MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County filed a petition  recently asking the U.S. Supreme Court to protect its historic preservation program after the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered a halt to participation by historic houses of worship.

In FFRF v. Morris County Board of Freeholders, the Freedom From Religion Foundation—a Wisconsin-based atheist organization—sued the county for allowing historic houses of worship to apply for preservation funds on equal terms with all other historical sites.

Grants are awarded under neutral criteria, and houses of worship can only use the grants to repair a historic building’s exterior and mechanical systems.

But the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that giving neutral treatment to houses of worship constituted religious activity in violation of the New Jersey Constitution. Yesterday’s filing asks the Supreme Court to let Morris County continue treating all historic sites the same, without having to engage in religious discrimination.

In its 2017 Trinity Lutheran ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court protected a church’s right to participate in a generally available public program, stating that excluding the church because of its religious status would violate the First Amendment. But lower courts have been divided on how far that extends.

Several courts, including the New Jersey Supreme Court, have ruled that historic preservation funding cannot be given to houses of worship, while several other courts have ruled that houses of worship cannot be excluded without violating the Constitution.

“In Morris County, we want to preserve all of our historical sites, including our magnificent houses of worship, some of which date back to the 1700s and were designed by the leading architects of their time,” said Morris County Freeholder Director Doug Cabana. “Preserving the character and beauty of our county is a critical element of the county’s cultural and economic success.”

“Time does not discriminate,” said Diana Verm, legal counsel at Becket, a non-profit religious liberty law firm representing Morris County in its petition before the Supreme Court. “It takes its toll on all our historic structures, secular and religious alike. The county should not be forced to discriminate by favoring secular sites in its preservation efforts.”

The state of New Jersey has a long history of funding historic preservation for buildings, including churches. One of the state’s earliest grants was to the 1850 Solomon Wesley Church, an active house of worship originally built to serve a community of freed slaves.

Last year, Becket, along with Thomas A. Gentile of Wison Elser in Florham Park filed a friend-of-the-court brief defending Morris County’s grant program and the Catholic, Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches whose buildings have been restored thanks to the program. Becket is now counsel for the county in this case.

Additional Information:

• Cert Petition (September 18, 2018)
• Becket’s Amicus Brief (July 17, 2017)

KINNELON — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp announces the sentencing of Richard J. Spielman 46, Kinnelon.

On July 9, 2018, Spielman entered guilty pleas before the Honorable Catherine I. Enright, J.S.C., to first degree Maintenance of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Production Facility and Second Degree Unlawful Possession of a Machine Gun.

As part of the plea agreement, Mr. Spielman forfeited nearly $6800 in United States currency.

On Wednesday, September 19, the Honorable Stephen J. Taylor, P.J.Cr., sentenced Spielman, on the drug charges to six years in New Jersey State Prison. Spielman is required to serve thirty-six months before becoming eligible for parole.

Judge Taylor also imposed a concurrent three year state prison term with twelve months of parole ineligibility on the weapons count.

The investigation, led by detectives from the Butler Police Department and Kinnelon Police Department, culminated on March 11, 2018 with the seizure of one fully automatic machine gun, one assault rifle, 79 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, approximately ten pounds of marijuana, mushrooms, two shotguns, four rifles, one loaded handgun, high capacity magazines, silencers, throwing stars, metal knuckles, drug distribution related paraphernalia, nearly $6,800 United States currency, and a 2006 Jeep.

Prosecutor Knapp stated “The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office will continue to seek incarceration of convicted for-profit drug dealers and those who possess weapons in contravention of state and federal law. We hope that the sentences the Court imposed today serve to deter not just this defendant but others who engage in similar criminal activity.”