Opinion ID: 867297
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Establishing FERA Claims

Text: ¶ 10 A party who raises a religious exercise claim or defense under FERA must establish three elements: (1) that an action or refusal to act is motivated by a religious belief, (2) that the religious belief is sincerely held, and (3) that the governmental action substantially burdens the exercise of religious beliefs. Cf. Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 215-18, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972) (requiring showing that a government action substantially interferes with a sincerely held religious belief, not merely a way of life or personal preference); Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398, 406, 83 S.Ct. 1790, 10 L.Ed.2d 965 (1963) (to same effect); Weir v. Nix, 114 F.3d 817, 820 (8th Cir.1997) (addressing the RFRA standard based on language similar to that used in FERA); Jolly v. Coughlin, 76 F.3d 468, 476 (2d Cir.1996), abrogated on other grounds by Flores, 521 U.S. at 507, 117 S.Ct. 2157 (same); Cheema v. Thompson, 67 F.3d 883, 885 (9th Cir.1995), abrogated on other grounds by Flores, 521 U.S. at 507, 117 S.Ct. 2157 (same); Goodall ex rel. Goodall v. Stafford County Sch. Bd., 60 F.3d 168, 171 (4th Cir.1995) (same). Once the claimant establishes a religious belief that is sincerely held and substantially burdened, the burden shifts to the state to demonstrate that its action furthers a compelling governmental interest and is [t]he least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. A.R.S. § 41-1493.01(C). ¶ 11 In this case, the State conceded all of the elements a defendant must prove to establish a religious exercise defense: that Hardesty held a sincere belief in a true religion and that the law prohibiting possession of marijuana substantially burdened his exercise of religion. As to the State's case, Hardesty conceded during argument on the motion to dismiss that the State had a compelling interest. Accordingly, the only remaining question is whether the State met its burden of proving that the statutory prohibition on the possession of marijuana is the least restrictive means of furthering the government's compelling interest.
¶ 12 Hardesty contends that, because defenses in criminal cases typically involve fact questions that are presented to and decided by a jury, his religious use defense must also be submitted to a jury. Courts have consistently treated the compelling interest/least restrictive means test as a question of law to be determined by the court and subject to de novo review. See, e.g., United States v. Friday, 525 F.3d 938, 948 (10th Cir.2008) (describing role of constitutional facts, subject to [the court's] `independent examination' in First Amendment free exercise analysis, citing Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union, 466 U.S. 485, 499, 104 S.Ct. 1949, 80 L.Ed.2d 502 (1984), and Henry P. Monaghan, Constitutional Fact Review, 85 Colum. L.Rev. 229 (1985)), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1312, 173 L.Ed.2d 595 (2009); see also Hamilton v. Schriro, 74 F.3d 1545, 1552 (8th Cir.1996) (noting that while trial court findings of fact are subject to review under the clearly erroneous standard, the ultimate question of whether one is deprived of a free exercise right is a question of law subject to de novo review); Eng'g Contractors Ass'n of S. Fla. v. Metro. Dade County, 122 F.3d 895, 905 (11th Cir.1997); Contractors Ass'n of E. Pa. v. City of Phila., 91 F.3d 586, 596 (3d Cir.1996); Concrete Works of Colo., Inc. v. City & County of Denver, 36 F.3d 1513, 1522 (10th Cir.1994); In re State-Record Co., 917 F.2d 124, 127 (4th Cir.1990); Scott v. Rosenberg, 702 F.2d 1263, 1274 (9th Cir.1983); Evans v. Romer, 882 P.2d 1335, 1341 (Colo.1994), aff'd, 517 U.S. 620, 116 S.Ct. 1620, 134 L.Ed.2d 855 (1996); Wadsworth v. State, 275 Mont. 287, 911 P.2d 1165, 1170 (1996); State v. Melin, 428 N.W.2d 227, 229-30 (N.D.1988). Hardesty has made no convincing argument that we should do otherwise and we therefore conclude, as all other courts have done, that whether the government has a compelling interest that is served by the least restrictive means is a question of law for the court to decide.
¶ 13 Hardesty urges that Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418, 126 S.Ct. 1211, 163 L.Ed.2d 1017 (2006), required the trial court to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the State has a compelling interest and can accomplish its compelling interest by less restrictive means. [7] ¶ 14 Hardesty's reliance on O Centro is misplaced. Although the Court there observed that an exemption may be available under RFRA even though the federal Controlled Substances Act broadly prohibits possession of schedule one substances, id. at 433-35, 126 S.Ct. 1211 (noting peyote exception), the Court did not require an evidentiary hearing in every RFRA case, see id. at 418, 126 S.Ct. 1211. Instead, once the government establishes a compelling interest, courts must see whether the religious use can be exempted. Id. at 436, 126 S.Ct. 1211 (citing Cutter v. Wilkinson, 544 U.S. 709, 125 S.Ct. 2113, 161 L.Ed.2d 1020 (2005)). That is, the government must establish that applying the law in the particular circumstances is the least restrictive means of regulating. ¶ 15 Hardesty next argues that we should apply the modified compelling interest test set forth in Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520, 533, 113 S.Ct. 2217, 124 L.Ed.2d 472 (1993). We disagree. That case, which arose under the First Amendment, not RFRA, involved a statute that singled out and prohibited a disfavored religious practice of a particular religion by imposing a burden only on religiously motivated conduct. Id. at 545-46, 113 S.Ct. 2217. On review, the Court determined that a law targeting religious conduct is the precise evil ... the requirement of general applicability is designed to prevent. Id. at 546, 113 S.Ct. 2217. Such laws are subject to strict scrutiny and survive such searching review only in rare cases. Id. ¶ 16 In contrast to the targeted law at issue in Lukumi Babalu Aye, laws of general applicability are judged under the First Amendment by a lesser standard. In Yoder, the Court acknowledged that religiously based conduct is often subject to regulation by the States in the exercise of their undoubted power to promote the health, safety, and general welfare, or the Federal Government in the exercise of its delegated powers. 406 U.S. at 220, 92 S.Ct. 1526. Because Lukumi Babalu Aye involved a statute that targeted a religious practice, the case does not set the standard applicable to cases such as this one that involve nondiscriminatory laws of general applicability.