The Masterson Case and the Limits of Ecclesiastical Immunity
Masterson had essentially proposed that the First Amendment grants a religious organization the right to manage the fallout of felony crimes internally. The court disagreed.
It is a peculiar reflex of the modern age that whenever an insular religious community finds its internal practices subjected to the harsh light of a secular courtroom, it immediately seeks refuge behind the majesty of the First Amendment. We are presented with a rather fascinating study of this phenomenon in the recent unpublished opinion from Californ…