Opinion ID: 867297
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Allocation of burdens

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.