Several current and former Jackson Township officials have been subpoenaed to produce documents in relation to the Department of Justice’s lawsuit alleging discrimination against the town’s Orthodox Jewish population, with the Jackson Township Council voting Tuesday night to provide the former officials with legal representation.
The DOJ’s complaint alleges that the township passed two ordinances, and the planning board applied those ordinances in a manner that discriminated against the Orthodox Jewish community, in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Both ordinances expressly prohibit dormitories throughout Jackson, making it impossible for religious boarding schools such as Orthodox Jewish yeshivas to establish there. Although Jackson passed these ordinances to prevent dormitories anywhere in Jackson, the planning board has since approved, without requiring a variance, the plans for two nonreligious projects with dormitory-type housing.
The complaint also alleges that the township and planning board enacted the ordinances with respect to religious dormitories against a backdrop of extreme animus by Jackson residents and township decision makers toward the Orthodox Jewish community and a movement by residents to keep Orthodox Jewish community members from settling in Jackson. The complaint alleges that the township and planning board’s actions towards the Orthodox Jewish community violate RLUIPA’s non-discrimination and equal terms provisions, as well as the FHA.
and scrambled eggs. Don’t think you can get all that in Federal Prison. Make them eat Kosher food exclusively.
While it may be legal for the Township to spend the taxpayers’ money on this, it’s incredibly unfair to treat public funds as a personal piggy bank to shield bad actors from the consequences of their actions. I don’t believe that Jackson is so flush with discretionary funds.
And yes, I do live in Jackson.
What did you expect?
That the township WON’T spend money to defend themselves from a lawsuit against it or it’s officials?
You sue a township they are going to spend taxpayer defending themselves
Jackson will lose. If they cause the Plaintiffs (us) to spend $1M on lawyers and we win. They have to pay. Also the Feds have a program that if we run out of money on this case, they will reimburse us $1M. Little known program but it’s there for Constitutional violations, which this is. I see violations of 1st, 4th and 14th amendments for starters.
Enough. So much arguing and fighting. Its terrible. I live inJackson, I hate the traffic and the building. I want everyone to get along but I do not want the traffic just like it is in Lakewood. No one does. Just be fair to everyone
What happens if they pull a “Hillary Clinton” and shred everything? which I’m sure they did already .