Posts by Corney

10

Leading First Amendment scholars intervene in CA loyalty oath case

by Corney in

brianna bolden-hardge, a mother of two, a devout jw and a career california civil servant, sues the office of the state controller which revoked a job offer after she objected to swearing a loyalty oath, even though three other state agencies she worked for "either did not insist on the oath or provided her a religious accommodation to it" (by allowing to submit a clarifying statement).

she sued, and the case was dismissed by a district court.

now it's heard by the ninth circuit.

Corney

The oath:

I, __________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic [and] that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California.

The plaintiff "offered to sign the oath but on the condition that ... she be allowed to attach an addendum stating that she owes allegiance to God first and that she would not take up arms or engage in political affairs, as follows:

I, Brianna Bolden-Hardge, vow to uphold the Constitutions of the United States and of the State of California while working in my role as an employee of the State Controller’s Office. I will be honest and fair in my dealings and neither dishonor the Office by word nor deed. By signing this oath, I understand that I shall not be required to bear arms, engage in violence, nor to participate in political or military affairs. Additionally, I understand that I am not giving up my right to freely exercise my religion, nor am I denouncing my religion by accepting this position."

10

Leading First Amendment scholars intervene in CA loyalty oath case

by Corney in

brianna bolden-hardge, a mother of two, a devout jw and a career california civil servant, sues the office of the state controller which revoked a job offer after she objected to swearing a loyalty oath, even though three other state agencies she worked for "either did not insist on the oath or provided her a religious accommodation to it" (by allowing to submit a clarifying statement).

she sued, and the case was dismissed by a district court.

now it's heard by the ninth circuit.

Corney

Brianna Bolden-Hardge, a mother of two, a devout JW and a career California civil servant, sues the Office of the State Controller which revoked a job offer after she objected to swearing a loyalty oath, even though three other state agencies she worked for "either did not insist on the oath or provided her a religious accommodation to it" (by allowing to submit a clarifying statement). She sued, and the case was dismissed by a district court. Now it's heard by the Ninth Circuit. The plaintiff is represented by Harvard and Stanford Religious Liberty Clinics. Also, six leading law&religion scholars like Michael W. McConnell and Douglas Laycock, represented by Eugene Volokh, another superstar jurist, filed an amicus brief, arguing the Office discriminated against her:

Here, the Office of the California State Controller has failed to provide an accommodation that would let Brianna Bolden-Hardge remain, by her lights, honest in God’s eyes. Forbidding Bolden-Hardge from providing her chosen addendum clarifying what she was saying by signing the California oath or affirmation would conflict with her religious beliefs, as a Jehovah’s Witness, on the importance and implications of making a promise or taking an oath. Bolden-Hardge thus had to choose between violating the tenets of her religion by signing the oath without the addendum or forgoing an opportunity for employment at a higher-paying job, creating a substantial burden on her religious beliefs. See Thomas v. Rev. Bd., 450 U.S. 707, 717-18 (1981). This violates the Title VII duty of reasonable accommodation, because the Office cannot show that accommodating Bolden-Hardge would qualify as an undue hardship: Title VII preempts state law, so any conflict between Bolden-Hardge’s requested addendum and the California Constitution is irrelevant; moreover, letting an employee sign a modest addendum imposes, at most, a de minimis cost on the Office. See Ansonia Bd. of Educ. v. Philbrook, 479 U.S. 60, 67 (1986). Therefore, the Office was obligated to provide Bolden-Hardge with a religious accommodation, and the Office’s refusal to do so amounts to religious discrimination.

40

Congregation in PA sues over mandatory reporting

by Corney in

ivy hill congregation of jehovah's witnesses is currently suing the pa department of human services.

it requests "a declaration that its elders are entitled to" clergy privilege, or, in the alternative,.

to the extent that the clergyman privilege is determined to exclude its elders on the basis that they are "members of [a] religious organization[] in which members other than the leader thereof are deemed clergymen or ministers," the court declare the statute to be unconstitutional.

Corney

Ivy Hill congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses is currently suing the PA Department of Human Services. It requests "a declaration that its elders are entitled to" clergy privilege, or, in the alternative,

to the extent that the clergyman privilege is determined to exclude its elders on the basis that they are "members of [a] religious organization[] in which members other than the leader thereof are deemed clergymen or ministers," the Court declare the statute to be unconstitutional

While the congregation claims it needs clarity, especially in light of the recent prosecution of an Amish bishop, I'm wondering whether the case has something to do with the grand jury investigation.

The congregation is represented by Kleinbard LLC, a top law firm involved in multiple high profile cases on behalf of, among others, the Commonwealth itself, its Senate majority, state congressmen, various state and municipal agencies, Catholic dioceses.

9

Federal court in Montana asked to impose sanctions on Watch Tower and its top lawyers Brumley and Taylor

by Corney in

in two child abuse cases litigated in a us district court in montana, plaintiffs recently filed identical motions for sanctions against watch tower pa, philip brumley (general counsel for whq/wt) and joel taylor (associate general counsel for wt), accusing them of lying to court and vexatiously delaying the case:.

here, with the hope that the court would dismiss plaintiffs’ cases against wtpa, in-house counsel brumley signed affidavits that were materially false and intentionally misleading.

doc.

