Words Matter

The opinions written by judges are important in all cases, but when it comes to religious freedom cases, the words and manner in which a case is written can either expand religious freedom or lessen it. Learn more at FirstLiberty.org/Briefing. The measure of a federal judge may be what he or she writes.  Or maybe that a judge writes.  Judge James Ho of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit never seems to miss the chance.  And his opinions are worth reading. Take for instance his separate opinion in Horvath v. City of Leander.  While he mostly agreed with the majority’s decision, he raised concerns that the lower court relied upon Employment Division v. Smith, a case often relied on to curtail the First Amendment’s promise of the free exercise of religion. That led him to articulating the importance of words, pushing back against efforts to reduce the promise of the Free Exercise Clause to the mere “freedom of worship.”  Properly understood, Judge Ho helpfully explains, the Founders intended the First Amendment to “extend beyond mere ritual and private belief to cover any action motivated by faith.”  Care for the text may even mean that we shed any reluctance to hold government officials personally accountable for violating someone’s religious liberty.  As Judge Ho reminds us, we ought instead to be “concerned about government chilling the citizens-not the other way around.”  After all, the Constitution is meant to restrain government, not empower it. The point, for Judge Ho, is that in guarding the text of the First Amendment, we refuse efforts to redefine it into lesser terms while rejecting judicial additions to it.  To learn how First Liberty is protecting religious liberty for all Americans, visit FirstLiberty.org.