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Preview Offered
Of New Court Term
New York (JTA) — One of
the cases slated to be decided
by the U.S. Supreme Court
during its current session,
which began last week, is
likely to impact the way con-
stitutionally protected re-
ligious liberty is defined in
America.
The Supreme Court is ex-
pected to refine its position
on when the government can
legitimately curb religious
practices, and when that
interference infringes on
Americans' right to the free
exercise of their religion, in
its ruling on a case called
Church of the Lukumi
Babalu Aye vs. City of
Hialeah, Fla.
That is so far the only
major case relevant to Jew-
ish concerns that the
Supreme Court has agreed
to hear, though several other
church-state and hate-
crimes legislation cases are
being considered for possible
deliberation.
The Hialeah case will be
watched closely by Jewish
groups because it is the first
to test the scope of a 1990
Supreme Court ruling that
gave the government more
latitude in adopting laws
that could infringe on
people's religious liberties.
In that case, Smith vs.
Oregon, the court ruled that
a state government no
longer needed to prove a
"compelling interest" in
enacting or enforcing laws
that restrict religious prac-
tices, as long as those pro-
hibitions do not target one
particular religion.
It is known as the "peyote
decision," because the court
ruled that Oregon could
prosecute Native Americans
who used the illegal
hallucinogen peyote as part
of their religious rites.
Jewish groups objected to
the sweeping language of
the ruling because it ap-
peared to give local or state
governments broad leeway
to enact and enforce laws
prohibiting religious prac-
tices. They expressed con-
cern that ritual practices
such as kosher slaughter or
drinking Kiddush wine
could easily be outlawed.
In the case being con-
sidered by the court this
term, the city government of
Hialeah, Fla., adopted or-
dinances prohibiting the
slaughter of animals for
ceremonial purposes. Kosher
slaughter was exempted.
The ordinances target
adherents of Santeria, a re-
ligion in which chickens,
goats, sheep, turtles and
other animals are ritually
sacrificed. Santeria has at-
tracted growing numbers of
African-American and
Caribbean-American
adherents, with some 50,000
practitioners now living in
southern Florida, according
to court documents.
Members of the Church of
the Lukumi Babalu Aye
charge that the Hialeah or-
dinances violate their right
to the free exercise of their
religion.
Jewish groups are lining
up behind the church and
have filed friend-of-the-court
briefs on its behalf.
Also backing the Santeria
church are Agudath Israel of
America, the American Jew-
ish Committee, the Ameri-
can Jewish Congress, the
National Jewish Commis-
The Supreme Court
is expected to
refine its position
on when the
government can
legitimately curb
religious practices.
sion on Law and Public Af-
fairs and the National Jew-
ish Community Relations
Advisory Council.
There's an outside chance
the Supreme Court will use
the Hialeah case to recon-
sider the principles at the
heart of the peyote decision,
and could even restore free-
exercise protection to its
original state, according to
David Zwiebel, legal counsel
for Agudath Israel, an Or-
thodox group.
There is concern, par-
ticularly among Orthodox
groups, that language like
that in the Hialeah or-
dinances might reach
beyond health and safety
issues and be upheld on the
basis of the pain and suffer-
ing of animals.
In that case, the right to
slaughter animals according
to the laws of kashrut could
be challenged, said Dennis
Rapps, executive director of
COLPA, the National Jew-
ish Commission on Law and
Public Affairs, which repre-
sents the interests of obser-
vant Jews in courts and
legislatures.
(