It is Sunday, and Mike and his new bride, Valerie, are up visiting Mike’s family for the weekend. Mike is a physics major and has …
Mormon Law 2009 Year in Review
The waning days of 2009 saw the possible loosening of Utah liquor laws as a national story. Meanwhile, in a development covered by Mormon Matters, …
The Church’s Litigators
Remember Kenneth Starr? He was the former judge-turned-special-prosecutor who tried to drive Bill Clinton out of office with tawdry tales involving the President’s dalliance with …
Can Mormons Be Fair Judges and Jurors?
The task was simple. Get a list of the area’s religions and invite them to a Cobb County Planning Commission meeting. The clerk went to …
Mormons and Intellectual Property
One might think that property, a uniquely secular notion, has no truck with ecclesiastic authorities. After all, there’s supposedly no property in Heaven. Instead, everything …
Family Court, Mormon Style
In Maine, Judge Clapp was not pleased. The sarcastic comment he made at an October 6, 1998 custody hearing would get him in trouble. He …
The Church and the IRS
Thomas Vaughn Barlow really does not like the IRS. On June 8, 2007, he sent it a letter, which stated: This means that if you …
Bringing Out The Delusional
As I am hardly the model of mental health myself, I am generally loathe to describe others as crazy. However, one cannot read all of …
What Mormon Prisoners Want
In an earlier mormonmatters post (here), I examined the rise of Mormons as criminal defendants in court opinions. Not surprisingly, most LDS criminals do not …
The Surprising Truth About Mormon Employment Discrimination
Religious discrimination in the workplace is barred in the United States. It has been that way since the 1960s. This prohibition is across the board, …
Overseas Persecution of Mormons: A Comparative Analysis
We know that the LDS Church has projected itself around the world through its missionary efforts. This has occurred during a time when U.S. immigration …
Brainwashed?: Polygamists & Terrorists
Are teens who practice polygamy devout or brainwashed? Are teen terrorists devout or brainwashed? When is a teen old enough to be held accountable for …
The End of Polygamy (Again)?
The raid in Texas is interesting (and differs from AZ and UT prosecutorial efforts) in that polygamy is being attacked directly. So, will this shift in approach …