RLUIPA.org
Judge sets early trial date in Congregation Kol Ami case
U.S. District Judge Clarence C. Newcomer has ordered an early trial date in the case of Congregation Kol Ami v. Abington Township. In a telephone conference with attorneys late Wednesday, he proposed a trial date of July 24, 2001.
Congregation Kol Ami seeks permission to use property purchased from the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazereth as a place of worship for the Rabbi Elliot Holin and his reform Jewish congregation. After several years of hearings, Abington Township refused to grant a permit. Officials held that the facility, which includes a chapel with seating for 250 people, was used merely as a "residence," not a "place of worship," and therefore not eligible for a special exception of the sort given to the Sisters and to a group of Greek Orthodox monks who used the facility for several years in the 1990s.
Judge Newcomer decided not to issue a preliminary injunction requested by the Congregation that would have allowed it to use the facilities on the Jewish festival of Shavuot on May 28.
Becket Fund President Kevin J. Hasson said that while denial of the request for an injunction was "disappointing," the court's decision to expedite the trial schedule was "very welcome." It will permit completion of the trial before the season of Jewish high holy days that begins with Rosh Hashana in September. "Setting an early trial date reflects the court's sensitivity to the weighty and time-sensitive religious liberty issues this case raises," Hasson said. "Common sense tells us that if a facility is appropriate for worship by Catholic nuns and Orthodox monks, it's equally appropriate for worship by a Jewish congregation. It's a pity that we've got to go to federal court to get Abington Township to come to terms with common sense, but if that's what it takes, that's what we'll do."