Free Republic

As The Episcopal Church (TEC) finds itself cracking apart, the question on everybody's mind is: "Can departing churches keep their property?" The answer: It depends. Courts differ in how they handle church property disputes. State corporate laws governing property ownership, deeds, and trusts are far from uniform and may be subject to conflicting interpretations. So, as litigation looms, attorneys on all sides are busy researching case law and assembling briefs. Many denominations have clauses declaring that property owned by congregations is held in trust for the denomination: A church is free to leave, but not with its property. For many...

A racially tinged comment, uttered by an apparently inebriated Imette St. Guillen, may have sent bouncer Darryl Littlejohn into a murderous rage, detectives now believe, according to police sources. Just before Littlejohn was ordered to escort St. Guillen out of The Falls, a SoHo bar, on the night she was raped and killed, she told him: "That's why all you black people are in jail," witnesses told police. The remark came after a brief, contentious discussion with Littlejohn, police sources said..