On April 5, 2019, the Federalist Society's Ohio lawyers chapters hosted the 2019 Ohio Chapters Conference in Columbus, OH. The third and final panel explored "Emerging Religious Liberty Issues in Ohio".
Intensifying public debates over religious liberty have spilled into the courts, with some cases making their way to the United States Supreme Court. Ohio is no stranger to this national trend. Panelists will discuss Tree of Life Christian Schools v. City of Upper Arlington, an Ohio zoning dispute involving religious liberty claims under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), for which a petition for writ of certiorari was recently filed in the United States Supreme Court after the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit sided with the city. Panelists will also discuss the Ohio Constitution's provision regarding religious liberty, which explicitly refers to “the rights of conscience," and discuss if and how this provision of the Ohio Constitution should be interpreted differently than the First Amendment with respect to religious liberty issues.
Featuring:

Jeremiah Galus, Legal Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Holly Gross, Vice President of Government Relations at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce
Philip Williamson, Associate, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Moderator: Matthew Byrne, Of Counsel, Jackson Lewis P.C.

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speakers.