Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared Monday to be leaning toward a Catholic charitable organization pushing back against the state of Wisconsin in the latest religious rights case to come before the court. In a case that could have wide-ranging effects, the justices suggested the Catholic Charities Bureau should not have to pay unemployment taxes because the work of the social services agency is motivated by religious beliefs, and the state exempts religious groups from the tax. Read more of this story.

By Chris Rickert – Wisconsin State Journal – By day, he’s a key member of a conservative law firm known for being at the center of some of the state’s most contentious policy and culture war battles. The rest of his time, he’s a husband and the father of three sons who attend the local public schools in perhaps the most politically progressive city in the Midwest. Luke Berg, 39, first came to Madison from his hometown of Stevens Point to attend UW-Madison, where he studied philosophy, math and computer science. He’d long had his eye on the law, though……

By Todd Richmond — MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Exemptions that allow religious organizations to avoid paying Wisconsin’s unemployment tax don’t apply to a Catholic charitable organization because its on-the-ground operations aren’t primarily religious, a divided state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The outcome of the case, which drew attention and concern from religious groups around the country, raises the bar for all religions to show that their charity arms deserve such exemptions in the state. The Catholic organization’s attorneys immediately promised to appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. If that court agrees to hear the case, any ruling could have…