Fight over control of oldest US synagogue at appeals court
Civil Litigation News
A federal appeals court is wading into the battle over control of the nation's oldest synagogue and ownership of a set of ceremonial bells worth millions.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston will hear arguments Wednesday.
The fight pits the nation's oldest Jewish congregation, Shearith Israel in New York, against the congregation that worships at the 250-year-old Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island.
A federal judge last year ruled that the Rhode Island congregation may now control its own destiny and decide what to do with the bells, valued at $7.4 million. He rejected the New York congregation's arguments that it was the rightful owner of the bells and the synagogue.
In 1790, George Washington sent a letter to the Touro congregation pledging America's commitment to religious liberty.
Related listings
-
Supreme Court strikes down 2 NC congressional districts
Civil Litigation News 07/26/2017The Supreme Court struck down two congressional districts in North Carolina Monday because race played too large a role in their creation.The justices ruled that Republicans who controlled the state legislature and governor's office in 2011 placed to...
-
Court revives black TV network's discrimination lawsuit
Civil Litigation News 07/23/2017A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit claiming that a North Carolina city discriminated against an African-American-owned television network.A divided three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a lower court...
-
High court ruling may give voter rights groups a strong tool
Civil Litigation News 07/13/2017The Supreme Court's ruling that two North Carolina congressional districts relied too heavily on race should give voting-rights advocates a potent tool to fight other electoral maps drawn to give Republicans an advantage in the state.The justices agr...
USCIS to Begin Accepting Applications under the International Entrepreneur Rule
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is taking steps to implement the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), in accordance with a recent court decision.
Although the IER was published during the previous administration with an effective date of July 17, 2017, it did not take effect because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule on July 11, 2017, delaying the IER’s effective date until March 14, 2018. This delay rule was meant to give USCIS time to review the IER and, if necessary, to issue a rule proposing to remove the IER program regulations.
However, a Dec. 1, 2017, ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in National Venture Capital Association v. Duke vacated USCIS’ final rule to delay the effective date. The Dec. 1, 2017, court decision is a result of litigation filed in district court on Sept. 19, 2017, which challenged the delay rule.