On September 20, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow of the federal district court in Maryland granted that state’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Liberty Counsel on behalf of a conversion therapy practitioner who was challenging the state’s recently enacted law that provides that “a mental health or child care practitioner may not engage in conversion therapy with an individual who is a minor.” The ban is enforceable through the professional licensing process … <Read More>
3rd Circuit Court of Appeals
Federal Appeals Court Refuses to Block Enforcement of City Anti-Discrimination Policy Against Catholic Social Services Agency
The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals refused a request by Catholic Social Services (CSS) to block enforcement of the City of Philadelphia’s requirement that the agency not discriminate against same-sex couples who seek certification to be foster parents. Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 11711, 2019 WL 1758355 (3rd Cir. 2019). The April 22 ruling by a unanimous three-judge panel, which affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction by District … <Read More>
3rd Circuit Finds Federal Inspection Rules for Porn Producers Violate the 4th Amendment
A three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled on May 14 that federal inspection rules for producers of sexually-related materials violate the 4th Amendment. While rejecting a 1st Amendment challenge to the substance of rules requiring the producers to maintain written records of proof of age for all their performers, the court found that there was insufficient justification to allow government inspectors to demand access to those … <Read More>