This order addresses issues that go to the very foundation of our country, our Constitution, and particularly, the Bill of Rights. Throughout the course of our country’s history, the will of the “majority” has on occasion conflicted with the constitutional rights of individuals, an occurrence which our founders foresaw and provided for through the Bill of Rights. As the United States Supreme Court has stated:
The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One’s right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.
W. Va. State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette,
Before the Court is plaintiffs Complaint Seeking a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction, filed November 4, 2010. On November 16, 2010, defendants filed their Response to Plaintiffs Motion for Preliminаry Injunction. On that same date, amicus curiae United States Border Control, United States Border Control Foundation, Lincoln Institute for Research and Education, and Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund filed an Amicus Curiae Brief in Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction. On November 18, 2010, plaintiff filed his reply. On November 22, 2010, the Court conducted a hearing on plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction. Based upon the pleadings that have been filed and the evidence submitted at the hearing 1 , the Court makes its determination.
I. Introduction
State Question 755, which was on Oklahoma’s November 2, 2010 ballot, provides:
This measure amends the State Constitution. It changes a section that deals with the courts of this state. It would amend Article 7, Section 1. It makes courts rely on federal and state law when deciding cases. It forbids courts from considering or using international law. It forbids courts from considering or using Sharia Law.
International law is also known as the law of nations. It deals with the conduct of international organizations and independent nations, such as countries, states and tribes. It deals with their relationship with each other. It also deals with some of their relationships with persons.
The law of nations is formed by the general assent of civilized nations. Sources of international law also include international agreements, as well as treaties.
Sharia Law is Islamic law. It is based on two principal sources, the Koran and the teaching of Mohammed.
State Question 755 was put on the ballot through the legislative adoption of Enrolled House Joint Resolution 1056. Said resolution proposes to amend Section 1 of
C. The Courts provided for in subsection A of this section when exercising their judicial authority, shall uphold and adhere to the law as provided in the United States Constitution, the Oklahoma Constitution, the United States Code, federal regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, established common law, the Oklahoma Statutes and rules promulgated pursuant thereto, and if necessary the law of anothеr state of the United States provided the law of the other state does not include Sharia Law, in making judicial decisions. The courts shall not look to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures. Specifically, the courts shall not consider international law or Sharia Law. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to all cases before the respective courts including, but not limited to, cases of first impression.
Enr. H.J.R. No. 1056 at 2. Additionally, said resolution provides that the above section shall be known as the “Save Our State Amendment”. Id.
Election results show that 70.08 per cent of the voters approved State Question 755. Once the Oklahoma State Board of Elections certifies the election results, the amendment set forth above will become a part of the Oklahoma Constitution.
On November 4, 2010, plaintiff filed the instant action, challenging the constitutionality of State Question 755’s amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution. Specifically, plaintiff asserts that the ban on the state courts’ use and consideration of Sharia Law violates the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In his complaint, plaintiff, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65, moves the Court to enter a preliminary injunction enjoining defendants from certifying the election results for State Question 755 until this Court rules on the merits of plaintiffs claims.
II. Standing
Under Article III, federal courts have jurisdiction only to decide “Cases” and “Controversies.” U.S. Const, art. Ill, § 2. An essential part of the case-or-controversy requirement is the concept that a plaintiff must have standing.
A party has standing to pursue a claim in federal court only if: (1) it suffered an “injury in fact” — an invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical;
(2) that injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant rather than some third party not before the court; and (3) that injury is likely to be redressed by a favorable decision.
Hydro Res., Inc. v. United States Envtl. Prot. Agency,
In their response, defendants assert that plaintiff has not suffered an “injury in fact” and, therefore, lacks standing to bring this action.
2
Specifically, defendants assert that plaintiff has suffered no harm and will suffer no harm if defendants certify the election results. Defendants contend that plaintiff will be able to engage in the same daily activities after the certification of the election results as he is able to engage in today. Further, defendants contend that plaintiffs claim that the рroposed amendment condemns his religion is a personal opinion, rather than a legal
“For purposes of the standing inquiry, the question is not whether the alleged injury rises to the level of a constitutional violation. That is the issue on the merits. For standing purposes, [courts] ask only if there was an injury in fact, caused by the challenged action and redressable in court.”
