From Standard Chartered Bank v. Ahmad Hamad AL Gosaibi and Bros. Co., 2014 WL 96219 (N.Y. trial ct. Jan. 10, 2014): Defendants assert that they have standing to move to quash the instant subpoenas on the ground that the subpoenas seek all contracts between Pepsi and the defendants, documents which, they claim, include confidential proprietary […]
Archive | Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts
Using Foreign Law in Interpreting the U.S. Constitution
Those interested in this subject might want to check out today’s Supreme Court decision in Daimler AG v. Bauman. The question is whether California courts could have jurisdiction over Daimler AG, a German company whose subsidiaries do business in California, for actions allegedly committed by another Daimler AG subsidiary in Argentina: The complaint alleged that […]
Religious Law in American Criminal Courts
From Torres v. State (Fla. Ct. App. Nov. 6, 2013): Appellant challenges his [thirty-year sentence] for first-degree sexual battery…. We agree that the trial court’s comments could reasonably be construed to suggest that the trial court based appellant’s sentence, at least in part, on religion. Therefore, we reverse and remand for resentencing before a different […]
Conviction of Iranian-American Muslim Reversed Because of Prosecutor’s Reference to Sharia
From State v. Farokhrany (Ore. Ct. App. Oct. 23, 2013) (some paragraph breaks added): Defendant appeals his convictions for unlawful distribution of a controlled substance to a minor; unlawful possession of cocaine; attempted sexual abuse in the second degree; sexual abuse [of a minor] in the third degree; and driving under the influence of intoxicants…. […]
Disciplinary Charges Filed Against “Messiah” Judge
By Eugene Volokh on October 27, 2013 7:37 pm in Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, Religion and the Law
In August, Tennessee family court judge Lu Ann Ballew changed a child’s name from “Messiah,” over the parents’ objection: “The word Messiah is a title and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ,” Judge Ballew said…. According to Judge Ballew, it is the first […]
Court Enforces Religious Arbitration Agreement, Over Objection of Plaintiff
By Eugene Volokh on October 15, 2013 3:05 pm in Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, Religion and the Law
In Spivey v. Teen Challenge Inc. (Fla. Ct. App. Oct. 11, 2013), Pamela Spivey’s son, Nicklaus Ellison, then age 19, “enrolled in a year-long program at Teen Challenge’s substance abuse facility,” which “assist[s] young men in overcoming addiction through the application of biblical principles.” Ellison fell off the wagon several times, and eventually died from […]
The Biggest Democracy’s Bigger Death Penalty
By Eugene Kontorovich on September 13, 2013 6:42 am in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Criminal Law, Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, International Law
India has just sentenced four men to death in the infamous Delhi rape/murder case. India has apparently ended an eight-year moratorium on executions last year, greatly altering the global capital punishment map. At the same time, it also passed a new rape law, which would allow for execution in aggravated cases (not necessarily involving minors) […]
Fifth Circuit Rejects Canadian Libel Judgment Against Blogger
By Eugene Volokh on September 6, 2013 2:53 pm in Defamation, Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, Freedom of Speech
The case is Trout Point Lodge, Ltd. v. Handshoe (5th Cir. Sept. 5, 2013), and it applies the SPEECH Act, a federal statute that, among other things, provides: Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for defamation unless the domestic court determines […]
So What’s This Supposed to Mean?
Here’s Virginia House Bill 825, proposed in the 2012 session: § 8.01-465.26. Application of foreign laws. A. For purposes of this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning: “Foreign law” means any constitution, law, legal code, or legal system that is established outside the jurisdiction of the United States, the District of Columbia, or […]
“Different From the Law of the State of Alabama Is Foreign Law”
A funny locution in a proposed Alabama constitutional amendment, which will be on the November 2014 ballot. Substantively, the proposed amendment, which deals with the use of foreign law in Alabama courts, is apparently fairly narrow, because it mostly just says that foreign law can’t be used in ways that violate state law or rights […]
Certification of Legal Questions to Foreign Courts?
Terra Firma Investments (GP) 2 Ltd. v. Citigroup Inc. (2d Cir. 2013), reverses a jury verdict because of the trial court’s misapplication of English law (in a lawsuit over the sale of the London-based EMI). Judge Lohier concurs, with this interesting opinion: I agree entirely with our resolution of the issue of English law involved […]
Defining “High Seas Felonies” in Another Country
By Eugene Kontorovich on March 18, 2013 9:00 am in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, Global Governance/World Government, International Law, National Security, Uncategorized, War on Drugs
A district court recently ruled that Congress’s power to “Define and Punish… Felonies on the High Seas” extends beyond the high seas, to conduct entirely within a foreign country (on dry land), with no U.S. nexus. The case is U.S. v. Carvajal, 2013 WL 619890 (Feb. 20, 2013). The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA) […]
Qatari Law in U.S. Courts
American courts routinely enforce foreign money judgments; this is needed for international business, and it also avoids the injustice that might happen if someone flees, say, Canada or Germany with assets that he owes to someone, and that he otherwise couldn’t be required to pay. At the same time, it’s also unjust if American courts […]
South Dakota Ban on Court Enforcement of Religious Law [UPDATE: Added Discussion of Legislators’ Comments on the Law]
By Eugene Volokh on December 7, 2012 3:51 pm in Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, Religion and the Law
Several months ago, the South Dakota Legislature enacted this law: No court, administrative agency, or other governmental agency may enforce any provisions of any religious code. My question: What exactly does it mean to “enforce any provisions of any religious code”? If the law is (A) limited to barring courts from enforcing religious law because […]