Supreme Court leans toward Catholic groups over claim for religious exemption

WASHINGTON — Delving into the latest in a series of religious rights cases, the Supreme Court on Monday appeared sympathetic to a claim brought by Catholic-affiliated charitable groups that they were wrongly denied religious exemptions from a state tax that funds unemployment benefits.Both conservative and liberal justices seemed concerned that the state's test for determining whether a group could get the exemption unlawfully discriminates against different entities based on their religious beliefs under the Constitution's First Amendment.Although the state allows exemptions for churches and associated nonprofits, the Wisconsin Supreme Court concluded that the groups operating under the umbrella of the Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Superior were not sufficiently religious in purpose to receive the same treatment.The groups in question — Headwaters, Barron County Developmental Services, Diversified Services and Black River Industries — primarily serve developmentally disa...