By a 7-2 decision, in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that a state agency cannot deny an otherwise available public benefit to a church merely because of its religious status. The Nevada Supreme Court will soon be hearing oral argument on a similar church and state issue.
Back in September 2016, a Clark County family court judge denied a father’s request that his child attend Faith Lutheran Middle School merely because the mother interposed a religious objection to the school’s religious affiliation. The attorneys at Pecos Law Group appealed the judge’s rejection of the private school and have argued that the order, openly biased against religious education, constituted an unconstitutional abuse of discretion.
After en banc oral argument scheduled in September 2017, Nevada’s highest court will have to determine whether the family court judge’s rejection of Faith Lutheran solely on religious grounds rather than the best interests of the child violated the parent’s fundamental constitutional rights to make decisions regarding the child’s education and religious upbringing.