BestLawyerTips | News – The top court in the United States denied on Tuesday a try by a Missouri agency to reverse a ruling by the lower court in favor of a lesbian worker in a bias claim. They did not give an answer in the concurring opinion with regards to the legality of excluding jurors on the basis of their religious convictions. Among the six, three jurors were refused because they viewed homosexuality as sinful.
The Missouri Department of Corrections has filed an appeal after a jury verdict that favored Jean Finney, a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the department, was overturned by a lower court justification that rejected the department’s request for a new trial. The state argued that takings away the three reasoning/vocalizing their religious views during the jury selection process was not consistent with the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law in the US Constitution.
After entering a romantic relationship with a female ex-wife of a male co-worker, Lesbian Finney commenced a law-suit against her long-term job, the Department of Corrections. According to her the lawsuit was based on her being subjected to a systematic pattern of discrimination and retribution at work. Finney initiated a suit demanding to be paid compensation which was based on grounds of sex discrimination and sexually charged work atmosphere according to Missouri’s Human Rights Law Statue.
In 2021 the jury decided on Finney’ s side, awarding her damages of $275,000 for sexual discrimination and abuse claims.
The defense of Finney’s attorneys sought to “identify persons with strong feelings on the subject of homosexuality” with this statement in the legal court papers. She asked her about religion during jury selection process, which is asking potential jurors questions to look for possible bias.
The legal team was convinced the answers to the questions about whether homosexuality is a sin from jurors portrayed their prejudice on the gay people and thus asked Judge Kate Schaefer from Missouri state to exclude those three jurors.
The judge was of the agreement with her lawyer that the two jurors should be rejected, but she added that these two jurors were “very clear in that they could be absolutely fair and impartial in this case.” But she preferred taking precaution.
However, the court admitted the motion to the violation of the Missouri authorities’ interests. In the course of jury selection, the state’s attorneys warned “entry into the limits of religious discrimination.”
In response to the state prosecutors’ appeal, the Missouri appellate court found that the trial court had acted properly, ruling that the reason why they did not have to take the prospective jurors was not their faith but their opinion on the issue of homosexuality which was considered to be the major issue in the case by the court. The state authorities brought in a second charge to the U.s Supreme court after Missouri’s highest court declined the application for the first appeal.
Equal protection rights, under which the can struggle choose is discriminatory based on factors such as race or sex, should also include religion, as informed to the justices by Missouri officials. They added that the U.S. Constitution “would not stand for the exclusion based on religion; the freedom of religion is first among the rights that the Constitution guarantees.”
Legislators ascertained that the service of man who might possibly be automatically disqualified as jurors because of his/her religious beliefs (unless the conviction of such beliefs has resulted in his/her complete impartiality) is the only option.
In recent years, the conservative-majority Supreme Court has shown an attitude toward religious rights to be broader and more flexible when compared to that of earlier periods. Recently, a crucial ruling was made that allowed a Christian evangelical web designing company owner to refuse same-sex wedding clients.
The public high school coach who was suspended during 2022 because he continued to offer Christian prayers on the field with the team players after games was supported by the court.
Source: Reuters.com
