Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights v. City and County of San Francisco
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
624 F.3d 1043 (2010) (en banc)
- Written by Elizabeth Yingling, JD
Facts
In accordance with the stated beliefs of the Vatican, Cardinal William Joseph Levada directed the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco to prohibit Catholic agencies from placing children for adoption in homosexual households. In response, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution directed to Cardinal Levada that (1) urged him to withdraw his directive; (2) denounced the directive as meddling by a foreign country; (3) called the directive unacceptable, insulting, and callous; (4) stated that homosexual couples were just as qualified to be adoptive parents as heterosexual couples; (5) stated that the cardinal was an unqualified representative of San Francisco values; and (6) urged the San Francisco archdiocese to defy the directive. In response, the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights (Catholic League) and two individual Catholics (plaintiffs), all residents of San Francisco, sued the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco) (defendants), claiming the resolution violated the Establishment Clause. The Catholic League alleged it was injured because the resolution reflected San Francisco’s view that Catholics are outsiders, and, as a result, the Catholic League asserted that it would avoid contact with the city and county government. The Catholic League also alleged that the Catholic religion was denigrated because opposition to homosexuality was a tenet of the faith. The district court dismissed the case, and the Catholic League appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kleinfeld, J.)
Concurrence (Silverman, J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Kleinfeld, J.)
Dissent (Graber, J.)
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