"At the Court's private conference on Friday, the justices will consider Endres v. Indiana State Police, No. 03-1183, which tests whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires the police agency to accommodate his religious beliefs." That quote is from this very good Legal Times coverage at Law.com. (Accessing the site requires a lengthy and intrusive registration).
Here is earlier Indiana Law Blog coverage, of the 11/19/03 7th Circuit ruling, and the 6/28/04 7th Circuit ruling.
Whether or not cert will be granted should be announced shortly (Monday) by the Court and will be posted here.
[Update 4/18/04] Syndicated columnist James Killpatrick devotes an entire column today to the Endris case. His conclusion:
I doubt that the Supreme Court will grant review to officer Endres. The pivotal questions boil down to these: What accommodation is a reasonable accommodation, and how much hardship is undue hardship? These are fuzzy-wuzzy questions, heavily reliant on particular facts, but four other circuits have wrestled inconclusively with the same issues raised by Judge Ripple. My own sympathies lie on balance with Trooper Endres. His fellow Baptists are bound to wonder, what's a nice fellow like you doing in a place like the Blue Chip Casino?Posted by Marcia Oddi at April 16, 2004 09:54 AM