NEW ORLEANS —
A federal appeals court says the Louisiana Supreme Court should decide whether the state’s board of funeral directors has the legal authority to bar an order of Benedictine monks from selling caskets.
In a ruling Tuesday, a three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals questioned whether the board’s regulatory power extends beyond funeral homes.
However, the panel said it’s up to the state’s highest court to determine how much authority is given to the board under state law.
“Resolution of the statutory uncertainty surrounding the State Board’s authority must come at the hand of the Louisiana Supreme Court, whose determination of state law is supreme,” Judge Patrick Higginbotham wrote.
The 5th Circuit panel said it would defer a final decision until after the Supreme Court rules.
The board had taken its case to the appeals court after a federal judge ruled last year in favor of St. Joseph Abbey, a Roman Catholic monastery near Covington.
The abbey’s monks have made wooden caskets for generations to bury their dead. After Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and destroyed timberlands the monks had harvested for income, the abbey invested $200,000 in a business venture to sell caskets for up to $2,000 apiece.
In 2007, however, the board ordered the abbey to refrain from selling caskets to the public. The abbey sued the board after unsuccessfully lobbying state legislators to change the law to allow nonprofit charitable groups to sell caskets.
The board argues that only state-licensed funeral directors can legally sell caskets in Louisiana. It claims the measure is designed to protect consumers. The 5th Circuit panel, however, expressed doubt that the “challenged law is rationally related to policing deceptive sales tactics.”
Writing on behalf of the appeals court panel, Higginbotham said Louisiana’s rules must “not be irrational.”
“The great deference due state economic regulation does not demand judicial blindness to the history of a challenged rule or the context of its adoption nor does it require courts to accept nonsensical explanations for naked transfers of wealth,” he wrote.
Scott Bullock, a lawyer for the abbey, said the ruling holds that the board’s efforts to prevent the monks from selling caskets were either unconstitutional or weren’t allowed under state law.
“In either scenario, our clients are protected,” said Bullock, a senior attorney for the Arlington, Va.-based Institute for Justice. “It is really a total vindication for the monks and a compete repudiation for the state board.”
A spokeswoman for Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell’s office said the board’s lawyers were reviewing the ruling and couldn’t immediately comment.
State News
La. high court asked to rule in monks’ casket case
- State News
-
-
Gas line explosion rattles Washington Parish
A pre-dawn gas line explosion shook residents out of their beds in a rural, wooded area of Washington Parish, briefly knocking out power to thousands of people but not injuring anybody.
-
2nd victim dies after blast at La. chemical plant
An explosion and fire at a Louisiana chemical plant claimed a second victim Friday as federal authorities were piecing together the cause of the blast that injured dozens more.
-
1 dead, 73 hurt in La. plant explosion
A ground-rattling explosion Thursday at a chemical plant in Louisiana ignited a blaze that killed one person and injured dozens of others, authorities said. Witnesses described a chaotic scene of flames as high as 200 feet into the air and workers scrambling over gates to escape the plant.
-
Body of 4th drowning victim found off Gulf coast
Beaches in Gulf Shores have reopened under yellow-flag conditions after being closed when four men drowned in dangerous rip currents.
-
Levees, removable walls proposed to protect NYC
Removable floodwalls would be erected in lower Manhattan, and levees, gates and other defenses would be built elsewhere around the city under a nearly $20 billion plan proposed Tuesday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to protect New York from storms and the effects of global warming.
-
What’s the problem with PRISM?
When the federal government went looking for phone numbers tied to terrorists, it grabbed the records of just about everyone in America.
-
Tropical Storm Andrea bearing down on Fla. coast
The first named storm of the Atlantic season hammered Florida with rain, heavy winds, and tornadoes Thursday as it moved toward the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas, promising sloppy commutes and waterlogged vacation getaways through the beginning of the weekend.
-
Holder praises slain black activist Medgar Evers
Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday praised slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, saying that the black activist’s vision and leadership helped make it possible for Holder and President Barack Obama to rise to the positions they now hold.
-
3 arrested after bomb found at south Miss. prison
Three south Mississippi residents have been arrested after authorities found a bomb in a car at a Leakesville state prison.
-
Most Miss. cities hold mayoral elections Tuesday
Most Mississippi cities will elect mayors Tuesday, choosing people to propose budgets, appoint department heads and make sure that potholes are filled, garbage is collected and clean water is flowing.
- More State News Headlines
-
Gas line explosion rattles Washington Parish
James Gandolfini Dies at Age 51
Fmr. TWA Flight 800 Investigators Want New Probe
Raw: Heat, Spurs Back on Court Ahead of Game 7
Dolce and Gabbana Convicted of Tax Evasion
Paris, Prince Depositions Used in Jackson Trial
Coiffed Cattle Get Their Close-up
In Berlin, Obama Channels Cold War Activism
Police at Patriots Tight End's Home for 2nd Day
Fed Suggests Bond Purchases Could Slow
AP: DOJ Broke Own Rules Seizing Phone Records
Raw: Baby White Rhino Debuts at Australian Zoo
Time Lapse: Rebuilding Bridge Post-collapse
Ohio Woman Accuses 3 of Holding Her Captive
Hunt for Ex-Teamster Boss Hoffa's Remains Ends