Initiative and Referendum Inst. v. Walker,
Having cаrefully reviewed the briefs on this issue, and having heard the evidence and arguments presented at the hearing, the Court finds that plaintiff has shown that he will suffer an injury in fact, specifically, an invasion of his First Amendment rights which is concrete, particularized and imminent. First, plaintiff claims that the moment the Oklahoma Constitution is amended, his First Amendment rights will be violated by Oklahoma’s official condemnation of his religion/faith as reflected through the amendment’s ban of the state courts’ use or consideration of Sharia Law and that said offiсial condemnation will result in a stigma attaching to his person, relegating him to an ineffectual position within the political community, and causing him injury.
A “psychological consequence” does not suffice as concrete harm where it is produced merely by “observation of conduct with which one disagrees.” But it does constitute concrete harm where the “psychological consequence” is produced by government condemnation of one’s own religion or endorsement of anоther’s in one’s own community.... What distinguishes the cases is that in Valley Forge 3 , the psychological consequence was merely disagreement with the government, but in the others, for which the Court identified a sufficiently concrete injury, the psychological consequence was exclusion or denigration on a religious basis within the political community-
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights v. City and County of San Francisco,
In the case at bar, the Court finds that plaintiffs alleged condemnation injury is sufficiently concrete, particularized and imminent. Plaintiff has sufficiently set forth a personal stake in this action by alleging that he lives in Oklahoma, is a Muslim, that the amendment conveys an official government message of disapproval and hostility toward his religious beliefs, that sends a clear message he is an outsider, not a full member of the political community, thereby chilling his access to the government and forcing him to curtail his political and religious activities. Further, the Court finds the consequences — the condemnation — that plaintiff believes will result from the amendment are objectively justified. Finally, the Court would note that it would be incomprehensible if, as
Second, plaintiff claims that his First Amendment rights will be violated by the invalidation of his last will and testament which incorporates various teachings of Mohammed. Specifically, plaintiff asserts that because Oklahoma courts will be banned from considering Sharia Law, an Oklahoma court would not be able to probate his last will and testament because it would be required to consider Sharia Law. The Court finds that plaintiff is objectively justified in believing that said consequences would result from the amendment. Specifically, the article in plaintiffs will which addresses the distribution of certain of plaintiffs assets to charity is specifically linked to a teaching of Mohammed — what the amendment would clearly consider Sharia Law — and, thus, it would appear that any Oklahoma court probating plaintiffs last will and testament would be required to consider Sharia Law when it issued its order approving the distribution of plaintiffs assets and, because it would be banned from considering Sharia Law, it, thus, would be precluded from probating plaintiffs will. The Court further finds that as a result, plaintiff will suffer a concrete, particularized, and imminent injury in that his last will and testament will likely be unable to be probated and, therefore, be unenforceable.
Finally, the Court finds, and as defendants have сonceded, that plaintiff has shown that his alleged injuries are fairly traceable to the challenged action of defendants and are likely to be redressed by a favorable decision. Accordingly, the Court finds that plaintiff has standing to bring the instant action.
III. Ripeness
In order for a claim to be justiciable under Article III, it also must present a live controversy, ripe for determination, advanced in a “clean-cut and concrete form.”
Renne v. Geary,
Having carefully reviewed the briefs on this issue, and having heard the evidence and arguments presented at the hearing, the Court finds that the instant action is ripe for determination. Specifically, the Court finds that plaintiffs claims are fit for judicial resolution. Election results show that voters approved State Question 755, and, thus, only certification of the election results is required for the amendment to take effect. Once the amendment is in place, any alleged violation of plaintiffs First Amendment rights would occur. The Court further finds plaintiff would suffer significant hardship, if judicial con
Additionally, the Court finds that plaintiffs alleged injury does not depend on any uncertain, contingent future events; all that is remaining is the ministerial task of defendants certifying the election results, which no party contends will not occur once any injunction is lifted by the Court. In fact, the Agenda for the Oklahomа State Election Board Meeting which was to occur on November 22, 2010 included an item regarding the certification of the election results for State Question 755. See Agenda for Oklahoma State Election Board Meeting, plaintiffs hearing Exhibit 7. Finally, the Court finds that because plaintiff is making a facial challenge to the amendment at issue, there is no need for the Court to wait for any Oklahoma court to interpret said amendment. Nothing will be gained by allowing the issues in this case to develop further.
