The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a request to re-hear arguments in a dispute over the state's tax credit for donations to private school scholarships. A 3-judge panel earlier concluded that the tax incentive improperly used public funds for the benefit of religious institutions. Many 9th Circuit judges dissented, but the majority voted not to revisit that ruling. AP has more:
The Arizona Supreme Court in 1999 upheld the constitutional(ity) of the law. The current case concerns how it is being implemented.
As initial evidence indicates, according to a smaller judge panel's concurrence with the majority order, the program has not provided a true choice on a "religious neutral basis" because most of the scholarship groups only provided aid for students to attend religious schools.
Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain's dissent, joined by seven colleagues, said the program did not steer aid to any religious school directly and that majority's order "casts a pall" over similar programs in other states.
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A lawyer for supporters of the program, Tim Keller of the Institute for Justice, said the dissent "made a strong case for Supreme Court review."
