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U.S. Supreme Court Decides on Petition for Writ of Certiorari

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:13:48 +0000

News from St. James Anglican Church

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. JAMES CHURCH’S PROPERTY RIGHTS BATTLE WITH THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH CONTINUES IN CALIFORNIA’S ORANGE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT; U.S. SUPREME COURT DENIES PETITION

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – October 5, 2009 – The Supreme Court of the United States today denied a petition by St. James Church, Newport Beach, CA to hear its church property rights battle with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the national Episcopal Church (TEC). However, the property rights case is far from over and the case continues in the Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA.

St James Church Prevails on Two Motions

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:47:07 +0000

NEWS FROM ST. JAMES ANGLICAN CHURCH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. JAMES CHURCH PREVAILS ON TWO MOTIONS BROUGHT BY THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES AND THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
SEEKING TO END THE CASE IN THEIR FAVOR

SANTA ANA, Calif. – July 15, 2009 – On July 13 St. James Church won a significant legal battle in its property rights case in Orange County Superior Court when Judge Thierry P. Colaw denied two motions brought by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and The Episcopal Church which sought to end the case in their favor.

The Diocese brought a demurrer — a formal objection to an opponent’s pleadings — to the St. James cross-complaint, arguing that the California Supreme Court’s February 2009 decision definitively awarded St. James’s property to the Diocese. The Diocese also argued that a Diocesan-issued 1991 letter waiving the Diocese’s trust interest over the property on 32nd Street had already been addressed in favor of the Diocese by the California Supreme Court. Attorneys for The Episcopal Church brought a similar motion, arguing that they prevailed on their complaint on similar grounds. The Episcopal parties made these arguments even though the case went up on appeal before the St. James defendants ever answered the Episcopal complaints or brought affirmative defenses.

St James Church Files Petition for Writ of Certiorari

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:46:12 +0000

NEWS FROM ST. JAMES ANGLICAN CHURCH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. JAMES CHURCH’S LEGAL BATTLE OVER ITS PROPERTY
MOVING TO UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT:
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI WILL BE FILED TODAY

St James Church Legal Battle Moving to United States Supreme Court

admin — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:37:15 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

ST. JAMES CHURCH’S LEGAL BATTLE OVER ITS PROPERTY
MOVING TO UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT:
WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO BE FILED IN MAY 2009

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – May 5, 2009 – St. James Anglican Church, at the centerpiece of a nationally publicized church property dispute with the Episcopal Church, announced today that it will file a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court to resolve an important issue of religious freedom: Does the United States Constitution, which both prohibits the establishment of religion and protects the free exercise of religion, allow certain religious denominations to disregard the normal rules of property ownership that apply to everyone else?

Under longstanding law, no one can unilaterally impose a trust over someone else’s property without their permission. Yet, in the St. James case before the California Supreme Court, named Episcopal Church Cases, the Court created a special perquisite for certain churches claiming to be “hierarchical,” with a “superior religious body,” which may allow them to unilaterally appropriate for themselves property purchased and maintained by spiritually affiliated but separately incorporated local churches. St. James will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court that this preferential treatment for certain kinds of religion violates the U.S. Constitution.

The constitutional issues St. James will raise before the U.S. Supreme Court go far beyond St. James or even the Episcopal Church. Every local church, temple, synagogue, parish, spiritual center, congregation or religious group which owns its property, and has some affiliation with a larger religious group, is possibly at risk of losing its property upon a change of religious affiliation. As a result, religious freedom is suppressed, as those who have sacrificed to build their local religious communities are now at risk of having their properties taken based on some past, current or future spiritual affiliation. A United States Supreme Court decision in favor of St. James would benefit local churches and religious groups throughout the country because it would allow congregations the ability to freely exercise their religion without having to forfeit their property to a larger religious body or denomination with which they are affiliated in the event of a dispute over religious doctrine.

While petitions for review with the U.S. Supreme Court are never assured, there are compelling arguments for the Justices to grant this petition, including: