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JoinedTopics Started by Corney
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In 4-3 judgment, Montana Supreme Court allows Nunez ($35M) case to be relitigated under another legal theory
by Corney inas a reminder, the plaintiff in that case, alexis nunez, was abused by her step-grandfather, maximo reyes, who have been disfellowshipped for one year for abusing his children.
she sued the organization for failure to report the known abuse to police and was awarded $35 million by a jury while another plaintiff (her aunt) lost her case.
the supreme court of montana reversed the award, finding that congregation and bethel elders were exempt from duty to report.. the plaintiff then asked the district court to allow her to sue the org again under another legal theory - common law negligence - which has been voluntarily abandoned by her counsel before the trial.
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European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) dismissed numerous JW tax cases against Armenia
by Corney inby three decisions handed down over the last year, the strasbourg court has declared 12 complaints, all named "christian religious organization of jehovah's witnesses against armenia", inadmissible.
the cases concerned imposition of value-added tax (vat) on imported literature - on 67 shipments received between 2007 and 2015, to be exact.
in short, the organization claimed that, first, the shipments should be tax-free pursuant to article 12 of the freedom of conscience act ("monetary and other gifts received by religious organisations, as well as income received from citizens shall not be subject to taxation"); secondly, the customs authorities arbitrarily determined the customs value of the imports based on, for example, the prices the bible society of armenia (affiliated with the dominant armenian apostolic church) sold imported religious literature.. up until march 2007, there were constant problems receiving regular shipments of religious literature, which should be tax-free but which customs arbitrarily reassessed at unpredictable higher values and then imposed a value-added tax of 20 percent.
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WT intervenes in Ethiopian Church case before Supreme Court of Canada to defend 2018 precedent re excommunication
by Corney intwo and a half years ago, the supreme court of canada has ruled unanimously in highwood congregation of jehovah’s witnesses (judicial committee) v. wall that membership decisions of religious associations are not reviewable or justiciable by courts, absent an underlying legal right.
multiple religious and religiously-affiliated organizations (catholic, protestant, mormon, sikh, muslim) and secular advocacy groups (like canadian constitution foundation and british columbia civil liberties association) intervened in that important case, all - if i remember it correctly - supporting the position of the org.
that mostly correct judgment has been widely accepted by lawyers, scholars and courts.
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Senior Judge to Revisit Case-Law on Authorizing Medical Treatment Against Wishes of Mature Minor
by Corney inhttps://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/ewhc/fam/2020/3003.html.
nearly two weeks ago, sir james munby, a privy council member, formerly a law commission chairman, high court's family division president, and a lord justice of appeal, issued a short emergency order in a blood transfusion case closely resembling mcewan's the children act.. here are some excerpts:.
2. the case involves the deeply troubling question of whether a blood transfusion should be administered to a young woman who is almost, not quite, 16, against her profound religious beliefs.
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Three new lawsuits against Watchtower filed under NY Child Victims Act (CVA) this October, bringing number of CVA cases up to six
by Corney innew cases:.
diaz case, filed on 10/21/2020 by zalkin law firm - two plaintiffs abused (here and hereinafter - allegedly) by two ministerial servants in 1970s.. iglesias case, filed on 10/19/2020 by eisenberg & baum, llp against various nyc and wt entities - abused by an "elder john doe" and "[travelling] overseer john" in 1970s and 1980s.. aldridge case, filed 10/06/2020 by zalkin law firm - abused by a congregation elder in 1970s.. older cases:.
tarry case (no 1 and no 2), filed on 09/17/2019 and 07/23/2020 by parker waichman llp - abused by a publisher in 1984. very weak case.
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EU top court rules on JW blood transfusion case
by Corney inthe court of justice of the european union (cjeu) yesterday delivered the judgment (press release) on a request of the supreme court of latvia on whether domestic authorities are obliged to reimburse costs of cross-border medical treatment when the patient's decision to perform it in another european country was based on religious, not medical, grounds.
the opinion of advocate general (summarized here) is helpful in understanding the case.. the son of the applicant in the main proceedings had to have open heart surgery.
that operation was available in the latter’s member state of affiliation, latvia, but could not be carried out without a blood transfusion.
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Daily reading
by Corney ini will post here various texts i've found interesting but not worth of separate threads.. saturday, october 3, 2020.. christopher c. lund, martyrdom and religious freedom, 50 connecticut law review 959, 986 (2018).
how much of a role does martyrdom, and fears of martyrdom, have in our system?
when we give religious exemptions, is it because we think people will back down otherwise or because we think they won't?
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IICSA hearings resume next week
by Corney inthe independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (iicsa) will hold additional virtual public hearings in the child protection in religious organisations and settings investigation next week.. the timetable was released today: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/20825/view/virtual-cpiros-timetable-week-3-10-august-2020.pdf .
five witnesses will testify on the jw issue next monday and tuesday, 10 and 11 august:.
- pr-a5, a victim abused by ministerial servant peter stewart;.
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Sued by inmate, North Carolina concedes Witnesses are distinct faith group, not subset of Protestants
by Corney inlast thursday poyner spruill, a prominent north carolina law firm, announced a victory in a pro bono case involving religious freedom of incarcerated jehovah's witnesses.
the poyner team was appointed by the u.s. district court for the western district of north carolina to represent an inmate challenging the state’s policy governing how and when jehovah’s witnesses can worship in prison.
the state’s policy classified jehovah’s witnesses as a subset of christian protestants and, on that basis, prohibited separate jehovah’s witness meetings—an infringement on religious freedom under the first amendment.
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Reassessing the Size of Mormons, Adventists and Witnesses (2019 academic paper)
by Corney inthis is one of the most recent academic papers on jw demographics.
it analyzes official membership statistics of the three churches, compares them with census data and provides estimated global figures (9-10 million mormons, 17 million witnesses, and 28 million adventists - all are self-identified adherents, not necessarily active ones).
i think this is a good research though some aspects of the subject remain unexplored.. this article compares the growth of three religious groups, the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints, seventh-day adventists, and jehovah’s witnesses.