A First Amendment religious freedom organization has filed a friend of the court brief urging support for the dismissal of fraud claims against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty argued in its 24-page brief before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the First Amendment bars courts from scrutinizing churches’ internal religious decisions.
“Amicus briefs are often quite helpful in an appeal because they can give the court greater context,” said Rick Richmond, a Los Angeles-based attorney who represents the Church. “The specific parties to a case are very focused on their case, their particular facts, and their specific situations, so entities or groups who submit amicus briefs are able to give a broader, richer perspective to the court.”
James Huntsman, the brother of wealthy Mormon businessman and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr., sued the Church last year alleging that it spent parishioner tithes on commercial real estate projects instead of on missionary work, temple construction, and charitable projects. When Central District of California Judge Stephen Wilson dismissed the lawsuit, Huntsman appealed.
“The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty’s amicus brief cites lots of U.S. Supreme Court cases that say churches should be free to run their own internal affairs, including how they raise and spend money, without intrusion from outsiders,” Richmond told the Southern California Record. “Even though outsiders may think a particular church's beliefs are weird or nonsensical, churches are entitled to hold those beliefs, to raise money from people based on those beliefs, and to try to fulfill their religious missions as they see fit.”
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty's claims on appeal include the following arguments:
Tithing is a historic religious practice and disputes over tithing are inherently religious.
“Huntsman's case is based on how he wants to define tithing,” Richmond said. “He defines it one way and the Church president defined it a different way. The Becket brief’s point is that no court can go in and decide who's right as to what tithing means because the church is entitled to decide that tithing means whatever the church says it is. In the case of the church, tithing means what the Bible says in Malachi 3:10.”
Malachi 3:10 states, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
Ordinary principles of donor law underscore that church autonomy bars courts from adjudicating tithing disputes.
“The general principles of basic donor law apply to all kinds of charitable nonprofits, even those that are not churches,” Richmond said. “If you give them a donation and it's not specifically restricted, generally, you can't get it back.”
Huntsman’s lawsuit entangles the federal courts with internal religious affairs
“The two religion clauses in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution make it pretty clear that all faiths should be able to function without government intrusion,” Richmond added.