Written by Don Byrd
On Friday, the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of New York parents seeking to be exempt from child vaccination requirements on religious freedom grounds. The Appeals Court agreed with the trial court that Mr. and Mrs. Caviezel failed to demonstrate that their First Amendment claim is supported by genuinely held religious beliefs.
The Caviezels’ challenges to the dismissal of their First Amendment and equal protection claims and the award of summary judgment on their state law exemption claim fail to clear the common hurdle erected by the district court’s factual finding, made after the preliminary injunction hearing, that they failed credibly to demonstrate “that they hold genuine and sincere religious beliefs which prohibit vaccinations.” That finding precludes a viable claim that they have been injured in the free exercise of religion or that the government treats sincere religious beliefs disparately in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. It also necessarily defeats a claim to a religious exemption from vaccination pursuant to N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 2164(9).
While the Caviezels take exception to this critical finding, to the extent the finding rests on the district court’s firsthand observation of the witnesses, as well as its careful identification of evidence inconsistent with the proffered religious beliefs, we identify no clear error.
