Agudath Israel of America files amicus curiae brief in religious liberty case

 

Client(s) Agudath Israel of America

Jones Day filed an amicus curiae brief in the Pennsylvania Superior Court on behalf of Agudath Israel of America, a national grassroots Orthodox Jewish organization that advocates for the interests of the Orthodox Jewish community in the United States, in an appeal from a trial court's decision to deny a Jewish defendant's request to continue his civil trial by one day to accommodate his observance of Yom Kippur. The brief explains why that denial is subject to strict scrutiny under the federal and state constitutions, because the availability of continuances is subject both to the trial judge's discretion and to categorical exemptions for comparable secular holidays. It also emphasizes the significance of religious holidays like Yom Kippur to observant Jews, as well as the pluralistic and civil rights values served by ensuring vulnerable religious minorities' equal access to the court system.

DiMeo v. Gross, No. 280 EDA 2024 (Pa. Super. Ct.)