The Episcopal Church v. The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth
Petition for certiorari denied on November 3, 2014
Issue: (1) Whether the First Amendment or Jones v. Wolf requires courts to enforce express trusts recited in general-church governing documents (as some jurisdictions hold), or whether such a trust is enforceable only when it would otherwise comply with state law (as others hold); (2) whether retroactive application of the neutral-principles approach infringes free-exercise rights; and (3) whether the neutral-principles approach endorsed in Jones remains a constitutionally viable means of resolving church-property disputes, especially in light of Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Petition of the day (Maureen Johnston, October 4, 2014)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 06/19/2014 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 21, 2014) |
| 06/23/2014 | Waiver of right of respondents All Respondents listed in paragraph 4 on pages iv-v of the Petition to respond filed. |
| 07/03/2014 | Waiver of right of respondent All Respondents listed in paragraph 5 on page v. of the petition to respond filed. |
| 07/14/2014 | Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the respondents in paragraph 4, iv-v of the petition. |
| 07/14/2014 | Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the respondents Robert Masterson, et al. in paragraph 5, (v) |
| 07/16/2014 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of September 29, 2014. |
| 07/21/2014 | Brief amici curiae of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 07/21/2014 | Brief amici curiae of The Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 07/21/2014 | Brief amicus curiae of The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America filed. (Distributed) |
| 07/28/2014 | Response Requested . (Due August 27, 2014) |
| 08/19/2014 | Order extending time to file response to petition to and including September 26, 2014, for all respondents. |
| 08/27/2014 | Brief amicus curiae of The Rutherford Institute filed. |
| 09/26/2014 | Brief of respondents Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, et al. in opposition filed. |
| 09/26/2014 | Brief of respondents Robert Masterson, et al. in opposition filed. |
| 10/14/2014 | Reply of petitioners The Episcopal Church, et al. filed. |
| 10/15/2014 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of October 31, 2014. |
| 11/03/2014 | Petition DENIED. |