Does the First Muslim Nominee to a Circuit Court Face a Religious Test?
It doesn’t look like it to us, though for decades these columns have been sensitive on that head.
The rhubarb over a Muslim lawyer’s nomination to ride the third federal appeals circuit is a moment to mark the most emphatic phrasing in the entire Constitution. It’s the part of Article VI ordaining that, “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”* We’ve often cited that marker, but is a religious test really what’s faced by President Biden’s nominee, Adeel Mangi?
Mr. Mangi is a Pakistani American with a distinguished legal education and controversial pro-bono work. He earned degrees in law from Oxford and Harvard and is a partner with Patterson Belknap. He is a highly-rated litigator and, the Associated Press reports, “has secured significant legal victories.” These include eye-popping jury verdicts and two civil rights cases in New Jersey representing Muslims denied permission to build mosques.
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