INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — One of the Indiana legislators proposing to prohibit state judges from using foreign laws says it stems from concerns that Islamic religious law could be citied in civil cases.
A bill filed by Republican Sen. Travis Holdman of Markle for the Legislature’s 2017 session would block judges from using foreign law to impose a restriction that would violate a person’s constitutional rights.
Holdman tells The Indianapolis Star that constituents have told him they’re worried about Sharia law being used as a legal standard in court. Another Republican senator as filed a similar bill. Such measures filed the past two years have failed to win legislative approval.
Indiana University law professor David Orentlicher says the bill addresses a problem that doesn’t exist. Nine other states have such laws.
