A New York law regulating the marketing and labeling of kosher food doesn’t violate the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled, rejecting a First Amendment challenge.
A three-judge panel of the court in New York today affirmed a lower-court ruling that upheld the law, which replaced an earlier version the court overturned in 2002. The appeals court said the Kosher Law Protection Act of 2004 doesn’t violate First Amendment provisions restricting laws relating to religion.
“The Kosher Act merely requires food products marketed as kosher to be labeled as kosher,” U.S. Circuit Judge Christopher Droney wrote. “The Kosher Act does not entangle the state with religion because it does not require the state to enforce laws based on religious doctrine or to inquire into the religious content or religious nature of the products sold.”
The appeal was filed by a Long Island butcher shop and delicatessen, Commack Self-Service Kosher Meats Inc. The case is Commack Self-Service Kosher Meats v. Hooker, 11-3517, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Manhattan). To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in Manhattan federal court at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net
1 comment:
Commack Self-Serv are Conservative lehachissniks. Is it publicly filed anywhere if someone would be financing their lawsuit? That machshayfa Julie Schonfeld who is the current head of the Conservative movement has changed the movement's philosophy from relying on the orthodox for hashgochos. Since the Conservative movement is dying she is trying to make them relevant by getting into kashrus. That's why you see 100s of their rabbis suddenly giving hashgochos in the last few years. But she has gone beyond that to fight us with a sinah over the laws in NY, Georgia, etc. They have plenty of money and could have financed this. It's not like a mom & pop shop in yehupitz can pay to fight this all the way to the Court of Appeals which is higher that State Supreme Court.
FYI, Rabbi Harry Cohen, the rav hamachshir on many Manhattan establishments who is officially orthodox but does not follow orthodox kashrus practices was also behind one of these lawsuits against NY State.
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