IV. Preliminary Injunction
A movant seeking a preliminary injunction must show: (1) a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; (2) irreparable injury to the movant if the injunction is denied; (3) the threatened injury to the movant outweighs the injury to the party opposing the preliminary injunction; and (4) the injunction would not be adverse to the public interest.
Dominion Video Satellite, Inc. v. EchoStar Satellite Corp.,
If, however, a movant is seeking a disfavored preliminary injunction — preliminary injunctions that alter the status quo, mandatory preliminary injunctions, or preliminary injunctions that afford the movant all the relief that it could recover at the conclusion of a full trial on the merits — the movant must satisfy a heightened burden.
O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal v. Ashcroft,
As set forth above, plaintiff requests the Court to enjoin defendants from certifying the election results for State Question 755. Because this requested preliminary injunction alters the status quo and affords plaintiff all the relief that he could recover at the conclusion of a full trial on the merits, the Court finds that it is a disfavored preliminary injunction and plaintiff must satisfy a heightened burden.
A. Likelihood of success on the merits
As set forth above, plaintiff asserts that State Question 755’s amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. When a claim asserting a violation of the Establishment Clause has been made, “[t]o pass constitutional muster, the governmental action (1) must have a secular legislative purpose, (2) its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion, and (3) it must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.”
Weinbaum v. City of Las Cruces, N.M.,
The purpose and effect prongs of the test are interpreted in light of Justice O’Connor’s endorsement test. “Under the ‘endorsement test,’ the government impermissibly endorses religion if its conduct has either (1) the purpose or (2) the effect of conveying a message that religion or a particular religious belief is favored or preferred.”
Id.
(internal quotations and citations omitted). Further, “[u]nder the [endorsement] test, the purpose prong of the ... test asks whether government’s actual purpose is to endorse or disapprove of religion. The effect prong asks whether, irrespective of government’s actual purpose, the practice under review in fact conveys a message of endorsement or disapproval.”
Am. Atheists, Inc. v. Duncan,
Having carefully reviewed the briefs on this issue, аnd having heard the evidence and arguments presented at the hearing, the Court finds plaintiff has made a strong showing of a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of his claim asserting a violation of the Establishment Clause. Specifically, the Court finds that plaintiff has made a strong showing that State Question 755’s amendment’s primary effect inhibits religion and that the amendment fosters an excessive government entanglement with religion. While defendants contend that the amendment is merely a choice of law provision that bans state courts from applying the law of other nations and cultures, regardless of what faith they may be based on, if any, the actual language of the amendment reasonably, and perhaps more reasonably, may be viewed as specifically singling out Sharia Law, conveying a message of disapproval of plaintiffs faith. The amendment creates two independent restrictions on use/consideration of Sharia Law: (1) the amendment requires that Oklahoma courts “shall not consider ... Shariа Law”, and (2) the amendment allows Oklahoma courts to use/consider the law of another state of the United States but only if “the other state does not include Sharia Law”. No other “legal precepts of other nations or cultures” is similarly restricted with respect to the law of another state.
