ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 16, 1996 TAG: 9610160044
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Supreme Court set the stage for a key ruling on religious freedom by agreeing Tuesday to review a 1993 law aimed at curbing governmental interference with the spiritual lives of Americans.
In taking on a case that began as a zoning dispute between a church and a Texas city, the justices said they will review the constitutionality of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The law gives more weight to claims that actions taken by government sometimes improperly restrict religious freedom.
The court's ruling, expected by July, could clarify the boundaries between legitimate governmental restrictions and undue infringement on religious freedom.
A church in Boerne, Texas, invoked the law after the city thwarted its attempt to build an addition. The church argued that Boerne's refusal to issue the permit was an example of governmental action banned by the law.
City officials, in turn, mounted a constitutional attack - contending that in passing the law, Congress unlawfully usurped power from state and local governments and from the Supreme Court itself.
``What's at stake is really any meaningful expression of faith for all Americans,'' said Melissa Rogers of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, one of many religious groups that pushed for the act's passage.
``We think the law is both constitutional and vital to religious freedom,'' she said.
The 1993 law on religious freedom was enacted in response to a 1990 Supreme Court decision that said laws otherwise neutral toward religion are not unconstitutional just because they may infringe on some people's religious beliefs.
Rep. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who helped write the law, said he hopes the high court will uphold it. He noted that ``everyone from Phyllis Schlafly to the ACLU supported [it], along with every major religious organization in the country.''
But the 1993 law has been particularly unpopular with prison officials in many states. They say it caused a flood of lawsuits in which inmates challenged regulation of apparel, diet and other aspects of life behind bars as violations of their religious beliefs.
In other action Tuesday, the court:
*Let stand a never-enforced 1991 Michigan court order that bars Dr. Jack Kevorkian from helping people commit suicide.
*Agreed to decide in a New York case whether states may tax the income of hospitals run by employee welfare benefit plans.
*Ordered a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling that had barred California's use of poison gas in executions.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB