U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Announces Briefing On Reconciling Non-Discrimination Principles With Civil Liberties

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Commission on Civil Rights announces that it will hold a briefing to examine recent legal developments concerning the intersection of non-discrimination principles with those of civil liberties. The briefing will take place on Friday, March 22, 2013 at 9:30 AM EDT in the Commission's new headquarters office at 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20425. The offices are accessed using the F Street NW entrance. Interested members of the public are invited to attend.

The discussion will involve both the ministerial exception case, Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, and the student group non-discrimination policy case, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. Also at issue are religious liberty claims under First Amendment provisions other than the Religion Clauses.

There will be two panels at the briefing.  The first panel will be composed of speakers involved in the Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC or Christian Legal Society v. Martinez litigation:  Kimberlee Colby , Senior Counsel at the Christian Legal Society; Ayesha Khan , Legal Director, Americans United for Separation of Church and State; Daniel Mach , Director, American Civil Liberties Union Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief; and Lori Windham , Senior Counsel, Becket Fund.

The second panel will consist of scholars who will discuss the broader conflict between anti-discrimination norms and civil liberties. Speakers scheduled to appear on the second panel include Alan Brownstein , Professor, University of California at Davis Law School; Marc DeGirolami , Associate Professor, St. John's University School of Law; Leslie Griffin , Professor, University of Nevada Las Vegas Law School; Marci Hamilton , Professor, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; Michael Helfand , Associate Professor, Pepperdine University School of Law; and Edward Whelan , President, Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Written comments from the public will be accepted by email at publiccomments@usccr.gov until April 21, 2013.  Public comments received will become part of the public record.

Deaf or hearing-impaired persons who will attend the meeting and require the services of a sign language interpreter should contact Pam Dunston at (202) 376-8105 at least seven business days prior to the briefing.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency charged with monitoring federal civil rights enforcement. Members include Chairman Martin R. Castro and Commissioners Roberta Achtenberg , Todd Gaziano , Gail Heriot , Peter Kirsanow , David Kladney , Abigail Thernstrom , and Michael Yaki . Commission meetings and briefings are open to the general public. The Commission's website is http://www.usccr.gov. 

Contact:
Lenore Ostrowsky ,
Acting Chief, Public Affairs Unit
(202) 376-8591

SOURCE U.S. Commission on Civil Rights