Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Friday, July 18, 2008

Amish farmer may get national legal help in permit case

By Megan VerHelst | Lee Newspapers

TOWN OF ALBION, Wis. — Legal clashes between Jackson County towns and Amish farmers over building code violations have drawn the attention of a national group created to preserve religious freedom.

The National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom has filed a brief with Jackson County court requesting to intervene in the case of Samuel F. Stolzfus, an Amish farmer who lives in the town of Albion.

Stolzfus built a home in Albion. Under Wisconsin law, he must obtain a building permit. When he did not, Stolzfus was served a summons Nov. 3, 2007.

The National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom is represented by attorneys Robert Greene of New York and Ken Artis of Black River Falls.

Greene said freedom of religion is the first thing protected by the First Amendment.

“Values are so important they are in the Constitution, and it says the government cannot interfere,” Greene said. “This is a value of the very highest order.”

According to the brief, the committee wants to intervene to protect the right of religious freedom for the Amish under both the Wisconsin and the U.S. constitutions.

Stolzfus, if found guilty, could face fines ranging from $25 to $1,000 per day of noncompliance. Stolzfus could also face a fine for his driveway from $10 to $500 per day.

Other Jackson County Amish have been found guilty of building code violations, leaving them with thousands of dollars in fines. Amish farmer Daniel Borntreger was fined $10,600 in March for failure to comply with the Uniform Dwelling Code. Samuel S. Stolzfus, according to Wisconsin court records, was sentenced to pay the town of Albion $9,450 after he failed to obtain a permit for his house and driveway.

Religious beliefs

Stolzfus, like other Amish before him, will not have an attorney represent him.

Greene said the Amish will not defend themselves because of a long-standing religious conviction not to oppose injustice done to them.

He also said the Amish will not sign the application for a building permit because it is against their religion to lie: The promise to comply with building codes is a promise they might not be able to keep.

While the Amish will not hire someone to defend them in court, they will accept the assistance of those who wish to help them, Artis said.

Artis filed the brief to intervene June 23. A status conference to discuss the case will be held today.

Yoder case

The Committee has intervened in other Wisconsin cases to provide dissent for the Amish, including the case of Wisconsin vs. Yoder (1972), a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Amish citizens were convicted of violating the Wisconsin Compulsory School Attendance Law. On appeal, the decision was reversed because there was not a compelling interest to justify the burden it placed on the free exercise of their religion by the Amish.

If the committee is allowed to intervene, Greene said, they will start a process of discovery and will look at many different aspects of the case, including whether there is discriminatory enforcement of the building code within the town.

“If the town wanted to be reasonable,” Green said, “it would try to work out an accommodation that would not offend the religious convictions of the Amish.”

Exemptions in municipal building codes are allowed if the government cannot prove a compelling interest in the case, the committee’s brief states. Such exemptions have been made for buildings such as one-room schoolhouses and bed and breakfasts, the brief states.

“If a bed and breakfast is important enough to get an exemption, constitutional values must be given the same exemption,” Greene said.

Town response

Attorney Paul Millis, representing the town of Albion in the Stolzfus case, said the attempt to intervene by the committee is delaying the case and adding code violations daily. The town filed its reply brief against the intervention of the Committee on July 10.

“The big issue is a noncompliant residence in the town of Albion,” Millis said. “It’s a safety issue.”

Millis said regardless if the Committee is allowed to intervene, it will not change the facts of the case. But it could have an effect on future cases in Jackson County. He said cases will have to be dealt with individually to determine whether the Amish will be exempt from building code restrictions.

Megan VerHelst is a reporter at the Jackson County Chornicle.