The “In God We Trust” phrase on U.S. paper currency and coinage does not violate the First Amendment or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on May 28. Four other circuits have rejected similar challenges. The Second Circuit said the words “do not have a religious purpose or advance religion, nor do they place a substantial burden on appellants’ religious practices.”
GM VENUE WEIGHED
Judges on the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation appeared skeptical on May 29 about arguments against coordinating more than 60 lawsuits against General Motors Co. in the Southern District of New York. That’s the venue where the automaker has moved in bankruptcy court to bar most of the cases, which involve its ignition-switch recalls, under its 2009 Chapter 11 reorganization. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber has halted discovery while he decides the bankruptcy issue. The panel’s ruling, expected within a few weeks.
