Federal Court Enjoins LA Sales Tax Exemption: Religious Organizations

In a significant constitutional case on the issue of government establishment of religion, lead counsel Eddie Schmidt successfully represented a group that challenged the constitutionality of a Louisiana law that granted religious groups and churches a sales tax exemption in connection with the sale of religious merchandise. U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan granted a permanent injunction against any application of the Louisiana sales tax exemption in a written opinion on August 1, 2006 in New Orleans Secular Humanist Association v. Cynthia Bridges, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue, No. 04-3165 (E.D. La., Aug. 1, 2006).