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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Ind. Courts - Arguments before full 7th Circuit in mezuzah case may put Judge Wood and Williams in spotlight
Mike Robinson of the AP has this story today in the Washington Post. The long story begins:
CHICAGO -- When a federal appeals court meets in Chicago to take up a bitter dispute over alleged religious discrimination by a condo association the judges themselves could end up as the main attraction.Here is the July 10, 2008 ruling of the panel (Easterbrook, Bauer and Wood) in the case of Block v. Shoreline Towers.President Barack Obama is weighing possible candidates to fill the U.S. Supreme Court seat of retiring Justice David Souter and two members of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are considered possible picks.
Judge Diane P. Wood, 58, a former University of Chicago law professor like Obama, is getting the biggest share of the spotlight. And Wednesday's hearing focuses on a case in which she wrote a dissenting opinion.
Judge Ann Claire Williams, 59, a former federal prosecutor, is also getting some attention as a possible Supreme Court nominee.
Oral arguments before the full appeals court are set for Wednesday in what has come to be known as "the mezuzah case."
A mezuzah is part of Jewish religious tradition _ a small scroll held in a metal, plastic or glass case a householder affixes to the door frame.
In the case before the court, the Shoreline Towers Condominium Association repeatedly removed a mezuzah from the front door of Chicago condo owner Lynne Bloch. The association said it violated a rule against placing any objects, religious or otherwise, on doors or in common halls.
Bloch, who helped write the rule, sued, saying she was a victim of religious discrimination. U.S. District Judge George W. Lindberg threw out the case and the appeals court affirmed his decision 2-1.
Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook, writing for himself and Senior Judge William Bauer, said the rule was "neutral" and "potentially affects every owner" without regard to religion and thus was not discriminatory.
"It bans photos of family vacations, political placards, for-sale notices and Chicago Bears pennants," he wrote.
Wood dissented, saying it could been seen as a violation of federal housing law because observant Jews would be unable to live in a condo with no mezuzah.
"Thus in a real sense, Hallway Rule 1 makes condominium units at Shoreline Towers functionally unavailable to observant Jews like the Blochs and, if it could be enforced, the rule would effect their constructive eviction," Wood wrote.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 13, 2009 08:29 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts