Obama Supreme Court Nominee Rejected Evangelical Religious Freedom Defense in 2001
President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court once joined an opinion that rejected an evangelical Christian defense based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was recently tapped by President Obama as a nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
In a case decided in June 2001, Judge Garland joined an opinion authored by fellow appellate judge A. Raymond Randolph that rejected a RFRA argument for a pair of evangelical Christians who wanted to sell T-shirts at National Mall.
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Known as Henderson v. Kennedy, the three-judge panel Garland was part of affirmed a lower court decision against the two evangelicals.
"They want to sell t-shirts on the National Mall — a practice presently prohibited by a regulation of the National Park Service. Initially they claimed that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment guaranteed them this right," read the ruling.
"When we ruled against that claim in another case, they amended their complaints to add, among other claims, causes of action based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Equal Protection component of the Due Process Clause."
When the plaintiffs argued that the ban on religious t-shirt sales violated RFRA, the appeals court responded that the "answer is clearly no."
"We are not aware of any religious group that has as one of its tenets selling t-shirts on the National Mall, even if the t-shirts bear a religious message," continued the ruling.
"Plaintiffs do not claim to belong to any such group, nor do they allege that selling t-shirts in that particular area of the District of Columbia is central to the exercise of their religion."
The decision went on to note that "Plaintiffs can still distribute t-shirts for free on the Mall, or sell them on streets surrounding the Mall."
Earlier this week Obama announced that he selected Garland to be his nominee to replace Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court.
"Judge Garland has brought his trademark diligence, compassion, and unwavering regard for the rule of law to his work," stated Obama.
"Judge Garland has earned a track record of building consensus as a thoughtful, fair-minded judge who follows the law. He's shown a rare ability to bring together odd couples, assemble unlikely coalitions, persuade colleagues with wide-ranging judicial philosophies to sign on to his opinions."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that Garland will not get a hearing, as Senate Republicans plan to hold off on replacing Scalia until after the presidential election.
"The next justice could fundamentally alter the direction of the Supreme Court and have a profound impact on our country, so of course the American people should have a say in the court's direction," stated Sen. McConnell.
"The American people may well elect a president who decides to nominate Judge Garland for Senate consideration. The next president may also nominate somebody very different. Either way, our view is this: Give the people a voice in filling this vacancy."