Corney

In two child abuse cases litigated in a US district court in Montana, plaintiffs recently filed identical motions for sanctions against Watch Tower PA, Philip Brumley (General Counsel for WHQ/WT) and Joel Taylor (Associate General Counsel for WT), accusing them of lying to court and vexatiously delaying the case:

Here, with the hope that the Court would dismiss Plaintiffs’ cases against WTPA, in-house counsel Brumley signed affidavits that were materially false and intentionally misleading. Doc. 86 at 2-17 (setting forth how WTPA’s own documents establish that Brumley’s sworn statements were obviously and materially false). Brumley’s affidavits formed the sole evidentiary basis of WTPA’s Motion. Both in-house counsel Brumley, as well as WTNY Associate General Counsel Taylor (who also represented WTPA in this case), were uniquely in possession of the documents and information establishing the falsity of Brumley’s representations to the Court. Brumley and Taylor knew that Brumley’s representations were false.
The perpetuation of Brumley’s false and misleading statements wasted Plaintiffs’ and the Court’s time and energy litigating and resolving matters that were not legitimately in dispute. This included not only litigating WTPA’s Motion, but also litigating collateral discovery matters. All told, Brumley and Taylor’s conduct resulted in a 17-month delay of this case, unnecessarily forced Plaintiffs and the Court to waste significant time and resources, and was an intentional attempt to undermine the integrity of these proceedings with false statements and obstruction.
<...>
Brumley and Taylor knowingly made and perpetuated false statements and then attempted to cover those false statements up by refusing to produce discoverable and material evidence. The record in this case, as well as the record from other sexual abuse cases, establishes that Brumley’s and Taylor’s conduct is not an aberration; it was immediately obvious that Brumley’s sworn statements to this Court were false and their bad faith conduct here is consistent with how WTPA’s lawyers have conducted themselves in other cases. In short, this is what they do.
Based on the foregoing, Plaintiffs believe that sanctions are appropriate, including:
Awarding Plaintiffs’ attorneys' fees and costs for all of the time spent addressing WTPA’s Motion - including all the time spent on all of the jurisdictional discovery;
Requiring attorneys Brumley and Taylor to self-report to all applicable licensing boards and courts for knowingly perpetuating false and misleading statements; and
Daily sanctions of an amount determined appropriate by the Court for each day that WTPA, acting through Brumley and Taylor, improperly and vexatiously delayed this case.

23

TRICKY WORDS and why not to use them

by Terry in

jw
friends

tricky words .

perfectly good words go unused in writing and speaking.

their meaning isn't clear and the eye is 'tricked' by similarity to other words or sounds.. .

Corney

Well, at least "irregardless" is a legit word, ain't it?

18

Child pornography should NOT be automatically handled by a judicial committee

by pistolpete in

new information added to the "shepherd the flock elder's book" .

they have updated their policy on viewing child pornography.. from a congregation standpoint it is not viewed as child sex abuse and is something that should not be automatically handled by a judicial committee.

it states that a person viewing child pornography should be strongly counseled.

Corney

What change? The rule remains the same as it has been for years: "entrenched practice" of viewing - JC, occasional viewing - "strong counsel", call the Legal dept in both cases, report to the police when instructed by the Legal.

13

German branch stats: the number of KHs has decreased by 1/8 during the past 7 years

by Corney in

jw
friends

according to its own statistics, the jw organization in germany had 1075 kingdom halls in august 2011, 997 khs in november 2016, and 940 ones in august 2018. .

the average decrease was 1.25 khs per month in 2011-2016 and 2.7 khs per month during the past two years.. .

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16znuhftwpwq1nf_9jidc_srarst0errjssgcuxkbl8a/edit?usp=sharing .

Corney

UPD. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of Kingdom Halls in Germany has decreased by 66 (-7%):

https://web.archive.org/web/20211201201548/https://www.jehovaszeugen.de/geschichte-und-gegenwart/statistik/

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ZNUhfTwpwq1Nf_9JiDC_srarst0ErrJssGCuXkbL8A/edit?usp=sharing

10

Police descend on Jehovah's Witness HQ after abuse allegations

by BourneIdentity in

http://brusselstimes.com/belgium/justice/15271/police-descend-on-jehovah-s-witness-hq-after-abuse-allegations.

Corney

Belgian court dismissed criminal case against Jehovah's Witnesses.

https://hrwf.eu/belgium-case-dismissed-in-favour-of-jehovahs-witnesses-prosecuted-for-not-reporting-of-sexual-abuse/

https://bitterwinter.org/jehovahs-witnesses-win-important-case-in-belgium/

44

Three new lawsuits against Watchtower filed under NY Child Victims Act (CVA) this October, bringing number of CVA cases up to six

by Corney in

new 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.

Corney

Update. At this point, I'm aware of at least 43 pending child abuse lawsuits in the US (including 29 in NY and 8 in NJ), with at least 50 plaintiffs.

7

SWEDEN: JWs Have Right to State Funding

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

fyi - from sweden.

first an article from the swedish newspaper svenska dagbladet (via google translate).

jehovah's witnesses won against the government.

Corney

The Chancellor of Justice partially granted the org's application for compensation and awarded it 8.5 milliom kronor ($940,000) over ~6 years long delay in administrative proceedings.