Washington
1025 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20036
202.857.9766
New York
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Suite 615
New York, NY 10004
212.943.4343

Publications & Events

05/02/2016: Roman Storzer to participate in U.S. Department of Justice RLUIPA Roundtable in Detroit 02/11/2016: Conservative Review discusses RLUIPA, "a younger law that works just as hard on the religious freedom front for almost none of the credit" 01/13/2016: Visit S&G's new Twitter resource: RLUIPALaw 02/06/2015: 2015 GW Religious Freedom Moot Court Competition 09/30/2014: S&G submits opinion letter to ANC regarding historic landmark regulation of St. Thomas church 08/16/2014: RLUIPA law review article by S&G attorneys selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters' Zoning and Planning Law Handbook, 2014 edition 03/12/2014: S&G becomes a Cooperating Organization with the PBS "God In America" series Defending Religious Liberty in the 21st Century 03/12/2014: Storzer & Greene attorneys co-author article on RLUIPA's "Nondiscrimination" provision 02/07/2014: 2014 GW National Religious Freedom Moot Court Competition 04/16/2012: On April 16, Roman P. Storzer joined the Department of Justice's Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination Eric Treene to speak at the University of Richmond's Journal of Law and the Public Interest symposium on RLUIPA 02/11/2012: Roman Storzer will speak at UCLA symposium “Local Agencies on the Cutting Edge : Emerging Challenges to Local Land Use Authority” 02/11/2012: Roman Storzer served as a judge in the semi-final round for the 2012 GW National Religious Freedom Moot Court Competition, hosted by the George Washington University Law School 03/04/2011: Robert Greene will serve as a judge for the American Bar Association Law Student Division National Appellate Advocacy Competition at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York 02/28/2011: Christianity Today reports on Illinois City Council action to ban churches from building in commercial areas 02/18/2011: Hartford Courant reports on the Chabad Lubavich of Litchfield County’s lawsuit against the Borough of Litchfield 02/05/2011: Roman Storzer joined the George Washington University Law School’s 5th Annual National Religious Freedom Moot Court Competition 10/22/2010: Read the United States Department of Justice’s ”Report on the Tenth Anniversary of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act” 10/12/2010: Robert Greene to speak on RLUIPA issues at the International Municipal Lawyers Association's 2010 Annual Conference in New Orleans. 09/21/2010: Roman Storzer joined several other panelists to discuss the occasion of RLUIPA’s 10th anniversary at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy’s “RLUIPA 10 Years Later,” held in the Rayburn House Office Building 02/01/2010: S&G case to be subject of Harvard Pluralism Project documentary 11/17/2009: U.S. News & World Report quotes Storzer in mosque seizure story 09/22/2009: Robert Greene represents the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends at the National Council of the Churches of Christ Board of Governors Meeting 04/30/2009: Roman Storzer will join other religious freedom experts as a judge in the 2009 National Religious Freedom Moot Court on February 6. 04/30/2009: RLUIPA Reader: Religious Land Uses, Zoning, and the Courts available for pre-order 04/17/2009: S&G Provides RLUIPA Training to Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County 04/13/2009: Robert Greene speaks at Princeton Theological Seminary on the origins of free exercise principles in the colonial era 03/12/2009: American Bar Association: The RLUIPA Reader: Religious Land Uses, Zoning, and the Courts.” 11/13/2008: Robert Greene visits Capitol Hill on behalf of Quaker Committee 10/10/2008: Robert Greene named to National Religious Campaign Against Torture 10/10/2008: Robert Greene will join Prof. Marci Hamilton and several others in addressing the New Jersey State League of Municipalities 10/01/2008: Roman Storzer will be speaking at the Property Rights Foundation of America’s twelfth annual National Conference on Private Property Rights 06/21/2008: S&G quoted on Danbury, CT church denial 04/01/2008: Robert Greene to speak on exercise of eminent domain over church property 03/18/2008: Roman Storzer to testify before the Rockland County legislature regarding a resolution calling upon Congress to review RLUIPA 03/02/2008: The Washington Post reports on a Calvert County church's legal victory 02/01/2008: Roman Storzer will participate as a judge in the 2008 National Religious Freedom Moot Court held at George Washington University 10/10/2007: November RLUIPA Conference 08/08/2007: Journal News editorial discussing the firm 06/20/2007: Robert Greene to speak to New Jersey bar on religion and land use 05/18/2007: Roman Storzer addressed the American Bar Association's Section of State and Local Government Law 08/01/2006: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hands down resounding RLUIPA victory 06/07/2006: Religious school successfully defends against Title VII lawsuit 05/12/2006: Mr. Storzer speaks at Land Use Institute conference 04/25/2006: Religious organizations and commercial activity 07/01/2001: The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000: A Constitutional Response to Unconstitutional Zoning Practices

08/01/2006: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hands down resounding RLUIPA victory

In a much-anticipated case involving the right of a religious institution to obtain a land use permit in order to build a place of worship, the Court of Appeals decided on August 1, 2006 that a county cannot deny a CUP to a Sikh organization if that denial would "impose a significantly great restriction or onus upon" its religious exercise. The Court found that this particular denial would in fact do so, based upon its findings that:

(1) The County's broad reasons given for its tandem denials could easily apply to all future applications by Guru Nanak; and (2) that Guru Nanak readily agreed to every mitigation measure suggested by the Planning Division, but the County, without explanation, found such cooperation insufficient.

As Director of Litigation for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Mr. Storzer drafted its amicus brief supporting the Sikh Society. Several of the arguments proposed in the brief were adopted by the Court of Appeals, including the proposition that RLUIPA makes explicit certain protections already inherent in the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment (including the legal requirement that a denial of a discretionary land use permit must survive strict scrutiny judicial review), and that the denial of a land use permit may be substantially burdensome on religious exercise, even though the initial requirement of such a permit is not.

Guru Nank Sikh Society of Yuba City v. County of Sutter, No. 03-17343 (Aug. 1, 2006)