Furthermore, plaintiff has presented testimony that “Sharia Law” is not actually “law”, but is religious traditions that provide guidance to plaintiff and other Muslims regarding the exercise of their faith. Plaintiff has presented testimony that the obligations that “Sharia Law” imposes are not legal obligations but are obligations of a personal and private nature dictated by faith. Plaintiff also testified that “Sharia Law” differs depending on the country in which the individual Muslim resides. For example, plaintiff stated that marrying more than one wife is permissible in Islam but in the United States, where that is illegal, Muslims do not marry more than one wife because Sharia in the United States mandates Muslims to abide by the law of the land and respect the law of their land. Based upon this testimony, the Court finds that plaintiff has shown “Sharia Law” lacks a legal character, and, thus, plaintiffs religious traditions and faith are the only nonlegal content subject to the judicial exclusion set forth in the amendment. As a result, the Court finds plaintiff has made a strong showing that the amendment conveys a message of disapproval of plaintiffs faith and, consequently, has the effect of inhibiting plaintiffs religion.
Additionally, the Court finds that plaintiff has made a strong showing that the amendment will foster an excessive government entаnglement with religion. Because, as set forth above, Sharia Law is not “law” but is religious traditions that differ among Muslims, the Court finds that
Plaintiff also asserts that State Question 755’s amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution violates the First Amendment’s Freе Exercise Clause. “At a minimum, the protections of the Free Exercise Clause pertain if the law at issue discriminates against some or all religious beliefs or regulates or prohibits conduct because it is undertaken for religious reasons.”
Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah,
Having carefully reviewed the briefs on this issue, and having heard the evidence and arguments presented at the hearing, the Court finds plaintiff has made a strong showing of a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of his claim asserting a violаtion of the Free Exercise Clause. As set forth above, plaintiff has shown that the actual language of the amendment reasonably, and perhaps more reasonably, may be viewed as specifically singling out Sharia Law (plaintiffs faith) and, thus, is not facially neutral. Additionally, as set forth above, the Court finds that plaintiff has shown that there is a reasonable probability that the amendment would prevent plaintiffs will from being fully probated by a state court in Oklahoma because it incorporates by referеnce specific elements of the Islamic prophetic traditions. Further, plaintiff has presented evidence that there is a reasonable probability that Muslims, including plaintiff, will be unable to bring actions in Oklahoma state courts for violations of the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act and for violations of their rights under the United States Constitution if those violations are based upon their religion. Finally, the Court finds that defendants have presented no evidence which would show that the amendment is justified by any comрelling interest or is narrowly tailored.
Accordingly, the Court finds that plaintiff has made a strong showing of a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.
B. Irreparable injury
Plaintiff contends that he will be irreparably injured because he will suffer the loss of his First Amendment freedoms at the moment defendants certify State Question 755’s election results. “The loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.”
Elrod v. Burns,
C. Balance of harms
A movant seeking a preliminary injunction must show that the threatened injury to him outweighs the injury to the
Accordingly, the Court finds that plaintiff has made a strong showing that the threatened injury to him outweighs the injury to the party opposing the preliminary injunction.
D. Public interest
Finally, a movant seeking a preliminary injunction must show that the injunction would not be adverse to the public interest. Having carefully reviewed the briefs on this issue, and having heard the evidence and arguments presented at thе hearing, the Court finds that entry of a preliminary injunction enjoining defendants from certifying the election results for State Question 755 would not be adverse to the public interest. While the public has an interest in the will of the voters being carried out, for the reasons set forth above, the Court finds that the public has a more profound and long-term interest in upholding an individual’s constitutional rights. As the Sixth Circuit has stated, “[i]t is always in the public interest to prevent the violation of a party’s constitutional rights.”
G & V Lounge, Inc. v. Mich. Liquor Control Comm’n,
Accordingly, the Court finds that plaintiff has shown that the injunction would not be adverse to the public interest.
V. Conclusion
Therefore, for the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction and ENJOINS defendants from certifying thе election results for State Question 755 until this Court rules on the merits of plaintiffs claims.
Notes
. At the hearing, the Court reserved its ruling as to whether plaintiffs exhibit 3 would be admitted. Having heard the argument of counsel and having reviewed the case law, the Court finds that plaintiff's exhibit 3 should not be admitted.
. In their response, defendants do not address the second and third requirements of standing. The Court, therefore, finds that defendants have confessed that plaintiff meets these requirements.
.
Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State,