Court Hears Texas Case Over Animal Sacrifices

April 1, 2009

Author: Michael Kunzelman

Source: The Washington Post

Wire Service: AP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040102132.html

A Santeria priest who sued a Texas city for denying him permission to sacrifice a goat as part of a religious ceremony asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to let him resume the ritual in his home.

Jose Merced, 46, accused the city of Euless, Texas, of trampling on his constitutional right to religious exercise, but U.S. District Judge John McBryde sided with the Fort Worth suburb last year and dismissed the Puerto Rico native's claims.

Merced asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn McBryde's ruling. A three-judge panel that heard arguments Wednesday did not immediately rule.