Opinion ID: 213533
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993

Text: In response to the government's indictment, Wilgus interposed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The genesis of RFRA lies in a protracted exchange between the Supreme Court and Congress over the proper standard to apply when reviewing laws that burden religion. In Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872, 879, 110 S.Ct. 1595, 108 L.Ed.2d 876 (1990), the Supreme Court held that neutral laws of general applicability that nonetheless burden the exercise of religion would be subject only to rational-basis scrutiny under the First Amendment, rather than the heightened scrutiny it had applied in previous cases. In response, Congress passed RFRA, which purported to restore the compelling interest test as set forth in Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398, 83 S.Ct. 1790, 10 L.Ed.2d 965 (1963) and Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972) and to guarantee its application in all cases where free exercise of religion is substantially burdened. 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb(b)(1). In City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507, 536, 117 S.Ct. 2157, 138 L.Ed.2d 624 (1997), the Supreme Court held that RFRA could not be constitutionally applied to the states as an exercise of Congress' power to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment. RFRA can, however, be constitutionally applied to the federal government, as an exercise of Congress' Article I, Section 8 powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause. See Kikumura v. Hurley, 242 F.3d 950, 959 (10th Cir.2001). Therefore, RFRA provides a statutory claim to individuals whose religious exercise is burdened by the federal government. RFRA provides that: (a) In general Government shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section. (b) Exception Government may substantially burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1 (emphasis added). Thus, in order to make out a defense against a criminal prosecution under RFRA, the defendant must prove that his religious exercise is substantially burdened by the regulation at issue. If he does so, the government may save the provision by establishing that it is the least restrictive means of forwarding a compelling governmental interest. See Friday, 525 F.3d at 946 (upholding Eagle Act restrictions on taking eagles against RFRA challenge).