from renting rooms, just because they felt it was sinful.
* "You cannot isolate yourself via the 1st Amendment if you are in the marketplace."
http://www.invispress.com/law/family/catholic.html
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Democrats bailing on Obama - War against the Catholic Church heats up - 09/02/2012 04:03:35 AM 1931 Views
This is not a war on Catholics, it is Obama being an idiot again. - 09/02/2012 04:52:01 AM 959 Views
For someone who used to be a Con Law professor - 10/02/2012 08:23:34 PM 858 Views
Also, kudos for linking to a source, and a fairly non-partisan one as well. - 09/02/2012 01:33:07 PM 1032 Views
I am a non-partisan guy, so I only use unbiased sources! *NM* - 09/02/2012 04:02:50 PM 672 Views
Is there really such a thing? *NM* - 09/02/2012 04:11:30 PM 585 Views
You lost all credibility in the first line of your post. - 09/02/2012 04:49:23 PM 975 Views
The subject line didn't help. *NM* - 09/02/2012 06:04:11 PM 616 Views
But it added some flair to the discussion! *NM* - 09/02/2012 07:46:47 PM 560 Views
You actually think any of us has 'credibility' anymore in regards to neutrality? *NM* - 09/02/2012 06:46:13 PM 564 Views
It's one thing to have a bias. - 09/02/2012 07:28:51 PM 1013 Views
Some would say putting a spotlight on it is more honest. *NM* - 09/02/2012 09:34:17 PM 537 Views
Ah, the Rupert Murdoch School of Objectivity. - 09/02/2012 10:15:57 PM 951 Views
Wow, talk about making a supernova out of a couple hydrogen atoms. - 09/02/2012 08:41:44 PM 819 Views
I'm somewhat suprised that Obama blundered this badly. - 10/02/2012 01:40:14 AM 1834 Views
Why? Have you not been paying attention? - 10/02/2012 02:03:43 AM 2281 Views
If I am not satisfied with Romney then my Plan B is to not vote. - 10/02/2012 10:58:34 PM 2327 Views
How does that help anything? Except Romneys election chances, of course. - 11/02/2012 01:08:22 AM 2131 Views
Bullshit. - 11/02/2012 04:29:31 AM 2484 Views
A vote for no one is a vote for more BS. - 11/02/2012 05:55:11 AM 2199 Views
Obama doing this actually impresses me to no end. - 10/02/2012 02:21:10 AM 2389 Views
He is already preparing to cave. - 10/02/2012 02:42:32 AM 2357 Views
Why are you even replying to me? What you said has little meaning to what I said. - 10/02/2012 03:33:27 AM 2148 Views
"And here I thought he was just another politician." - 10/02/2012 01:29:36 PM 2223 Views
Aaaaand you can put your hat back on now: Obama has already caved. - 10/02/2012 04:04:30 PM 2363 Views
So Jehovah Witness employers should not have to pay for blood transfusions? - 10/02/2012 03:57:47 AM 927 Views
Not if it conflicts with their religious beliefs. - 10/02/2012 04:20:32 PM 1099 Views
Money is not the same as speech! - 10/02/2012 07:20:56 PM 830 Views
No it isn't Joel, empirically you are dead wrong - 10/02/2012 11:24:19 PM 1092 Views
I do not see how requiring private entities do it instead of the feds is "least restrictive way." - 11/02/2012 12:53:22 AM 1112 Views
Catholic Charities of Sacramento Inc. v. Superior Court - 11/02/2012 01:21:46 AM 1007 Views
"the Court found that it wasn't a religious organization, it was just a non-profit corporation." - 11/02/2012 01:36:33 AM 888 Views
The situation was identical to the pre obama controversy - 11/02/2012 02:42:57 AM 797 Views
The affiliation is the sticking point. - 11/02/2012 03:41:33 AM 1155 Views
One last point - 10/02/2012 11:35:25 PM 1183 Views
The federal government forcing private groups to facilitate without committing sin also infringes. - 11/02/2012 01:03:30 AM 931 Views
You argument does not make sense - 11/02/2012 01:26:57 AM 822 Views
It was an analogy, not an equivalency. - 11/02/2012 01:48:14 AM 934 Views
Lets enhance your analogy making it closer to reality - 11/02/2012 02:19:41 AM 1078 Views
Why could I not buy it with my own money? - 11/02/2012 03:46:33 AM 1036 Views
Re: Why could I not buy it with my own money? - 11/02/2012 04:17:17 AM 2256 Views
In other words, I could. - 11/02/2012 04:21:05 AM 772 Views
Some more points - 11/02/2012 02:30:27 AM 1068 Views
Sex is not a necessity either. - 11/02/2012 03:56:51 AM 1040 Views
I can't believe you just said that - 11/02/2012 04:30:12 AM 855 Views
The widespread inability to believe that is deeply worrisome. - 11/02/2012 06:33:01 AM 1036 Views
LMAO due to Obama's compromise (the word compromise should have a in it ) - 11/02/2012 12:12:57 AM 1077 Views
Obama just got two weeks of being portrayed as "anti-church" to the point even Dems complained. - 11/02/2012 02:00:28 AM 995 Views
The polls disagree with you. - 11/02/2012 02:32:59 AM 937 Views
It is an interesting article, but not for the polls. - 11/02/2012 04:18:17 AM 1002 Views
I wouldn't put too much into that poll anyway - 11/02/2012 05:37:05 AM 1100 Views
I haven't really heard about it outside of this post, so the negative exposure can't be too bad. - 11/02/2012 05:56:58 PM 806 Views
you have, sort of. - 11/02/2012 08:23:25 PM 1048 Views
I don't think it's quite the laughing matter you think it is - 11/02/2012 12:31:23 PM 972 Views
Nossy that was not Joel, that was me - 11/02/2012 01:56:39 PM 988 Views
I know that. - 11/02/2012 03:23:32 PM 1026 Views
Understood. - 11/02/2012 07:51:14 PM 909 Views
mmm... - 11/02/2012 08:20:26 PM 994 Views

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