Smith and exemptions

[Marc Stern]

Church Ferry Road Baptist Church v Higgins was a church's challenge to a
Montana statute requiring disclosure of certain activities and
expenditures in regard to ballot initiatives. Most of the opinion
addresses free speech implications of campaign finance law regulation,
but the court also addressed and dismissed the church's claim that it
could not be subject to disclosure laws on free exercise grounds. It
claimed that since there were some exemptions in the statute (for
newspapers and membership organizations) Lukumi required application of
compelling interest analysis. The court rejected this submission, on the
ground that Lukumi held that a statue was neutral and generally
applicable so long as religion was not the only non-exempt category. Is
that right? The Third Circuit apparently disagreed in the Newark Police
cases.

Marc Stern

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