Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco; The Peninsula, Marin, Sonoma, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties; Anti-Defamation League; Jeremy Benjamin; Jenny Benjamin; Leo Fuchs; Jonathan Jaffe; Yael Frenkel-Jaffe; Sheila Bari; Leticia Preza; Kashif Abdullah; Brian McBeth; Eric Tabas v. John Arntz, in his official capacity as Director of Ele
Published: Oct. 15, 2011 | Result Date: Jul. 28, 2011 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: CPF-11-511370 Bench Decision – Plaintiffs
Court
San Francisco Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Michael A. Jacobs
(JAMS)
Defendant
Steven M. Schatz
(Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati)
Boris Feldman
(Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP )
Mollie M. Lee
(Office of the San Francisco City Attorney)
Facts
Plaintiffs challenged a proposed ballot initiative proposing to ban circumcision for minor males in San Francisco. Plaintiffs claimed that the ballot initiative was preempted by state law prohibiting local governments from regulating medical procedures since circumcision was a widely practiced medical procedure. The ballot initiative made the practice of circumcision a misdemeanor and offered no exemption for religious ritual.
Result
Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi ruled that the proposal to ban circumcision for male minors be struck from San Francisco's Nov. ballot. Judge Giorgi agreed with plaintiffs that state law, specifically Business & Professions Code Section 460(b), preempts any local ordinance affecting male circumcision.
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